AMATEUR REVIEWS

A-Z Index of affiliate reviews

Reviews listed by affiliates 

Requiem for Ground Zero, Stage2, Crescent Theatre

Old King Cole, Hall Green Little Theatre

Touch and Go, Grange Players, Grange Playhouse, Walsall.

Lillies on the Land, Highbury Theatre Centre

Duet for One, Swan Theatre Amateur Company

Hello Dolly, Sutton Arts Theatre

Agatha Crusty and the Village Hall Murders, Hall Green Little Theatre

One Man, Two Guvnors, The Nonentities.

Ladies in Lavender,Hall Green Little Theatre

Heroes, Grange Players, The Grange Playhouse

The Cherry Orchard, The Talisman, Kenilworth

Bedroom Farce Dudley Little Theatre, Netherton Arts Centre

The Woman in White, The Nonentities, Rose Theatre, Kidderminster

Anyone for breakfast, Sutton Arts Theatre

Dangerous Corner, The Highbury Players, Highbury Theatre Centre,

Blue Remembered Hills, Swan Theatre Amateur Company

South Pacific, Manor Musical Theatre Company, Sutton Coldfield Town Hall

Teechers, Stage2, The Crescent Theatre

God of Carnage, The Nonentities, Rose Theatre, Kidderminster

Lady Windermere's Fan, Hall Green Little Theatre

Made in Dagenham, Sutton Coldfield Musical Theatre Company.

Ladies in Lavender, Grange Players, Grange Playhouse

A trick to catch the old one, Edward's Boys

Directory of leading amateur companies.

If you want details about becoming an affiliate contact Sue Clarke. sue.clarke@behindthearras.com

Other reviews

Jack and the Beanstalk, Aldridge Youth Theatre

The Addams Family, Brownhills Musical Theatre Company

Cats. WBOS Youtheatre

NEWS 

Sutton Arts are holding open auditions for Hello Dolly! which opens in June, 2017.

Moorpool Players bring the curtain down on 39 years of plays in Harborne

The girl who cain't say no says yes for real at Manor Musical Theatre Company.

ARCHIVE

Past reviews

The Late John Slim's

FINAL THOUGHTS

SMALL THOUGHTS 

THEATRE REVIEWS

Reviews by title

Reviews by theatre

(If a review is not found try Other reviews)

LATEST 

The Crucible, Malvern Theatres

Landscapes, Birmingham Hippodrome

Miss Saigon, Birmingham Hippodrome

The Dreaming, Lichfield Garrick

Titus Andronicus, RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon

Wolfie and the Showgirl, Crescent Theatre, Birmingham

Shirley Valentine, Malvern Theatres

Funny Girl, Wolverhampton Grand

Room On The Broom, Coventry Belgrade

The Scarecrow's Wedding, Malvern Theatres

The Red Shoes, Birmingham Hippodrome

The Play That Goes Wrong, Malvern Theatres

Twelfth Night, Wolverhampton Grand

Charley's Aunt, Worcester Rep, The Commandery, Worcester.

Our man in Havana, Malvern Theatres

Romeo and Juliet, Wolverhampton Grand

Summer Variations, Elmhurst Ballet School

BE Festival, Birmingham Rep

BE Festival, Birmingham Rep

The Mikado, Malvern Theatres

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Birmingham Hippodrome

Der Rosenkavalier, Birmingham Hippodrome

Emma, Malvern Theatres

Fanny - A New Musichall, Lichfield Garrick

Die Fledermaus, Welsh National Opera, Birmingham Hippodrome

La Cage Aux Folles, Wolverhampton Grand

Madam Butterfly, Welsh National Opera, Birmingham Hippodrome

Our Man In Havana, Lichfield Garrick

Romeo and Juliet, Coventry Belgrade

Jasper Carrott Stand Up and Rock, Malvern Theatres

All Or Nothing, Wolverhampton Grand

Three Short Ballets, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Birmingham Hippodrome

Strictly Murder, Malvern Theatres

The Play That Goes Wrong, Birmingham Rep

Salomé, RSC, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

ARCHIVE

Coming soon

Stage2 are reprising Steven Berkoff's Requiem for Ground Zero, which paid homage to the victims of 9/11 in 2001. It was planned a year ago but with recent attacks in Manchester and London, the performance is a homage to all victims. More

Performing arts

Sutton Park rang to the sound of choirs and classical music with a concert in the Park from the CBSO followed by a family fun day, all organised by the Royal Borough of Sutton Coldfield Town Council. More

Yeoman of the Guard, CBSO, Symphony HallPerforming Arts

Archive 1 2

NEWS

Hall Green Little Theatre stalwart Jean Wilde opens in The Testament of Mary at the Edinburgh Fringe this week More

FEATURES

Stage2's adaptations of Claire Dowie monologues into ensemble pieces has seen Bloomsbury publish four of the plays with the expanded scripts aimed at schools and youth theatres. More

Miss Saigon, Birmingham Hippodrome: Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil’s reworking of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly has rightly earned its place in the pantheon of musical theatre, one for any bucket list of shows to see before you die. Read on.

Funny Girl, Wolverhampton Grand: Natasha J Barnes. Make a note of the name. Musical theatre has a new star that lights up the stage like a beacon!  Read on.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Birmingham Hippodrome: There are rare productions that come along and challenge our perception of theatre; West Side Story, for example, changed the way we think of musicals, the National Theatre’s War Horse transported puppets from niche and children’ theatre to mainstream drama. Read on.

Madam Butterfly, WNO, Birmingham Hippodrome: This production might be 39 years old but it is still as fresh as the cherry blossom of Nagasaki in springtime which says much for the original staging by its celebrated director, the late Joachim Herz. Read on

Duet for One, Swan Theatre: Every so often along comes a production that reminds you why you spend so much of your time reviewing theatre – a production it is a privilege and a sheer joy to watch. Read on.

Hello Dolly, Sutton Arts Theatre: If ever you wanted a definition of madness then producing a big-cast, Broadway musical at Sutton Arts Theatre is a good start.  Read on.

The Addams Family, Birmingham Hippodrome: As dysfunctional, fictional families go, the Addams clan must be one of THE most famous, especially to inhabitants of the underworld! Read on.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Wolverhampton Grand: Northern Ballet, under artistic director David Nixon, must be one of the most inventive and certainly bravest ballet companies around. Read on.

La Cage Aux Folles, Birmingham Hippodrome: John Partridge is going to have to go some in the rest of his career to top his performance as Albin. He is simply magnificent. Read on.

The Hypocrite, RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon: This is a corker of a show from the RSC. Three laughs a minute. The audience was in paroxysms of laughter. I giggled till my sides split. Read on.

Antony & Cleopatra, RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon: From the eye-catching oriental dance at the outset, one could sense that director Iqbal Khan’s new Antony and Cleopatra for the RSC – part of their Roman Season (Julius Caesar, Antony, Titus Andronicus) was going to be something special. Read on.