Chris Eldon Lee reviews ‘Mother Goose’, which is at Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn until Sun 6th January. What! No Wedding? Surely not! Mother Goose is certainly an unusual Christmas entertainment. In producer Brad Fitt’s hands, it is very much a Proper Panto…but memories of the ancient Greek morality tale lie very close to the surface – […]

Chris Eldon Lee reviews ‘Dick Whittington, the Puuurfact Rock ‘N’ Roll Panto, which is at Theatre Clwyd until Saturday 19th January. The annual shining light that Peter Rowe set ablaze at Theatre Clwyd all those years ago … is burning even more brightly this Christmas. Writer Christian Patterson, director Zoe Waterman, choreographer Will Tuckett  and […]

Chris Eldon Lee reviews ‘Wind In The Willows’, which is at The New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme until January 26th. It is the most charming of children’s tales in English literature and this is the most successful stage adaptation of ‘The Wind In The Willows’ I have seen since Alan Bennett’s iconic 1990 National Theatre […]

Chris Eldon Lee reviews ‘Hot Lane’, which is at the Spode Works at Stoke-on-Trent until Saturday 24th November.  It was called Hot Lane, I suppose, because of the kilns. But the heat is ‘on’ in Deborah McAndrew’s latest period drama because of the scandal. Why has a long-gone war widow suddenly returned and who is […]

Chris Eldon Lee reviews ‘Henry V’ which is at Theatre Severn until Saturday 10th November. This is an imposing, percussive, production, reminiscent of the kind of Shakespeare seen at the Old Vic in the 50s. Fine, upstanding actors – clearly spoken and colourfully costumed – performing in a bare, black-curtained box and letting the words […]

Chris Eldon Lee reviews Northern Broadside’s production of ‘They Don’t Pay, We Won’t Pay’, which at the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyne until Saturday 10th November and touring. This the most screamingly funny and savagely biting adaptation of a Dario Fo farce I have seen in a very long time. Deborah McAndrew pours salt into […]