Tim Wright - Page 3

As the sole pantomime in Bristol, Aladdin (from pantomime giants Qdos Entertainment) has a lot resting on its shoulders for families this festive season. For some, Christmas at the theatre means panto and they're unlikely to feel short changed by this big budget offering.

Stepping into the Tobacco Factory Theatre this Christmas and you're immediately transported to an eerie forest in rural France for a re-telling of this classic French fairy tale.

My name is Matty Butler and I like foxes . We're told the reaction to foxes is often similar to people with Down's syndrome like Matty. Some people think they're cute, some think they shouldn't be there. After the success of previous production Up Down Boy, we're back with Matty and his family but this time Matty is not a boy, but a man. Matty may share many of the best child-like qualities but he's now 29 and wants a boyfriend.

Kneehigh's latest show The Tin Drum defies categorisation. Part love story, part political thriller. Part play, part musical. It is therefore like most Kneehigh work: anarchic. And I think director Mike Shepherd and writer Carl Grose would consider that a job well done. As Grose writes in one memorable song viva la complexity .

People in the grip of an addiction can be difficult to watch but hard to look away from, and so it proves in People Places & Things now on tour after a successful West End stint. Watching the self destructive Emma pull herself apart in order to put herself back together makes for compulsive viewing.

War Horse is nothing short of phenomenon. What started as an unlikely idea in the bowels of the National Theatre has become a worldwide hit. Last night, it celebrated its 10-year anniversary at the Bristol Hippodrome and on this evidence, is as fresh and vibrant as when it first galloped over the NT Olivier stage over a decade ago.

It's nearly that time of year (oh no it's not etc.) where we preview the Christmas theatre offerings across Bristol and Bath. We've got pantos, fairy tales and classic stories a plenty, so grab a mince pie while you ponder what to see this festive period.

There's always a place for upbeat escapism in musical theatre. When times are tough, a few numbers that wriggle their way into your consciousness is a welcome thing.

Myrtle Theatre Company is renowned for its ground-breaking work that is influenced and inspired by the voices in society that often go unheard. In recent times, the company has enjoyed a special relationship with Nathan Bessell- a performer with Down's syndrome who was the star and inspiration for Up Down Boy (which toured and had a stint at the National Theatre) and the upcoming revival of it's sequel Up Down Man.

It's 1982 and Soft Cell is on the radio. The synths play and 'Tainted Love' rings out on this Bradford council estate in Out of Joint's revival of Andrea Dunbar's uncompromising, semi-autobiographical, Rita, Sue and Bob Too.

It's hard to watch Legally Blonde The Musical without becoming at least a little infected with the fluffy American can-do-anything attitude that prevails throughout this fast, frivolous and fun show.

Helen Woolf has just been announced as Glinda in the upcoming UK & Ireland tour of Wicked. We spoke to her at the press launch in Bristol (see the full story here), where the tour kicks off in January.

Amy Ross has just been announced as Elphaba in the upcoming UK & Ireland tour of Wicked. We spoke to her at the press launch in Bristol, where the tour kicks off in January.

Crafting The Caretaker (or indeed any Pinter) off the page takes a great deal of nuance and skill. Thankfully, in this new co-production from the Bristol Old Vic and Royal & Derngate Northampton, Christopher Haydon directs with the right amount of faithfulness to the text alongside flexibility for his cast.

Mike Shepherd is an actor, director, teacher and the Artistic Director of Kneehigh. He started Kneehigh in 1980 and has worked almost exclusively for the company ever since. He is currently playing King Mark in their acclaimed production of Tristan & Yseult and is about to direct a new production of The Tin Drum. We met in the surrounds of the Bristol Old Vic Backstage Bar to talk.

We've all been members of 'The Club of the Unloved' where tales of unrequited love and broken hearts are the norm. In Kneehigh's world, this is a kind of back alley jazz club and the initial setting for the epic love story of Tristan & Yseult.

On the face of it, David Hare's state-of-the-nation play Racing Demon should be fruit ripe for the picking. However, in this latest production from Jonathan Church (in his first summer season as Artistic Director at Bath Theatre Royal) it struggles to feel as vibrant and relevant as it once might have.

So, the nail-biting morning for arts organisations up and down the country is over: now they all know whether they are part of the National Portfolio from 2018-22. There will be many individual stories of triumph and disappointment, but after interrogating the data, here's some headline news.

15-year-old Christopher Boone has an extraordinary mind. He can solve maths problems that would send most adults into a mild panic and he can remember levels of detail that confound those around him. He also, however, hates the colour yellow, can't use a toilet if a stranger has used it and has never left his street in Swindon on his own…until now. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time adapted by Simon Stephens from Mark Haddon's best selling novel is a joyous explosion of bravery, difference and humanity.

How much are you in control of the choices you make? This is the central question posed by 1927's Golem - a story inspired by the myth of the clay man Golem but given a distinctly modern edge over 90mins of exhilarating and ingenious theatre.