The Play’s the Thing

The greatest show gets a new staging at Bristol

A NEW stage adaptation of the hugely popular film The Greatest Showman comes to Bristol Hippodrome next year, from 15th March 2026 to 10th May, with a cast led by Oliver Tompsett and Samantha Barks. Based on the 20th Century Studios motion picture with story by Jenny Bicks, songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul…

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An Old English epic retold in dance

THE great Old English epic poem of Beowulf gets a remarkable new look when the award-winning circus company Nikki & JD and dance-theatre company Lost Dog strip the story back to its physical essentials in Fireside, an open air circus, dance and theatre performance with fire and live music, on the Pavilion field at Gillingham…

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New season at Exeter Northcott

EXETER’s Northcott Theatre has announced its first 2026 Made By Exeter Northcott production – Forever Young by Erik Gedeon is a musical play that blends big laughs, heartfelt moments and iconic songs. The cast will include South West actors from past Northcott productions and pantomimes and the production will be the first musical play to…

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The executioner’s story

GALLOWS humour is a curious aspect of the human psyche – laughter is the best antidote to fear, probably. The laughs are dark and the subject matter even darker when Ha Hum Ah Theatre brings its new play, Making A Killing, on tour locally, with dates starting on 28th October at Taunton, and coming to…

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Tangled up in Rome

TANGLE Theatre brings its unique African-Caribbean style to a new Shakespearean production on tour this autumn, continuing this exciting company’s commitment to presenting classic dramas in new and surprising ways. This year’s tour bring Julius Caesar, to theatres across the region until 25th October. With a cast of five, this fast-moving production drives through the…

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It’s the economy – stupid!

A PHRASE from an American strategist that has become a truism of political campaigning, It’s the economy, stupid!, provides the title for a new play by Worklight Theatre, coming to Dorset on a short tour with Artsreach, on Friday 10th October at Buckland Newton village hall, Saturday 11th at Briantspuddle, both at 7.30pm, and Sunday…

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All our yesterdays … tomorrow and tomorrow

TIME travel and the Scottish play … you might not think a time-travelling romantic series of novels and television adaptations, one of Scotland’s best-known actors making his Royal Shakespeare Company debut and a comedy about three school-kids have much in common. But the clue is in the heading – the Scottish play, as you have…

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Blithe spirits causing havoc

THE early years of the Second World War may have seemed an inappropriate time to stage a comedy about the ghosts of people recently dead, but Noel Coward was a shrewd man. When he wrote his great farce, Blithe Spirit, he reasoned that the story would be thoroughly heartless – “You can’t sympathise with any…

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Fiennes and Annis in Bath world premiere

OSCAR-winning actor Ralph Fiennes completes his season of productions at the Theatre Royal Bath, starring in Small Hotel, by Rebecca Lenkiewicz and starring Ralph Fiennes, in its world premiere from Friday 3rd to Saturday 18th October. The cast also includes the acclaimed stage and screen actress Francesca Annis, Rosalind Eleazar and Rachel Tucker. Larry is…

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A high-spirited heroine

JANE Austen’s millions of fans tend to have their favourites among her heroines – for many it will be Elizabeth Bennett, for some it will be Anne Elliot, but for a lot of us it is the high-spirited but often wrong-headed Emma Woodhouse. Bath Theatre Royal celebrates the Jane Austen 250th anniversary with a new…

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