Harold Pinter / Chloe Moss | Sutton Arts Theatre | Directed by Faye Hatch

Sutton Arts Theatre’s latest offering, an evening of two one-act plays, provides more than a little food for thought if you have an appetite for dark comedy and challenging theatre.

Stephen Sondheim | Crescent Theatre | Directed by Keith Harris

Dreams and desires collide with dark comedy in a beautifully staged production of Sondheim’s fairy tale musical at the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham, directed by Keith Harris.

Willy Russell | Highbury Theatre | Directed by Amy Leach

Highbury Players stage a winning production of Willy Russell’s hit story about twin brothers separated at birth.

Nigel Williams, adapted from the novel by William Golding | Belgrade Theatre | Directed by Amy Leach

Modern staging of Golding’s tale of savagery and barbarism opens in Coventry.

Olga Tokarczuk | Belgrade Theatre | Directed by Simon McBurney

The animal kingdom stages a collective, murderous uprising in Complicité’s disarming and dream-like adaptation of Olga Tokarczuk’s genre-defying novel, directed by Simon McBurney.

Tennessee Williams | Phoenix Theatre | Directed by Rebecca Frecknall

Rebecca Frecknall breathes fresh life into Williams’ classic tragedy.

“It’s a play about the ravishment of the tender, the sensitive, the delicate, by the savage and brutal forces of modern society.” This was the response from Tennessee Williams when asked what his play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ was about. The Almeida production, currently running at the Phoenix Theatre in a West End transfer, honours the playwright’s vision in a stunning interpretation which puts mental illness centre stage.

Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx, Book by Jeff Whitty | Brewhouse Arts Centre | Directed by John Bowness

I first reviewed a professional tour of this outrageous musical back in early 2019 shortly after setting up TheatreWhippet. It has lost none of its charm and ability to shock and amuse since then. This amateur production, staged by the excellent Little Theatre Company and currently running at the Brewhouse Arts Centre in Burton upon Trent, is slick and crammed with professional standard talent. Directed by John Bowness, it promises hilarious gut-busting adult humour and certainly delivered on opening night.

A. R. Gurney | The Crescent Theatre | Directed by Jaz Davison

Billed as an “hilariously well-observed comedy about relationships, nature and growing older”, the latest offering from the excellent Crescent Theatre in Birmingham is one of the oddest and funniest plays I’ve seen in a long time. An impressive cast rise to the considerable challenge of staging this 1995 American play by A. R. Gurney.

Compere: J P Houghton | 1000 Trades

Local comedians inject some much-needed humour into recent news stories in a series of improvised sketches ranging from odd to utterly surreal.

‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ was one of my favourite TV shows when I was a teenager in the 1990s. I think it was the danger I loved. What if they couldn’t come up with any ideas on the spot? What if they spoke over each other and it all went horribly wrong? What if they just weren’t funny?

Willy Russell | Belgrade Theatre | Directed by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright

Willy Russell’s multi-award-winning musical about twins separated at birth is the stuff of theatre legend. Directed by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright, the latest touring production, which opened in Coventry last night (and will also visit Cheltenham, Sheffield, Chelmsford, Bristol and Brighton) confirms why: it is a timeless and moving show which never fails to bring audiences to their feet. It lived up to its affectionate title of the ‘Standing Ovation Musical’ at the Belgrade’s opening night after stunning performances from the whole talented cast.