Theatre Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice @ Buxton Opera House

Theatre Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice @ Buxton Opera House

It is twelve months since Buxton Opera House first collaborated with Cahoots NI. That was for the much acclaimed The Vanishing Elephant which was a puppeteer’s dream. I am delighted to say that The Sorcerer’s Apprentice which is the latest co-production between the two companies is an even better family delight with its melange of music, magic and masterful puppeteering. Set in the deep and eerie forests somewhere in Scandinavia, the story tells the tale of a young girl Gunda […]

5 June 2026

Theatre Reviews

Theatre Review: Around The World In 80 Days @ The New Vic

Review by Dave Stringer from A View from the Wings Podcast Thirteen years after its first showing, a history that includes success on Broadway and seven years after being mothballed due to the pandemic, Around The World In 80 Days is back home. And how delighted we all are that such a splendid piece of enjoyment is back where it truly belongs. Wonderful theatrical experiences such as this deserve a special theatre to spread their wings. We in North Staffordshire […]

28 May 2026

Theatre Reviews

Theatre Review: Single White Female @ The Regent

Review by Dave Stringer The original Single White Female was a film from the 1990s that became a cult classic that has lived well beyond the sell-by date. Rebecca Reid has taken the concept of the original film and brought it right up to date. Now set in the Uk, it tackles the difficulties faced by a single mum in a world of sexting, social media influence and even Ozempic. Allie (Anna Ruben) is horrified to learn that her ex […]

28 May 2026

Theatre Reviews

Dave Stringer in Conversation with Richard Masters of Stoke Rep

Stoke Rep plays a vital role in the cultural scene across North Staffordshire and South Cheshire. It's over 100 years old, dating back to 1920 when a group of young people interested in amateur theatre came together to put on a play to raise money for charity. They hired The Empire Theatre in Longton and the production took place as a matinee performance in February 1921. By 1923 they had begun to call themselves The Stoke-on-Trent Repertory Players. Over the […]

5 May 2026

Theatre Reviews

Theatre Review: Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat @ Buxton Opera House

Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of those classic musicals from the pens of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber that has graced stages large and small around the world for more than fifty years. Chosen by Buxton Opera House as its community production of the year, the famous authors of this beautiful piece of musical theatre will have been proud of this particular production as the amateur cast rose to the challenges of appearing on a professional […]

1 May 2026

Theatre Reviews

Carol Lovat in Conversation with Jill Rezzano of the New Vic

New Vic Theatre Head of Education Jill Rezzano is the Artistic Director of Ages and Stages and is supported by the Ages and Stages Committee. Ages and Stages began life in 2009 as a three-year research project between the New Vic Theatre and Keele University in 2009, funded under the national New Dynamics of Ageing Research Programme. As part of this project, over 95 people were interviewed about their recollections of being involved with the New Vic Theatre as employees, […]

29 April 2026

Theatre Reviews

Theatre Review: Operation Mincemeat @ The Regent

Who would have thought that a true story about one of the strangest tales of World War II could be turned into a knockabout comedy musical? And who could believe that the same piece of theatre would progress from playing in front of an audience of less than a hundred to a West End Sell out and a hit on Broadway collecting a host of awards in less than seven years? Well, Operation Mincemeat has done just that. And how […]

28 April 2026

Theatre Reviews

Eric and Friends Return to NEW VIC with Two Brand New Shows This Autumn

David Graham Productions’ legendary character ‘Eric’ returns to the New Vic later this year with two brilliant new shows. Eric In Downtown Abbey and Spend, Spend, Spend Eric are filled with lots of laughter and sensational musical merriment and see the return of a much-loved character to the New Vic stage. Eric In Downtown Abbey opens at the theatre on Saturday 22 August until Saturday 5 September and transports audiences into the remote Staffordshire countryside where Eric and his loyal […]

15 April 2026

Theatre Reviews

Theatre Review: Good Golly Miss Molly @ The New Vic

The New Vic continues to celebrate its forty years in a new building by bringing back Good Golly Miss Molly. And Goodness Gracious it is still able to produce Great Balls of Fire as a piece of musical theatre even though it is around four decades since it was first shown to the public. Relevance to the 2020s remains as communities still have to fight for the preservation of their communities against developers and planning authorities. The play opens with […]

9 April 2026

The Moorlands Music Mix

Theatre Reviews