Episodes
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Hadestown's original Orpheus and Eurydice now on film
The production of Hadestown the Musical, written by Anaïs Mitchell, currently running on the West End and Broadway premièred at the National Theatre in 2018 before transferring to New York, where it won 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Score. The production returned to London in…
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McMillan and Crick relocate Mozart's Figaro to '70s Yorkshire
Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro meets 1970s Britain, Yorkshire poetry and Indian classical music in a new production for Bradford Opera Festival with a rewritten libretto by Yorkshire poet Ian McMillan and a score reworked by composer Ben Crick. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Ian and Ben...
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Kneehigh's Tristan & Yseult revived by Emma Rice Company
Tristan & Yseult, said to be Cornwall's oldest love story, has had numerous retellings, including the opera Tristan and Isolde by Wagner and Kneehigh Theatre Company's 2003 production directed by Emma Rice with a script by Carl Grose and Anna Maria Murphy. The Kneehigh production is being revived...
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Clive Rowe sings From The Heart with words by Don Black
The work of multi-award-winning lyricist Don Black spanning more than five decades is to be celebrated in From The Heart, which had a short, sold-out run last year and returns to London's Garrick Theatre this October. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Clive Rowe, who stars in the production...
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Cal McCrystal brings 39 Steps to Derby and Hull
"Alfred Hitchcock meets Monty Python in a fast-paced comedy spy thriller packed with theatrical magic". That's how Derby Theatre and Hull Truck are describing their co-production of The 39 Steps which is inspired by John Buchan's classic novel and Alfred Hitchcock's film. BTG Midlands Editor…
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Anthony Almeida's '80s Othello is not about Jealousy
Anthony Almeida, the only person to have received both the Royal Theatrical Support Trust Sir Peter Hall Director Award and the European Opera Director Prize, is directing his first Shakespeare play, Othello, for a co-production between Northern Stage in Newcastle, HOME Manchester and Citizens...
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Edinburgh 2026: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui brings Ihsane to EIF
Ihsane from Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève and Eastman by double Olivier Award-winning Belgian choreographer and dancer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, drawing on his Moroccan heritage, will be performed as part of the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Sidi…
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Edinburgh's Kings Theatre reopens
The King's Theatre in Edinburgh, originally built in 1906, closed after the 2022 Edinburgh festivals for a major refurbishment project, and is to reopen in time for the 2026 festival season. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Fiona Gibson, CEO of Capital Theatres, the company that owns the…
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Something Rotten at Manchester's Opera House
Tim Jackson is a British director, choreographer, musical director, music arranger and performer who recently received his first Tony nomination for directing the musical Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York). Tim has directed and choreographed a revival of the musical Something Rotten…
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Pitlochry's 75th anniversary season is Alan Cumming's first
Pitlochry Festival Theatre in Scotland, is about to open its 75th anniversary season, its first since star of stage and screen Alan Cumming took over as Artistic Director. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Sam Hardie, Associate Director at the theatre, who is directing a revival of Iain…
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Unity celebrates a century of radical theatre in Liverpool
Liverpool's Unity Theatre is the last surviving member of the Unity Theatre movement formed from left-wing workers' drama groups in the 1930s. The theatre is to present a series of events under the name A Radical Reimagining to celebrate a century of radical theatre in Liverpool, a project...
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Birmingham Rep returns to Shakespeare with Dream
Birmingham Rep is to present its first Shakespeare play for ten years. Joe Murphy who became artistic director 12 months ago is directing A Midsummer Night's Dream along with deputy artistic director Madeleine Kludje. BTG Midlands editor Steve Orme spoke to Joe and Madeleine about their take on…
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Bryony Kimmings on Bog Witch and autobiographical theatre
Bryony Kimmings has been creating and performing shows based closely on events in her own life since her award-winning Sex Idiot in 2010. Her latest solo show, Bog Witch, about her difficult move from the city to the countryside and growing awareness of environmental issues, is currently on a…
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Little Shop of Horrors in Derby and Newcastle
Northern Stage and Derby Theatre are joining forces to present the musical Little Shop of Horrors. Kristian Cunningham will play Seymour while Amena El-Kindy will take the role of Audrey. BTG Midlands editor Steve Orme spoke to director Sarah Brigham about her take on the play before chatting to...
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Henry Goodman in Arthur Miller's The Price
London's Marylebone Theatre is soon to present a revival of Arthur Miller's 1968 play The Price, directed by Jonathan Munby and starring Henry Goodman in the role of 89-year-old Gregory Solomon. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Henry about the role and the play and its current relevance as…
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Taking Loach's I, Daniel Blake from screen to stage
The 2016 Palme d'Or and BAFTA-winning film I, Daniel Blake, directed by Ken Loach, written by Paul Laverty and featuring comedian and actor Dave Johns in the title role, was adapted by Johns for a stage production in 2023 directed by Mark Calvert. The production is to be revived for a short tour…
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English Touring Opera's first Sheffield tour opening
English Touring Opera has been taking live opera productions and educational and community projects around the UK since 1979. The company has been based in London up to last year, when it began a move to Sheffield, and its spring 2026 season will be its first to open in the South Yorkshire city....
