Brighton Fringe ends, Buxton soon to begin; Shakespeare North sells naming rights; UK theatre is a success story but underfunded; a BTG reviewer makes puppets; Michael Sheen's children's book
News, reviews, features and podcast on theatre across the UK
The British Theatre Guide Newsletter
No 1214: 1 June 2025
Editorial
Today is the last day of the Brighton Fringe, at which Sandra Giorgetti reviewed some shows for us, and the programmes for the Edinburgh festivals will soon be released for those lucky enough to be able to find and afford accommodation there this August.
But before that in July, Derbyshire will play host to the Buxton International and Fringe Festivals. We have the first news articles for it from Midlands Editor Steve Orme, with more to come.
A little further north on Merseyside, Shakespeare North Playhouse is selling naming rights to a venue that has been open for three years, hoping to raise at least £300,000 a year from a company that wants to see its name become part of the theatre’s moniker.
You may remember that another North West venue changed its name just before it opened to raise the money it needed to complete the building—in that case in excess of £35 million to change a name we had been told was particularly significant to Manchester culture, Factory, to that of the London-based insurance company Aviva, who stumped up the cash.
Shakespeare North has not only followed Aviva/Factory’s lead, but has even employed the consultancy firm that negotiated that deal, Cultural Capital Partners. But while to some it may seem incongruous to name a replica 17th-century theatre after a modern company, in a way it is historically accurate, as theatre companies at that time were generally named after their main sponsor. Shakespeare’s own company was known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, until King James ascended the throne in 1603 and took over as its patron, when it became the King’s Men.
Philip Fisher mentions funding again in his feature, which looks at some good news, showing just how much of a success UK theatre is as an industry. As always, this falls on deaf ears when presented to politicians to point out how important it is to the UK workforce and economy—the West End alone brings in £1 billion; the industry has a skilled workforce of more than a quarter of a million people; every £1 spent on a theatre ticket generates on average an additional £1.40 for the economy local to that theatre—and how desperately it needs support in order to survive.
The biennial Manchester International Festival, run by Aviva Studios’ host company Factory International, will run in July, and, as always, there are opportunities for local people to take part in various ways. As he has done a few times before, BTG reviewer David Cunningham has volunteered, but this time as a puppet maker rather than a performer, and, as before, he has produced an entertaining account of his experience.
Finally, while children’s authors and illustrators may roll their eyes at another celebrity muscling in on their territory, actor Michael Sheen—who certainly puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to supporting theatre, especially in his native Wales—has produced a children’s picture book in collaboration with author Jess Webb and illustrator Sarah Massini, A Home for Spark the Dragon, released on 5 June.
£1 of every book sold goes to the charity Shelter, but if you buy a copy through the link here or on our web site to Bookshop.org, you will also be supporting independent bookshops rather than international corporations and you will also be supporting British Theatre Guide as we will get a small fee at no extra cost to you. On top of that you can get 10% off during June, including for pre-orders, with the code SPARK.
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
The Merseyside-based theatre expects to raise more than £300,000 per year for what it claims is the first deal of its kind for an established regional UK theatre.
Headache Creative Productions' Buxton Fringe debut, LIV: Sapphic Shakespeare, is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in which Olivia and Viola fall in love with each other.
North by Northwest Wise Children, York Theatre Royal, HOME Manchester and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse at Theatre Royal Bath
Three Hens in a Boat Reading Rep and Watermill Theatre at Watermill Theatre Newbury
The Frogs Samsational Entertainment, The Grey Area, Benson Drive Productions, Melissa & Bradford Coolidge, Thomas Hopkins Productions, Nelson & Tao and Folk Productions at Southwark Playhouse Borough
The Croft Original Theatre Company at Festival Theatre, Malvern
The Koala Who Could (Nicoll Entertainment present a Rose Theatre, Lowry, Northern Stage, Unicorn Theatre and MAST Mayflower Studios production) - The Core at Corby Cube, Corby, –
Hamlet Hail To The Thief (Factory International, the Royal Shakespeare Company and ATC Experience, Nate Koch and Vivek J.Tiwary for TEG+) - Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, –
