Theatre Reviews North

The northern theatres are buzzing with activity, but not every performance can be a standout. Sadly, your wallet often decides what’s worth your time. Our goal is to help you spend wisely on theatre tickets and maybe even introduce you to productions you might not have considered, drawing on years of experience from reviewing countless shows. Yes, we've been in this industry for quite a while. But does that mean we lack insight in a world that values youth and innovation? Absolutely not! The essence of what makes theatre exceptional – be it powerful writing (both text and music), skilled directing, or outstanding performances – can be found in all kinds of shows. Whether you're watching a contemporary piece critiquing political issues or a classic like Julius Caesar, the core elements of great theatre remain the same (though let’s be honest, Shakespeare set a high bar).

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Articles

Not seeing the sunny side of a mental health crisis

3 days ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Alan Hulme

Four years in the making, Yorkshire-based dance-theatre company Northern Rascals combines theatre, contemporary dance and spoken word to explore the young modern male experience in Sunny Side. The show can be seen at Leeds Playhouse (June 12-13), and Dance City, Newcastle upon Tyne. on June 18. Touring in partnership with Andy’s Man Club - a men’s suicide-prevention charity - the show raises awareness of the mental health crisis affecting young people.
Cutting edge contemporary dance at Salford's Lowry

3 days ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Alan Hulme

Salford's Lowry has launched a new international contemporary season of theatre, dance, circus and more starting this autumn and featuring award-winning shows and new works including three Lowry co-commissions.
Honouring the legacy of Mike Bradwell

4 days ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Alan Hulme

Hull Truck Theatre has launched the Mike Bradwell New Work Fund to honour the theatre’s pioneering founder, who died in April. The fund will invest in the next generation of plays and writers, in particular local talent. Mike Bradwell founded Hull Truck Theatre in 1971, when he and a group of fellow actors toured out of the back of a truck, performing a form of theatre that put real stories centre-stage and staging “great plays with enough jokes”.
Solar step up for Storyhouse

6 days ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Alan Hulme

Chester Storyhouse arts centre's management has made a major step forward in the building's energy sustainability by installing an extensive rooftop solar panel array. The panels will expand the theatre’s solar energy capacity and offer significant cost savings.
Live action War Of The Worlds from imitating the dog

1 week ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Alan Hulme

Lancaster-based innovative theatre company imitating the dog will test their technological skills to the limit with their live action version of H G Wells' War Of The Worlds. War Of The Worlds will tour next year to Cast, Doncaster (February 5-7); The Dukes, Lancaster (February 18-21); the Lowry, Salford (February 25-28); Liverpool Playhouse (March 4-7); Theatr Clwyd, Mold (April 15-18) and Blackpool Grand (April 15-18), as well as a couple of dates in Switzerland.
More music under the Mersey Moon

1 week ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Paul Genty

New country musical Under the Mersey Moon is set to return to New Brighton's Floral Pavilion in 2026 with three special dates over the Valentine’s day weekend. The show was a huge success on its premiere at the waterfront Blue Lounge earlier this year, becoming the performance space’s best-selling new musical, with sold out performances and standing ovations.
Find Your Eyes

1 week ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Robert Beale

Benji ReidThe Production FamilyAviva Studios, Manchester25-30 May, 2025: 2 hours 40 minutesThey say one picture is worth a thousand words: with Benji Reid, self-avowed “choreo-photolist”, you get a lot of words as well as the pictures. Find Your Eyes was one of the hits of the Manchester International Festival of 2023 and has since been performed around the world. Now it’s back on home turf, and though I didn’t see it first time round, it seems it’s essentially the same show.
Cockroaches and a lesbian seagull from Thick & Tight

1 week ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Alan Hulme

Audiences can expect a line-up that includes two moths, some post-apocalyptic cockroaches, a blade of grass, the dust in Quentin Crisp’s room, a lamenting songbird, a human tyrant and a lesbian seagull when Lowry associate artists Thick & Tight return to the Salford venue (June 10-11) with their latest dance-theatre production, Natural Behaviour. Thick & Tight blends dance, satire, impersonation and poetry to create work intended to be outrageous, beautiful, hilarious and profound.
World premiere erotic epic from Marina Abramovic

1 week ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Alan Hulme

With a cast of 70-plus dancers, musicians and singers, the world premiere of Balkan Erotic Epic, from internationally renowned performance artist Marina Abramovic, is the latest blockbuster production for Manchester's vast Aviva Studios (October 9-19). Following the world premiere in Manchester, Factory International will tour Balkan Erotic Epic, starting in Barcelona in January.
Slaying dragons in the city

1 week ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Paul Genty

Manchester venue 53two and Take Back Theatre present the world premiere of a play by well-known writer Rebekah Harrison in June. What Does It Take To Slay a Dragon (52two, June 11-20), is an unflinching play about nationalism and identity. When delivery driver Billy is asked to remove an England flag from his van dashboard, what seems like a small request ignites a sequence of events that upend his life.