Gavin & Stacey's Christmas Special, this definitely is not.
A 'right bootful' Christmas treat.
Director David Green required so many of his cast to take on roles antithetical to their respective comfort zones it served to emphasise that the company is not only committed to the presentation of ambitious work, but also to the continual development and growth of its roster of performers.
The definitive way to kick-start your own Christmas celebrations.
Birdsong staged scenes as powerful as I can recall ever seeing in a theatre, offering a coherent and deeply moving account of bravery in war, the damage war does, and most fundamentally, the wretchedly pointlessness of it all..
I can always admire a show that takes risks, and a theatre company that takes pride in that, especially in devised work. With this, Temper have produced a genuinely thought provoking show. I’m intrigued to see what they get up to next.
Nutcracker in Havana is an absolute Christmas Cracker of a show
The authenticity with which Rodreguez King-Dorset portrayed the three characters involved was so precise that I had to keep reminding myself they were being played by the same man - the only man on stage.
An ostensibly amusing, but also incredibly thought-provoking, production.
You will believe a car can fly.
Given that the stage version of Murder on the Orient Express is an entirely new play, one might have expected great liberties to be taken but the reverse was the case - there was an evident reverence for the source text apparent throughout Ludwig's adaptation that tiptoed lightly over the darker themes of Christie's novel, preferring instead to focus on flashes of humour and the cosy familiarity of a tale retold.
Given the acrimony of Brexit, covid vaccination and even the recent Lucy Letby controversy, far from feeling dated, the play feels surprisingly relevant – an exemplar of what happens when we lose the ability to disagree civilly, instead content to take lumps out of family and friends with little regard for the consequential fallout.
A fabulously pop-tastic party, featuring a canon of top tunes from start to finish.
A gloriously dark, and very funny, musical stage parody.
An hilarious homage to Channel 4's much-loved television show
Love this show. Catch it if you can before it hits Edinburgh
Life-affirming, inclusive and diverse, and celebrating every type of friendship.
An hilarious comedy, made to look so easy. Pleasure and laughter all of the way.
Séance, in common with all their productions, took place in complete darkness. The audience wear headphones and so experience the narrative almost entirely through sound. If that sounds too close to an audio book, then allow me to disabuse you of that notion.
There was so much to admire in this bold production and one, let’s not forget, which filled the Arts Centre to capacity in the middle of the Norfolk and Norwich festival. I find it hard to believe that such an assured production is their first, and while 'Salt' is already a worthwhile contribution to the region's theatre, I’m convinced we can look forward to even greater things to come.
For a Romeo & Juliet with that extra rollercoaster ride of emotion and spectacle, look no further.
I dare say that my memory of the TV show itself is rose tinted, but if wallowing in nostalgia is an inexcusable crime then I plead guilty, as critical facilities crumbled in the face of a production that was simply, and unapologetically, silly good fun.
I find myself holding back the tears – that is how powerful the finale of this show is.
A show packed with moving words and memories about the city we love.
A dazzling display of elegance, strength and stamina
Brave and challenging, English Touring Opera really do deliver 'Opera That Moves'.
In this fresh English Touring Opera production, the morality of the tale shines through with a new-found relevance. Bravo ETO.
Often, theatre is a device for escaping our troubles, and I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but for those of us that yearn for more nourishing fare, it's good to know something reliably substantial is still being served up on a China Plate.
Completing their triage of Tchaikovsky's most loved ballets.
Swan Lake is a mouth-watering spectacle. This production becomes the complete dance experience.
'Toast' had moved to Norwich Theatre Playhouse this month, and even in this much larger venue, nearly all the seats were taken
The costumes were impeccable, the cast formidable and the set often reminiscent of early 20th century paintings. All this, coupled with Dame Agatha Christie’s expertly-crafted dialogue, certainly did a great job of plunging us into this fascinating, long-gone past.
An absolute delight from start to finish - a heart-warming blinder of a show.
Such was the atmosphere generated, it was easy to imagine, out the corner of your eye, that you caught a glimpse of the eponymous Woman, such was the descriptive power of the text. Who would have thought that possible with only two actors on a bare stage?
A magnificent seasonal pantomime of which Norfolk should be really proud.
Despite ambitions to be the enfant terrible of British art when he won the Turner Prize in 2003, Grayson Perry is officially a National Treasure. His recent reinvention as an investigative explorer of countercultures and communities, albeit in his civvies, offered a clue as what to expect from his live show. What I didn't expect was for him to break into full throated song.
The theatrical experience is witty and well-paced, with a tone that lies somewhere between 'Six' and 'Fascinating Aida'.