TheatreWhippet
Joe Penhall | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | Directed by Daniel Bailey.
If any art form can poke people into exploring sensitive and difficult topics, it’s theatre. ‘Blue/Orange’, the curiously titled revival currently playing at The Rep in Birmingham, does just that. More info
Anton Chekhov | The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham | Directed by Andrew Brooks.
A complex tale of unrequited love, jealousy, regret and missed opportunities: themes as relevant in 2019 as they were when the play was first performed in 1896. More info
Tony Kushner | Playhouse Theatre, London | Directed by Michael Longhurst.
This powerful, surprising and unusual piece of musical theatre has all the political and personal complexity fans of his epic play ‘Angels in America’ will recognise. More info
Park Hall Academy, Castle Bromwich | Directed & written by Emilie Cullum-Kenyon.
Just when panto season seemed over for another year, Park Hall Academy performed Cinderella with a modern twist, brightening the dull final days of January with a musical fairy tale panto fusion. More info
Tennessee Williams | The Lace Market Theatre, Nottingham | Directed by Wayne Parkin.
This heavyweight play, regarded by many as one of the most influential of the twentieth century, rattles along powerfully and rises to the challenge with convincing central performances. More info
Mike Leigh | The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham | Directed by Sarah Esdaile.
As the gin and tonics disappear, everything starts to happen: barely suppressed marital tensions rise, tempers flare and the veneer of respectability is peeled back to reveal the contradictions and pains of the aspiring middle classes. More info
Matthew Lopez | Noel Coward Theatre, London | Directed by Stephen Daldry.
Following proudly in the footsteps of Tony Kushner’s ‘Angels in America’, this epic two-part play explores the lives, loves, hopes, struggles and dreams of a gay couple and their friends living in New York in the lead up to the 2016 election. More info
L Frank Baum | The Rep, Birmingham | Directed by Liam Steel.
The Rep’s annual family production soars magically over the rainbow in a joyfully modernised production of this much-loved classic. It’s a gem. A sparkling emerald. More info
Tennessee Williams | The Duke of York’s Theatre, London | Directed by Rebecca Frecknall.
What do the words ‘summer’ and ‘smoke’ evoke? Oppressive heat? Fire? Smouldering passions? Exploring some of these connotations go some way to opening up this lesser-known Tennessee Williams play. More info
