People's Theatre, Newcastle. Taking on a play such as this is always ambitious, but the People’s have the talent and the resources and here they pull it off pretty well. Staging is simple but effective, with some lovely little touches that help to maintain the theatrical entertainment of the piece and prevent it from becoming … Continue reading Richard III – 3 stars

Customs House, South Shields. After the huge success of last year’s award-winning Dance To Your Daddy, writer-composer team David Cooke and Grahame Wright had a lot to live up to when they were approached by the Customs House to produce a follow up for this year’s Community Play. The team magic and dynamic is clearly … Continue reading Dance Across The Tyne – 4 stars

People's Theatre, Newcastle. Published in 1952, The Fifteen Streets was Catherine Cookson’s second book. The story came to her very quickly and completely: “Within an hour I had the whole story, right from the opening to the very last words. Every character, every incident and definitely the background. It was all there. I knew here … Continue reading The Fifteen Streets – 3 stars

Less in MORE theatre company, Middlesbrough Theatre. Glasgow-born playwright CP Taylor had a long-standing relationship with Live Theatre in Newcastle, with many of his plays first performed there. ‘And A Nightingale Sang’ began life in the 1970s as an oral-history project commissioned by Live, first performed there in 1978, set in and around Eldon Square … Continue reading And A Nightingale Sang – 5 stars

People's Theatre, Newcastle. The original BBC series’ ‘Yes, Minister’ and ‘Yes, Prime Minister’ are widely considered as genuine comedy classics, and so a brand new up-to-date stage version was greatly anticipated when it first opened at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2010, subsequently embarking upon a West End run and a national tour the following … Continue reading Yes Prime Minister – 3 stars