Thomas Otway| Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | Directed by Prasanna Puwanarajah

Thomas Otway’s 1682 play is one of the very few Restoration tragedies still staged. In Prasanna Puwanarajah’s production, currently running at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, it receives a “noir twist”, presenting the audience with a ‘Blade Runner meets Mad Max’ cyberpunk vision of a corrupt Venice.

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’ by T S Eliot | Kilworth House Theatre, Leicestershire | Directed by Nick Winston

Nick Winston’s new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical at Kilworth House Theatre delivers on every level: this is ‘Cats’ as you’ve never seen it before. Fresh, playful and impeccably performed. fffffEncore Performing Arts, directed by Adam Guest, rise to the considerable challenge of staging this dark and raunchy tale of women getting away with murder in a production bursting with sexiness and sass.

John Kander and Fred Ebb | Lakeside Arts Theatre, Nottingham | Directed by Adam Guest

Encore Performing Arts, directed by Adam Guest, rise to the considerable challenge of staging this dark and raunchy tale of women getting away with murder in a production bursting with sexiness and sass.

Ivan Arsenjev and Petr Forman | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | Directed by Petr Forman

This is a unique piece of hypnotic theatre which shifts from vaudevillian circus to something far more fantastic as we are invited to journey into the depths of the Wild West with a host of comedians, illusionists, gunfighters and beautiful ladies.

Arthur Miller | Highbury Theatre, Sutton Coldfield | Directed by Ian Appleby

In this latest Highbury Players production, director Ian Appleby has assembled an impressive cast, each effective in conveying how the ghostly presence of two absent characters exercises a profound influence over their lives. It’s a bold, powerful realisation of Miller’s intense family drama.

David Lindsay-Abaire | Leicester Haymarket Theatre | Directed by Sally Bruton

Leicester Amateur Operatic Society bring the fairytale kingdom of Duloc magically to life on the Haymarket Theatre stage in this slick, vibrant and upbeat production. This is family entertainment of the highest order from a community theatre company packed full of talented singers, dancers and actors.

Frank Loesser | Sutton Arts Theatre | Directed by Emily Armstrong and Dexter Whitehead

Taking on any classic musical which audiences already know well is risky. There’s a weight of expectation. There aren’t many shows more well-known than ‘Guys and Dolls’, much-loved and hailed by critics as a “perfect musical comedy” when it opened on Broadway back in 1950. Throw in the 1955 film starring Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons, countless stage revivals and a host of familiar songs and there’s plenty of pressure for any company. It’s a gamble but thankfully, under the direction of Emily Armstrong and Dexter Whitehead, Sutton Arts’ roll of the dice pays off with a resounding win: this is a hugely impressive piece of amateur theatre.

Joseph Stein, Jerry Brock and Sheldon Harnick | Playhouse Theatre | Directed by Trevor Nunn

There’s nothing shaky about this Fiddler on the Roof: voices are incredible across the whole cast. A slick, sharp and spirited production of a much-loved musical.

Alan Ayckbourn | Quarndon Village Hall | Directed by Peter Konowalik

Sir Alan Ayckbourn celebrates both his 80^th birthday and the 60^th anniversary of his professional playwrighting debut this year. Incredibly, his 83^rd full length play will premiere in Scarborough this summer. Perfect timing this week then, for Quarndon Amateur Dramatic Society (QUADS) to treat audiences to a farcical journey back to the mid-1970s in their staging of one of the much-loved Norman Conquest plays – Living Together.

Khaled Hosseini | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | Directed by Roxana Silbert

Khalid Hosseini’s much-loved 2007 novel tells the deeply affecting story of an unlikely friendship between two Afghan women, both married to the same husband. The narrative spans several decades, starting in 1992 in an Afghanistan ravaged by civil war.