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Ockham's Razor directors return with aerial two-hander
Ockham's Razor was founded in 2004 by its current Artistic Directors, Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney, who have directed and toured many large-scale circus-based productions over the last two decades. Their latest show, Collaborator, is an intimate two-hander that sees the company founders back…
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Allan Stewart: fifty years in pantomime
BTG's Panto Editor Simon Sladen spoke to Allan Stewart, who marks an extraordinary milestone of 50 years in pantomime. Allan reflected on his early start as a teenage club performer, his unexpected first role as Buttons without ever having seen a panto and the lessons learned from mentors such as...
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Big Tiny pantos across the North West
The Big Tiny Productions Ltd, founded in 2019 by Will Cousins and Ben Richards, is producing four shows in the North West for Christmas 2025, three of which are pantos written by Ben and designed by Will. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to them both, with a few contributions from their dog…
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Study into effects of COVID on British theatre
The British Theatre Consortium, headed by playwrights Dan Rebellato and David Edgar, has followed up its reports on the state of the British theatre repertoire in 2013 and 2014 with a study into how things have changed in the industry between 2019, the year before the COVID lockdowns began, and...
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Playwright David Ireland: from 'The Troubles' to romantic comedy
David Ireland is an Irish playwright with a reputation for writing hard-hitting drama such as The Fifth Step, Ulster American and Cypress Avenue, but director Max Elton is reviving a very different play by him, Most Favoured, which can be seen at Soho Theatre in London over the Christmas period....
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Inaugural production of new company honouring Buzz Goodbody
Buzz Goodbody was the first female director at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford where she was instrumental in setting up the venue The Other Place. She died just 50 years ago at the age of 28, and her nephew, Adam Goodbody, has created a new theatre company, Buzz Studios, in her honour....
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Watford gets giant Stephen Fry in panto
Steve Marmion is currently in his second season as Chief Executive and Director of Programming for Watford Palace Theatre, but he also ran Soho Theatre in London for eight years and founded PantoCo Ltd. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Steve about the upcoming panto production of Jack and the...
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Rebecca and Louise present Evita... the sequel?
Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole, as Sh!t Theatre, have been making theatre together for fifteen years. They will be spending the 2025 Christmas season at London's Southbank Centre with their new show Evita Too, set in the presidency of Argentina, like the other Evita, but they are looking…
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30 years of Border Crossings—and Bruford online BA
Border Crossings, a UK-based theatre company that collaborates with artists from around the world, is celebrating its 30th anniversary, formed in 1995 by Artistic Director Michael Walling. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Michael about the history, methodology and extensive catalogue of work…
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Flat earthers look for the edge of the world in Antarctica
Jessica Norman is a playwright and screenwriter whose play This Little Earth, which was long-listed for the Women's Prize for Playwriting, will debut at London's Arcola Theatre this autumn. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Jessica a couple of days before the production opened about the play…
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Night Waking on Mull
Rebecca Atkinson-Lord was Director of Theatre at London's Ovalhouse (now Brixton House) until 2016, but has since moved to the island of Mull in the Scottish Hebrides as Chief Executive and Artistic Director of An Tobar and Mull Theatre. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Rebecca while she was…
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Martin Sherman, from the Boardwalk to Bent
Playwright Martin Sherman was born in Philadelphia and raised in New Jersey but has lived in London for more than forty years. His memoir On the Boardwalk is about to be released, covering the first part of his life up to his first major success as a writer with the play Bent at the Royal Court...
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Marks and Gran ask if Freud could have saved the world from Hitler
Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran's most famous works are TV sitcoms such as Shine On Harvey Moon, Birds of a Feather, Goodnight Sweetheart and The New Statesman. They have also written for radio and for stage musicals such as Dreamboats and Petticoats, but their latest piece, currently running at...
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Edinburgh 2025: Emily Woof looks back to '60s feminism and John Lennon
Actor and author Emily Woof is best known for her film and TV work such as Mandy in The Full Monty, Shannon in Velvet Goldmine and Nancy in Oliver Twist, but she has also written novels and devised her own theatre pieces. At this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, she is performing her own solo...
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The Wedding Present musical to open in the band's Leeds birthplace
Indie rock band The Wedding Present was formed in Leeds in 1985, achieving a huge critical success with its debut album, George Best. 40 years and 300 songs later, the band is still going, and Artistic Director of Engine House Theatre and Wedding Present fan Matt Aston has written and is…
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Edinburgh 2025: The 100-year-old clown and The Chase's Vixen on whether ABBA existed
This episode features two very different solo shows, which can both be seen at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Thom Tuck is playing the titular 100-year-old clown, whose life story takes audiences though some of the major events of the 20th century, in Justin Butcher's Scaramouche Jones…
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Classic Thrillers return to Nottingham for 2025
For almost 40 years, the Classic Thriller Season has been held during the summer at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. It's one of the few rep seasons left in the country. In 2025, the season has been reduced to three weeks instead of four and will feature plays by Peter Gordon, Ira Levin and Richard...
