The classic novel reimagined as a sort of police procedural becomes a storm of ideas struggling to find definition
October 2022
Scene Unseen review – cabaret song cycle seems both too short and too long
WriterJessica Walker sings strongly in this intimate cabaret from Royal & Derngate and English Touring Opera but the show lacks focus
September 2022
Playtime review – quirky gags and mimed mayhem as Tati comedy takes the stage
This adaptation of the classic 1967 film is packed with fun despite losing its way in the second half
June 2022
Mog the Forgetful Cat review – a miaow-vellous musical treat
Judith Kerr’s warm-hearted children’s book is faithfully realised with a vivid and gently ingenious portrait of family life
March 2022
The Wellspring review – a father and son’s musical ode to memory
David Owen Norris and his son Barney reflect on the slipperiness of history in a show that elegantly defies categorisation
September 2021
Russell Brand review – piety, politics and parenting
The spiritual comedian’s lofty aspirations make way for funny riffs on fatherhood and lockdown in a self-ridiculing set
July 2021
Gin Craze! review – a bawdy feminist history lesson with anarchic spirit
This rousing Gin Lane musical by April De Angelis and Lucy Rivers has working-class women at its heart
March 2021
Ralph Fiennes to direct and star in TS Eliot's Four Quartets
A solo theatre adaptation, co-produced by Theatre Royal Bath and the Royal & Derngate, will tour the UK this summer
February 2021
Lockdown culture
David Cameron, you won't enjoy this: inside the Windrush scandal musical
On Hostile Ground features a singing former PM – and plenty of savagely witty numbers about wrongful detention and deportation. As it prepares to launch, we go behind the scenes
June 2020
Culture in peril
The government’s plan for UK theatre is vague and demoralising – here’s what we need
James Dacre
If ministers truly believe in the value of the arts, they must urgently replace words with action, says Royal & Derngate’s artistic director
December 2019
The Michael Billington archive: highlights from five decades of reviews
Pippi Longstocking review – Lindgren's rule-breaker is a delight
November 2019
The Season review – musical romcom hits a feelgood festive note
Electrifying performances light up a glittering New York Christmas story in this warm-hearted, tuneful two-hander
September 2019
'This tape rewrites everything we knew about the Beatles'
Mark Lewisohn knows the Fab Four better than they knew themselves. The expert’s tapes of their tense final meetings shed new light on Abbey Road – and inspired a new stage show
Two Trains Running review – a menacing tale of black oppression
This fine revival of August Wilson’s 1992 play finds seven people in 60s Pittsburgh struggling with a turbulent world
Two Trains Running review – August Wilson's study of a crisis-ridden city
The richness of Wilson’s characters make them a joy to watch and a great cast lifts this tale set in Pittsburgh in 1969
June 2019
Westeros to West End: Game of Thrones stars on stage – in pictures
The Pope review – Anton Lesser and Nicholas Woodeson's papal powerplay
About 59 results for Royal and Derngate, Northampton
