Festival Theatre
Out of This World
★★★☆☆ Thrilling spectacle:
Visually stunning yet lacking in substance, Out of This World at the Festival Theatre is an exhilarating fusion of theatre and film that doesn’t quite deliver.
Jane Eyre
★★★★☆ Pure theatre:
Resolutely theatrical and visually arresting, the version of Jane Eyre at the Festival Theatre retains the flavour of that well-loved book while succeeding admirably on its own terms.
Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes
★★★★☆ Modern elegance:
Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, on national tour and at the Festival Theatre all week, is an exquisite celebration of classical ballet with Bourne’s typical modern twist.
Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes
★★★★☆Beautiful and dangerous:
Love, lust, obsession and despair are given colourful and vigorous life in Matthew Bourne’s adaptation of The Red Shoes, touring to the Festival Theatre this week.
The Addams Family
★★★★☆ Slick:
Hugely energetic, reliably tuneful and packed with more fun that could reasonably be expected, The Addams Family is always going to be a great success.
Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story
★★★☆☆ Celebratory:
Full of crowd-pleasing music, Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story – at the Festival Theatre until Saturday – continues to pack in crowds who can see past its flimsy storyline and lack of dimension, and concentrate instead on the rollicking rock’n’roll good time it provides.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
✭✭✭✭✩ Spectacular:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the UK National Theatre’s celebrated, award-winning adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel, is back at the Festival Theatre until Saturday, and remains a beautifully staged, complex piece.
RENT
★★★☆☆ Lacks dirt:
There is plenty of energy and spectacle in Bruce Guthrie’s 20th anniversary production of Rent, at the Festival theatre until Saturday, but it is too careful and just too clean to fully persuade.
Rambert: Ghost Dances
★★★★☆ Bitty:
Vicious, enthralling, politically charged and emotionally engaging, Rambert’s revival of Ghost Dances, is still powerful, 35 years after it was created.
Million Dollar Quartet
★★★★☆ Highly entertaining:
Pulsating and vibrant, Million Dollar Quartet provides a pleasing, high-tempo fictionalised account of one of the great jam sessions in the history of Rock’n’Roll.