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Scotland's The List celebrates 40 years in print
While the various Edinburgh festivals are running, one of the many publications providing extensive coverage of them is The List magazine, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary. The List publishes year-round free print publications and online content on arts and entertainment in…
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Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting winners 2025
The winners of the biennial Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary, were announced at a ceremony at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre on Monday 21 July 2025. Immediately after the awards were presented, BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to four of the...
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New Mosse family novel—from theatre writing specialist Greg
Greg Mosse was the founder of the Criterion New Writing programme based at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End in 2015 and has written and produced 25 plays and musicals at venues including Chichester Festival Theatre, Portsmouth Guildhall and Worthing Theatre. Since lockdown, he has…
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New play features Jason Isaacs as the head of William Burroughs
Lorenzo Allchurch and Alex Helfrecht, the writer and director of new play Lost Watches, which is to première at Park Theatre in London this summer, met when Alex directed Lorenzo as a child actor ten years ago in the film The White King. For his debut full-length play as a writer, Lorenzo will…
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Deafinitely's Vagina Monologues on short UK tour
Paula Garfield MBE, Artistic Director and co-founder of Deafinitely Theatre, is taking her adaptation of The Vagina Monologues by V (formerly Eve Ensler) on a short tour. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Paula a couple of weeks before the performances about her adaptation for both deaf and...
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Gatsby in Pitlochry and Derby
Elizabeth Newman, Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, has adapted F Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, which is now 100 years old, for the stage for the theatre she recently left, Pitlochry Festival Theatre. It will be co-produced by Derby Theatre, where it will also open that…
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Brits Off Broadway takes UK theatre to New York
59E59 Theatres in New York City has presented a regular Brits Off Broadway season of British theatre productions since 2004. This year, the season runs from 22 April to 29 June and features eight productions that were recently performed in the UK. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Val Day,...
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Hayman tours as Miller's Willy Loman
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is regarded as one of the greatest plays of the 20th century. A new production is touring the UK. BTG Midlands editor Steve Orme spoke to David Hayman, who plays Willy Loman, and director Andy Arnold about the previous production they worked on as well as their...
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Emma Rice brings Hitchcock thriller to the stage
The next production from Wise Children theatre company will be a new stage adaptation of the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock Cold War thriller North by Northwest, adapted and directed by Emma Rice. The roles of Roger Thornhill and Eve Kendall, played in the film by Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, will be...
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Manchester International Festival programme launch 2025
The programme for the tenth biennial Manchester International Festival for 2025 was announced on 11 March at Aviva Studios. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to John McGrath, Factory International's Chief Executive and Artistic Director, and Creative Director Low Kee Hong, as well as Jonathan...
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New Perspectives on Jane Upton's (the) Woman
Playwright Jane Upton has taken her experiences of motherhood and included them in a new play, (the) Woman. Nottinghamshire company New Perspectives is touring the play which will also have a five-week run in London. Midlands editor Steve Orme spoke to Jane Upton and New Perspectives artistic...
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Pilot brings Mary Wollstonecraft back to East Yorkshire
Mary Wollstonecraft, famous for her work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, was born in London in 1759 but spent some of her early life in Beverley near Hull in Yorkshire. Playwright Maureen Lennon and actor Laura Elsworthy will together bring her back to the region in Maureen's play Mary and...
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Mama G takes the panto dame from stage to picture book
Mama G is an award-winning year-round storyteller whose work is driven by the magic of pantomime. She has appeared in professional pantomimes across the UK for almost twenty years and this year stars in Aladdin at the Beck Theatre, Hayes. She has also written, directed and produced pantomimes for...
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20 years of Evolution pantos
Leading pantomime company Evolution Productions will this year celebrate its 20th anniversary with ten productions at theatres right across England. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to the conpany's founders, Paul Hendy and Emily Wood, about their upcoming panto season and about what goes into...
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Fierce Festival Birmingham 2024
Fierce Festival is a "youthful and joy-filled festival of international theatre, performance and experiences" which takes place in and around Birmingham every two years. Midlands editor Steve Orme spoke to Fierce's artistic director Clayton Lee and Adam Kinner whose one-to-one show Manual will be...
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JB Shorts celebrates 15 years and 25 selections of new plays in Manchester
In 2009, TV writers Trevor Suthers and John Chambers put together a night of short, brand new plays written by established TV writers which took its name from its original venue, the Joshua Brooks pub on Princess Street in Manchester. Fifteen years on, and now at fringe venue 53two, JB Shorts is…
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