If ever you need reminding of the joy of live entertainment, take a child to see In the Night Garden Live, the staged version of the CBeebies children’s TV show. As a first experience of theatre for little ones, it is a wonderful introduction. And...
As Leeds prepares for the grand start of the Tour de France in a couple of weeks, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield pays a tribute, of sorts, to the great sporting event. I say, ‘of sorts’, because while there is a definite reverence for the...
Happy Days may be billed as a new musical, but there’s no disguising it’s the chance of a trip down memory lane that’s bringing in the crowds. Nostalgia is the name of the game, and it scores here on two levels – first for...
Recreating a national treasure on stage is a tough call for any actor. So much so, that when Bob Golding took on the challenge of a one-man play about Eric Morecambe’s life, his success has meant it is now almost impossible to imagine the show...
It is easy to pre-judge 20th Century Boy as a jukebox musical that offers little more than a nostalgia trip to the glam rock era of the early 1970s, but you’d be missing a treat if you do. I admit, initially I fell into that cynical camp. I’ve sat...
It is fantastic that ITV’s Dancing on Ice has sparked a revival of interest in figure skating, and there is no doubt that the full house at The Lowry owes a lot to this TV exposure. But it would be wrong to suggest that Robin Cousins’ Ice is like...
The idea of interpreting Coleridge’s famous poem, ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ as a contemporary circus performance, sounds as bizarre as it does ambitious. Square Peg’s award-winning production is both. The company of seven performers (three...
JB Shorts was initially staged in 2009 as a one-off event of six bite-sized 15 minute new plays by established writers, who work mainly in TV. Now in its 11th season, the format is as fresh and popular as ever, and the team has remained faithful to...
The Diamond Anniversary Tour of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is already living up to the show’s tradition for longevity. Billed as the first ever UK tour (not counting some regional previews before going into the West End in 1952), the production...
When I think of tap dancing, I picture Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, smart suits, romance, maybe top hats and a cane. Apparently, tap dancing has come a long way since then. And in Tap Factory there is none of the usual gloss of American entertainment...
Carmel Thomason