Festival Theatre
Cinderella
★★★★☆ Sparkling:
Scottish Ballet’s Cinderella, back at the Festival Theatre this Christmas, is still a festive treat with huge reserves of charm and elegance.
Nativity! The Musical
★★★★☆ Unstoppable:
Nativity! The Musical, at the Festival Theatre until Sunday, is an unashamedly cheesy romp that bears little serious examination, but whose energy and sugary optimism will brook no argument.
Rambert: Life is a Dream
★★★☆☆ Woozy poetry:
Rambert’s Life is a Dream, at the Festival Theatre to Saturday, is a peculiar, poetic piece that suffers from pulling in too many directions at once.
Macbeth
★★★☆☆ Fractured:
There is a peculiar absence of majesty at the heart of the UK National Theatre’s touring production of Macbeth, at the Festival Theatre until Saturday.
Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake
★★★★★ Magnificent:
It’s 23 years since Mathew Bourne changed the gender of the swans in Swan Lake for his choreography of the ballet, which is at the Festival Theatre all week to Saturday.
Calendar Girls – The Musical
★★★★★ Heartfelt:
Big, powerful emotions are harnessed to most glorious effect by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth in this musical version of the Calendar Girls story, which is touring to the Festival Theatre for a fortnight.
Kiss Me, Kate
★★★★☆ Sparkling:
Visually and musically, Opera North’s Kiss Me, Kate is something of a feast at the Festival Theatre until Saturday.
The Last Ship
★★★☆☆ Heartfelt:
There are plenty of memorable tunes to match the high production values of Northern Stage’s The Last Ship, at the Festival Theatre until Saturday then touring to Glasgow.
Thriller LIVE
★★★★☆ Dangerously thrilling:
The undeniable talent of the controversial Michael Jackson is fully on display in Thriller Live, an energetic and thoroughly exciting showcase of his greatest hits.
War Horse
★★★★★ Magnificent:
The National Theatre’s touring production of War Horse at the Festival Theatre is involving, emotional, visually spectacular and every bit as good as you have probably heard.
