Writer and performer Sarah McDonald-Hughes talks to Frankly My Dear UK about the inspiration behind Monkeywood Theatre’s new play TRIAL

Next week, Bolton plays host to REVEAL, a two-week festival showcasing new and original work by local and emerging theatre-makers. Bringing together a diverse mix of artists and theatre companies, the festival sees performances, experiences and events performed outside of usual theatre spaces, including schools, council buildings and online.

One of the new wo...

Lia Williams as Elizabeth and Juliet Stevenson as Mary Stuart in MARY STUART. Photo by Manuel Harlan.

Robert Icke’s riveting adaption of MARY STUART is an absorbing and timely piece of women in power and the pressures of a flawed political system

On the service, Robert Icke’s decision to allocate the leads for MARY STUART at the start of each performance by the toss of a coin may sound like a theatrical gimmick but it soon becomes clear that it’s actually rather clever...

20TH CENTURY BOY returns to the stage for a new UK-wide tour

To mark the 40th anniversary of rock legend Marc Bolan’s untimely death, 20TH CENTURY BOY returns to the stage for a new UK-wide tour, stopping at Manchester’s Opera House for a week-long run.

20TH CENTURY BOY tells the life story of the legendary Bolan and his band T.Rex...

Richard Fleeshman as Gideon Fletcher in THE LAST SHIP. Photo: Pamela Raith

Richard Fleeshman talks to Frankly My Dear UK about taking on the lead role of Gideon Fletcher in Sting’s new musical THE LAST SHIP

It’s fair to say that Richard Fleeshman has acting in his blood. The son of former BROOKSIDE and CORONATION STREET actress Sue Jenkins and actor/director David Fleeshman has been acting since the age of 12 when he played the role of Craig Harris in CORONATION STREET for four years.

Since th...

Darragh Cowley & Full Company of SPRING AWAKENING. Photo: Scott Rylander

New SPRING AWAKENING trailer released today as the show enters its final three weeks

It’s fair to say that Hope Mill Theatre’s production of SPRING AWAKENING is a hit. With just three weeks left in its current run, the critically-acclaimed revival of the modern Broadway hit has been getting rave reviews from the critics, including a five-star review from us here at Frankly My Dear UK.

Set in late 19th century Germany,...

Marvin Ford, Michael Blair, Matt Corner, Joe Caffrey & Richard Fleeshman in THE LAST SHIP. © Pamela Raith

Poignant, powerful and empowering, THE LAST SHIP is a moving and heartfelt story of community, hope and collective defiance

In many ways, it was a brave decision by Sting to bring his musical THE LAST SHIP home to the UK. Despite being nominated for two Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations, the musical was forced to close after just three months on Broadway...

Richard Keightley and Matthew Wynn in OF MICE AND MEN. Photo: Scott Rylander

Frankly My Dear UK talks to Matthew Wynn and Richard Keightley about their lead roles as Lennie and George in OF MICE OF MEN

John Steinbeck’s OF MICE AND MEN may be over 80 years old but the American classic is still capable of capturing the hearts and minds of a modern audience as Selladoor Productions latest touring adaption demonstrates.

Set in the trying times of the Great Depression, OF MICE AND MEN follows the...

Kathrine Smith crafts a powerful, moving and tender story of forbidden love in ALL I SEE IS YOU

2018 marks Bolton’s Octagon Theatre’s 50th anniversary year. It also marks the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality. So when Kathrine Smith’s powerful drama about a gay couple in the 1960s crossed the desk of the Octagon National Prize judges, it’s easy to see why they picked it as a winner.

Inspired by real accounts of queer life from fifty years ago, ALL I SEE I...

Rachel Kavanaugh’s revival of Terrance Rattigan’s A WINSLOW BOY is a thrilling legal drama which explores the ages of time, the courts of justice and a close-knit family’s relationship

Written by Terrance Rattigan in 1946, THE WINSLOW BOY tells the story of a family’s fight for their son who has been accused of stealing and cashing a five-shilling (25p) postal order...

Richard Keightley as George and Matthew Wynn as Lennie in OF MICE AND MEN. Photo: Scott Rylander

Poignant and powerful, OF MICE AND MEN is a timeless story about friendship, loyalty, compassion and holding on to your dreams

It’s been a while since I’ve read John Steinbeck’s 1937 classic OF MICE AND MEN but it’s always been a favourite of mine...