News, reviews, features and podcast on theatre across the UK
The British Theatre Guide Newsletter
No 1217: 22 June 2025
Editorial
Back in the days when I used to visit London regularly, there were some shows I didn’t see because I thought they’d be around for a long time while there were others I wanted to make sure I saw before they disappeared.
I passed the Criterion on Piccadilly Circus many times thinking I must get to see The 39 Steps sometime, but I never did, even though it ran there for nine years (I subsequently saw it on tour, and have seen later productions of it since it was released for other theatres to perform).
Another play falling into that category was Art, which ran at Wyndham’s Theatre for five years before moving to the Whitehall Theatre. I’ve still not seen it, although I did listen to the radio adaptation some years ago.
That production had a couple of interesting selling points. Capitalising on the short running time, they started introducing performances in the time-slot we would call teatime here up north, but which I believe southerners call dinnertime (dinner is a completely different meal up here). This meant that you could see Art, grab something to eat then see another show in the same evening.
Another feature of this show right from its West End opening in 1996 was the calibre of stars it attracted to the three roles, starting with Albert Finney, Tom Courteney and Ken Stott and ending, in 2003, with Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Mark Gatiss of The League of Gentlemen. The Broadway transfer in 1998 opened with Alan Alda, Victor Garber and Alfred Molina.
Well, it’s back on Broadway later this year, carrying on the latter tradition with a cast of Bobby Cannavale, Neil Patrick Harris and James Corden. Philip has had a look at how much it would cost to see them at current Broadway ticket prices, but there will be enough people to pay it just to see people off the telly to justify charging these rates.
At the other end of the charging scale, if you want see new theatre at prices that make it worth taking a risk, there are fringe festivals around the country at the moment. Edinburgh’s Fringe is the largest and the most famous but not cheap either for tickets or to stay in the city, but I’m seeing a lot of press releases for Camden Fringe and the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival at the moment, and there are others worth looking out for. For the cost of a West End or touring musical, you could see several shows in one of these festivals which could be terrible or could feature stars of tomorrow.
One announcement I am very much in two minds about is the stage adaptation of The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. This is, to me, a work of genius from the late Douglas Adams that I have loved for several decades; I have the five books in the trilogy (sic) plus the radio scripts, the radio series on CD and the TV series on DVD, but I couldn’t even bring myself to watch the terrible film, produced after Douglas’s death, a second time, let alone own it. So when I read in the press release for the new show, “based on the treasured novels and the film by Touchstone Pictures”—well, perhaps you can understand my dilemma.
Finally, you have just a few hours left of Indie Bookshop Week at Bookshop.org which offers free delivery this weekend. You will be supporting Independent bookshops if you buy from them, plus you will be supporting BTG if you visit their web site via the links in this paragraph or on our web site as we will get a small cut of any sales.
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
A company of ten performers will take to the stage in the musical Be More Chill, the largest cast ever assembled at Birmingham’s Old Joint Stock Theatre.
A company of ten performers will take to the stage in the musical Be More Chill, the largest cast ever assembled at Birmingham’s Old Joint Stock Theatre.
Dad's Army Radio Show (Jack Lane and Something For The Weekend) - Brewery Arts, Kendal,
Noises Off (Theatre by the Lake, New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich, Queens Theatre Hornchurch and Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg) - Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, –
Calamity Jane (Jamie Wilson Productions / The Watermill Theatre) - Opera House, Blackpool, –
Macbeth (HER Productions, Girl Gang Manchester and Unseemly Women) - Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester, –
Pride & Prejudice (Octagon Theatre Bolton, Theatre By The Lake And Stephen Joseph Theatre) - Octagon Theatre, Bolton, –
Marie and Rosetta (Rose Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre and ETT) - Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester, –
Only Human (Vaudeville Productions, Michael Vine, Andrew O’Connor, Paul Sandler and Derren Brown for Only Human Productions Ltd) - Norwich Theatre Royal, Norwich, –
The Croft (Original Theatre in Association with Wiltshire Creative) - Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, –
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Elliott & Harper Productions and Catherine Schreiber, based on the original Leeds Playhouse production) - Eden Court, Inverness, –
