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A DIFFERENT KIND OF FIRST Blue Orange Theatre, Birmingham, Sunday 26th July 2026 Written and directed by Guy Devine and Elouise McMullan, this play starts off as a sex comedy, where young football player Alex (Danny Weston) agrees to lose his virginity to content creator Dani (Kiya Haines) at her hotel room.  First, Alex has to get past security guard, Keith (James Commander) who acts as Dani’s…

BOUNDLESS Blue Orange Theatre, Birmingham, Sunday 26th July 2026 This piece, devised by the company (Embedded Theatre), is set in a dystopian future—as opposed to the dystopia in which we are all currently embroiled.  A small community is struggling to live off the land while over the river, the city looms, a place of danger from which they have all fled. The group is sort of led by mother…

TERMINAL 2 Blue Orange Theatre, Birmingham, Friday 24th July 2026 This new play from Payne’s Players puts us firmly in John Godber territory: an older couple are travelling somewhere—or rather, trying to.  A lengthy delay at the airport puts a spanner in their plans.  Like most Brits, George and Linda find humour in inconvenience.  George is a fidget, prone to complaining.  Linda is more…

WENDY AND PETER PAN The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, Wednesday 22nd July 2026 This version was first produced by the RSC—at least, this evening’s cast are closer to the characters’ ages!  Stage 2 is a large youth theatre group, and Ella Hickson’s script allows for plenty of parts for everyone.  You can’t have too many pirates or lost boys or shadows… Director Mark Shaun Walsh and his…

THE GREAT GATSBY Blue Orange Theatre, Birmingham, Sunday 19th July 2026 “Fitzgerald’s classic as you’ve never seen it before,” boasts the publicity material for this production by Forefront Theatre Company, an offshoot of Wolverhampton’s Central Youth Theatre.  A bold claim, which gets off to a good start, as physical theatre, stylised movements, and choral speaking are used to get the party…

IN THE AIR Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, Saturday 18th July 2026 Showing in the Crescent’s intimate Underground space as part of this year’s Birmingham Festival, this two-hander by Ashley Amodeo tells of Chloe, who has returned to her late mother’s apartment to sort out her things, chiefly some old photographs from Mom’s pre-Chloe life.  That’s the set-up, but things are not as straightforward…

SWEENEY TODD The Rep, Birmingham, Tuesday 14th July 2026 The story of the ‘demon barber of Fleet Street’ and his partner-in-crime with a pie shop has entered the popular consciousness.  This version of the tale is the masterpiece of musical theatre deity, Stephen Sondheim.  From the opening notes, an unsettling feeling arises.  It’s his richest score, full of dissonance, but also some of his…

JUMPERS FOR GOALPOSTS The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, Sunday 12th July 2026 With Pride month just over and the World Cup in full swing, this timely production of Tom Wells’s 2013 play, combines  both worlds.  The action takes place during the Redditch Gay & Lesbian Five-a-Side football league—the original play is set in Hull, but director Rod Natkiel wisely transplants the story to the…

SLIM FOR LIFE The Old Joint Stock, Birmingham, Thursday 9th July 2026 Prior to a run in Edinburgh next month, this new comedy written and directed by Oliver Gallagher, gets its opening night on home turf.  It’s the story of Lily, played by Charlotte Thompson, fresh from a break-up and seeking to reinvent herself, signing up to a slimming club.  Except it’s not really a slimming club, as we…

SHAKERS: Under New Management The Attic Theatre, Stratford upon Avon, Sunday 5th July 2026 John Godber and Jane Thornton rewrote and updated their play from 1984 just after lockdown.  This new version, with the cast of four whittled down to three (‘Carol’ has called in sick, apparently, so she still gets a mention) is fresh and absolutely relevant. Set in ‘Shakers’ a bar that serves food and…

THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Tuesday 30th June 2026 This early John Le Carré novel is brought to the stage in this stylish adaptation by David Eldridge.  On a sparsely furnished stage, which is decorated with a map of Europe during the Cold War (the concentric circles of the map’s grid give it the appearance of a spider’s web, because this is all about…

RICHARD III Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford, Saturday 27th June 2026 Shakespeare didn’t invent the idea of Richard III being a baddie, but it is his version of the king that holds the most sway.  Recent archaeological discoveries both uphold and disprove aspects of Shakespeare’s portrayal  – the curved spine, for example.  The point is not to regard the play as a history lesson but as a masterclass…

Mrs Fremin could remember the long, hot summer of 1976.  Life had been different back then.  She’d been in her twenties and pregnant with Janey.  Just to add to the discomfort!  And, for an additional pang, where was Janey now, fifty years on?  Probably baking in the heat of a city somewhere.  1976 had been a fluke, a one-off, but now its temperatures were being matched and exceeded on a…

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, Tuesday 23rdJune 2026 First produced in 1773, Oliver Goldsmith’s comedy has become a classic, a staple of British theatre.  This year’s summer touring production by the Crescent is a sterling attempt to bring the show to accessible life. Director Michael Barry strips the scenery to a minimum, as befits a production touring a range of outdoor…

PLANET OMAR – Accidental Trouble Magnet The Rep, Birmingham, Thursday 18th June 2026 Adapted from the first novel in Zanid Mian’s series of children’s books by playwright Asif Khan, this vibrant and colourful production introduces us to Omar, our narrator.  We learn right away he is an imaginative boy.  About to move to a new school, he is plagued by nightmares: an octopus-tentacled teacher…

JERUSALEM Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, Sunday 14th June 2026 Jez Butterworth’s modern classic is brought to the Crescent’s Ron Barber Studio in this vibrant production, directed by Mark Payne.  It’s St George’s Day in Wiltshire and the annual country fair is taking place – These festivities, like Abigail’s Party, happen off stage.   At his caravan in the woods, local ne’er-do-well Johnny…

THE LADY IN THE VAN Bear Pit Theatre, Stratford upon Avon, Friday 5th June 2026 For a period of fifteen years, Alan Bennett (yes, that Alan Bennett) had a homeless woman and her van parked on his property.  This was not overtly a charitable act; Bennett claims to have just been ‘lazy’ when it came to sending her packing. Years later, he wrote about his experience and relationship with the…