Brassed Off review – miners’ music brings film to life on stage
The Penrith town band bring warmth and plangency to an adaptation of the post-Thatcher movie, alive with movement and community spirit
December 2023
Beauty and the Beast review – energetic cast make five a festive stageful
From exhilarating Oliver! to a mardy Beast in the east – three of the best Christmas family shows
November 2023
Letter: Peter Wilson obituary
Harland Walshaw writes: Peter Wilson took The Woman in Black from the cafe of the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, to the West End, where it ran for more than 30 years
September 2023
Constant Companions review – Ayckbourn’s sex robots show our need for messy humanity
Ayckbourn has fun imagining the hazards of malfunctioning android lovers and misbehaving auto-maids – but there’s a deeper message too about human desire
August 2023
Brief letters
Stephen Wood’s Lonely Arts Club Lunch
Brief letters: Stephen Joseph theatre | Taxing clues in Nutmeg’s family | Sportswashing Saudis | A pallid pronouncement
July 2023
Other lives
Stephen Wood obituary
Other lives: Head of the press office at the National Theatre and executive director at the Stephen Joseph theatre in Scarborough
March 2023
The Comedy of Errors (more or less) review – funny, frenetic reimagining
Prescot is pitted against Scarborough – and women get their fair share of the limelight – in this engaging rewrite of Shakespeare’s comedy
November 2022
The best theatre to stream this month
The best theatre to stream this month: The Book of Dust, Four Quartets and the start of panto season
Our roundup of drama to watch at home includes Alan Ayckbourn’s 87th play, live performance from Ukraine and a concert of lost showtunes
September 2022
Family Album review – Alan Ayckbourn’s funny, moving new play about the lives of women
Family Album review – Alan Ayckbourn’s playful snapshot of social flux
April 2022
I Am No Bird review – stripping back the Brontës’ chocolate-box history
Jane Eyre review – who is the true ‘mad woman in the attic’?
January 2022
Play time
Jack and the Beanstalk review – panto season’s not yet behind you!
Stephen Joseph theatre’s filmed seasonal offering is a proper winter warmer with some off-the-wall touches
November 2021
No turkeys allowed! 25 of the best shows to book for Christmas 2021
Looking for a jolly good trip to the theatre this winter? Here’s our pick’n’mix selection of musicals, pantos and festive spectaculars, featuring circus tricks, high kicks and puppet rodents
October 2021
The Offing review – soft-pedalled adaptation of Benjamin Myers novel
Janice Okoh’s version of the 2019 novel waters down the culture clash at its heart and suffers for the lack of the author’s rich prose
July 2021
Home, I’m Darling review – a retro rebrand reveals ruffles not frills
In Laura Wade’s clever play, her heroine becomes a 50s housewife but 21st-century gender politics lurk under the Formica surface
June 2021
Lack of support for theatre is to discourage dissent, says top playwright
The Girl Next Door review – Ayckbourn casts history’s lens on lockdown Britain
May 2021
The Greatest Play in the History of the World review – a face-to-face delight
Julie Hesmondhalgh recounts a tale of rediscovery and romance in a solo show perfect for live theatre’s return
