Coliseum will not reopen for panto season; circus theatre; Santa Express in Yorkshire and London; scheme to encourage people to work in performing arts; new podcast episode: Gatsby at Pitlochry & Derby
News, reviews, features and podcast on theatre across the UK
The British Theatre Guide Newsletter
No 1215: 8 June 2025
Editorial
We have plenty of new stuff on the site this week for you to look at or listen to.
In the news, Oldham Coliseum has announced that it won’t be open for this year’s panto season after all—and the quote from actor and Coliseum campaigner Julie Hesmondhalgh implies that they are relieved to have the pressure of so soon an opening removed and are pleased that the council followed the advice of building specialists on this—plus there are more stories about productions coming to Buxton Fringe and a cross-border five-year celebration of playwright Brian Friel in Ireland, ending on his centenary in 2029.
North of the border, the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland are currently being announced at the Traverse in Edinburgh—the results will appear in a news story on our site later this evening.
Amongst our reviews, there are two productions that use circus skills to tell a story and both apparently successfully: my review of Tess from Ockham’s Razor in Manchester and Keith Dorwick’s review of Duel Reality at Seattle Rep in the US.
We also have two new features. Steve Orme has spoken to Leicestershire-based Wise Owl about its immersive production Santa Express, which will take place on a steam train on North Yorkshire Moors Railway and London Victoria Station.
It doesn’t seem long since the last government caused a scandal by putting out adverts suggesting that ballet dancers should retrain to work “in cyber”—in other words to abandon years of specialist training to sit in front of a keyboard—but now, as Philip Fisher reports, there is to be an expansion of a scheme funded by the government to encourage more people to work in the performing arts industry, whose workforce has struggled to recover after the pandemic.
In a new episode of our podcast, I spoke to two people who have featured on it several times before, and whose careers over the last decade or so have been documented on our news pages, although this was the first time I had spoken to one of them.
I’ve known Elizabeth Newman since she was at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton, becoming its Artistic Director before moving to Pitlochry Festival Theatre in Scotland and then, six months ago, to Sheffield Theatres, just in time for the Snooker World Championships (yes, I did ask her about this in the interview). Sarah Brigham became Derby Theatre’s first Artistic Director in 2013 and is still there as the theatre, still known as ‘The Playhouse’ by locals, celebrates its 50th anniversary.
The anniversary season at Derby will commence with an adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby later this year, adapted by Elizabeth and directed by Sarah, but the production can be seen first as part of the summer rep season at Pitlochry. We spoke about their approach to adapting and staging this famous story, which has been adapted many times for stage and screen since its publication just a hundred years ago.
Elizabeth said this was her 37th adaptation, and there have been productions of her scripts around the world, but she still doesn’t see herself as a writer. What do you think?
Gatsby in Pitlochry and Derby Elizabeth Newman on adapting and Sarah Brigham on directing The Great Gatsby at Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Derby Theatre
Hayman tours as Miller's Willy Loman Actor David Hayman and director Andy Arnold on the current touring production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
Dublin’s Gate Theatre and the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry are to stage the world première of Poor, adapted by Sonya Kelly from Katriona O’Sullivan’s memoir.
Dublin’s Gate Theatre and the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry are to stage the world première of Poor, adapted by Sonya Kelly from Katriona O’Sullivan’s memoir.
A Special Relationship Twilight Theatre Company in association with Take Note Theatre & Smokescreen Productions at 59e59 Theatres, Brits OffBroadway, New York
Letters From Max Hampstead Downstairs / Celia Atkin at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs
North by Northwest Wise Children, York Theatre Royal, HOME Manchester and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse at Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Permission Tara Theatre, London at Tara Theatre, London
The Rocky Horror Show Howard Panter for Trafalgar Theatre Productions, Mallory Factor for Hill Street Productions and Rupert Gavin at Leeds Grand Theatre
Pride and Prejudice Guildford Shakespeare Company at 59e59 Theatres, Brits OffBroadway, New York
Steel (Theatre by the Lake) - Park Theatre, London, –
Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest (Wise Children, York Theatre Royal, HOME Manchester and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse) - Alexandra Palace, London, –
Romeo and Juliet (Flabbergast Theatre) - Wilton’s Music Hall, London, –
Calamity Jane - The Crucible / Lyceum Theatre / Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, Sheffield, –
Little Women (Lee Dean and Daniel Schumann, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, The Belgrave Coventry and Blackpool Grand Theatre) - Leeds Grand Theatre, Leeds, –
Coraline – A Musical (Leeds Playhouse, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, HOME Manchester and Birmingham Rep) - Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham, –
Boys From The Blackstuff (Liverpool’s Royal Court & Stockroom Productions) - Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, –
Pig Heart Boy (Unicorn Theatre, Sheffield Theatres and Children’s Theatre Partnership) - Curve, Leicester, –
Hamlet: The Rest is Silence (Nottingham Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall’s Shakespeare Nation company) - Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, –
The Croft (Original Theatre in Association with Wiltshire Creative) - Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham, –
The Koala Who Could (Nicoll Entertainment present a Rose Theatre, Lowry, Northern Stage, Unicorn Theatre and MAST Mayflower Studios production) - Theatre Royal Winchester, Winchester, –
Keli (National Theatre of Scotland and Lepus Productions) - Tramway, Glasgow, –
Picture You Dead (Josh Andrews Productions and Peter James) - Theatre Royal Glasgow, Glasgow, –
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Elliott & Harper Productions and Catherine Schreiber, based on the original Leeds Playhouse production) - King's Theatre, Glasgow, –
