There’s never a dull month when it comes to theatre in the Midlands. Check out our selection of shows coming to venues across the region during the next few weeks...

MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL

Based on the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge! The Musical tells the love story of dancer Satine and writer Christian, set against the heady parties of Paris’ most famous nightclub.
“There are over 75 pop songs in the show, from Offenbach to Lady Gaga,” says actor Kurt Kansley, who plays the part of the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. “There’s so much music that pulls at the heartstrings of any demographic of person who might have a memory of a particular song. There’s a lot to be said for a jukebox musical, and what I like about Moulin Rouge! is that it doesn’t apologise for being one. Instead, it celebrates it.”Best brace yourself for an evening of eye-popping excess! 

Birmingham Hippodrome, until Saturday 15 November

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CYRANO DE BERGERAC

Edmond Rostand’s famous 1897 play tells the tale of the French poet and soldier of the title, Cyrano de Bergerac, who is desperate to win the love of the beautiful Lady Roxane.

His efforts to do so, however, are somewhat complicated by the fact that he’s got a proboscis that’s almost as big as the Eiffel Tower (that’s an exaggeration for effect, obviously, but you get the idea). 
Making the situation even trickier for the big-hootered Cyrano is the fact that Roxane has fallen for the ever-so-handsome Christian. 

But wait... the course of true love never runs smooth, and Christian has a major problem of his own. He gets tongue-tied, and knows he needs to woo Roxane with poetic words. 

Enter, the magnificently verbose Cyrano, with a clever plan to save the young man’s bacon... Birmingham-born actor Adrian Lester takes top billing in the title role.

Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until Sunday 15 November

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 MOHIT MATHUR: DIAL 1 FOR UK

YouTube influencer and New Delhi call-centre worker Uday Kumar loves the United Kingdom - so much so, in fact, that he dreams of leaving India and chiselling out a life for himself in Britain. But having arrived in his ‘promised land’, he finds that his experience as an immigrant is very different from how he’d imagined it would be... 
Written and performed by West End actor Mohit Mathur, Dial 1 For UK visits the region having garnered plenty of praise on its travels.   

Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham, Thursday 13 November; Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton, Friday 14 November

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ELF THE MUSICAL

A flying sleigh, an interactive snowball fight with the audience, and a giant candy cane journey from the North Pole, all set against video-film backdrops on a massive LED screen. There’s little wonder Elf The Musical’s star, Jordan Conway, describes the production as “a really exciting show”... 
“It has a lot of the traditional values of pantomime,” says Jordan, “but with circus-style acrobatics and lots of immersive action for the audience to get involved in.”
For those not already in the know, the show’s story follows the adventures of Buddy, an orphan boy who grows up in the North Pole with Santa and his elves. Buddy thinks he’s an elf too, but his enormous size and inability to make toys tells an altogether different story...

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, until Sunday 16 November  

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SLAVA'S SNOWSHOW

First staged in 1993, now an international phenomenon, and blending slapstick comedy, heart-wrenching tenderness, dramatic spectacle and moments of wonder, Slava’s Snowshow focuses on the adventures and interactions of a group of yellow clowns and green clowns. The production has been seen by audiences in more than 60 countries, along the way receiving multiple awards, including an Olivier for Best Entertainment.
“There are a lot of layers,” explains Slava Polunin in talking about his show. “There are mundane, everyday things, right through to very cosmic, eternal things. I try to make it so that every person in the audience will find their own interest in the Snowshow. Growing up, people lose the idea of wanting to achieve their dreams. I remind them about it, and they return to what were the most important things in their lives; what they have lost as they grew up.”

The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Wednesday 12 - Saturday 15 November

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THE ANCIENT OAK OF BALDOR

“We create theatre you can touch, theatre you can smell, theatre that happens during intimate one-to-one interactions, theatre that is collective.”
So state highly rated creatives Frozen Light, in explaining the kind of shows they produce and tour. This latest offering is a multi-sensory stagework developed specifically for audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities. The production sees the ensemble welcoming their audience into a fantasy realm for a folk tale about ‘love, loss, and the interconnectedness of all things’...  

Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham, Thursday 13 & Friday 14 November

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Of all Charles Dickens’ festive stories, A Christmas Carol reigns supreme. The covetous sinning of the miserly Scrooge, the eternal hope offered by Tiny Tim, the eerie visions of redemption - visiting Ebenezer in the shape of his long-deceased partner Jacob Marley and three seasonal ghosts - all combine to give the tale a real olde worlde charm. 
The critically acclaimed Dickens Theatre Company here makes a welcome return with a somewhat unusual take on the Carol... 
With the rest of the acting cast stuck on a train, Dickens himself, and his faithful tour manager, George Dolby, embrace the daunting challenge of performing a two-man theatrical adaptation of the story...

Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Thursday 13 & Friday 14 November

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SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Think Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber and three musicals come to mind: Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita.  
Now, a new show has been added to the list of productions on which the legendary pair have collaborated: Sherlock Holmes And The Twelve Days Of Christmas. 
A Birmingham Rep production created in association with Rice’s company, Heartaches Ltd, the brand-new comedy whodunnit - penned by and starring The Penny Dreadfuls’ Humphrey Ker and David Reed - finds Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson investigating a series of murders most foul in Victorian London’s theatreland... 
And what’s more, each of the grisly crimes comes complete with an intriguing link to The Twelve Days Of Christmas... 
The game, as Sherlock is famous for saying, is most definitely afoot... 

The Rep, Birmingham, Friday 14 November - Sunday 18 January 

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MISS SAIGON

The musical partnership of Alan Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg has produced some impressive results down the years, most memorably the smash-hit musical Les Miserables.
Another of their shows, less lauded than Les Mis but still widely admired, is this epic tale, which premiered in the West End some 36 years ago... Set against the backdrop of the American evacuation of Saigon in 1975, the show tells the story of an American GI and his love for a young Vietnamese woman. 
Best-known numbers include The Heat Is On In Saigon, The Movie In My Mind, Last Night Of The World and The American Dream.   

The Alexandra, Birmingham, Tuesday 18 - Saturday 29 November

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THE DINOSAUR THAT POOPED: A ROCK SHOW

Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter are promising their brand-new production will come complete with new songs, a lot of laughs and (not surprisingly given the show’s title) a whole load of poo! 

Based on Tom and Dougie’s bestselling children’s books, The Dinosaur That Pooped follows Danny and Dino as they try to get hold of the last two tickets to their favourite rock band’s last-ever concert. But with a villainous band manager lurking, nothing goes to plan... Will the band perform? Will Danny rock out? Or will Dino’s rumbling tummy save the day?...

Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunday 23 November; Palace Theatre, Redditch, Thursday 19 February; Brierley Hill Civic, Sunday 24 May; Swan Theatre, Worcester, Saturday 6 June

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KINKY BOOTS

The newly appointed manager of his late father’s shoe factory, Charlie Price has got some tough decisions to make as he attempts to save the struggling business. 
After a chance meeting with drag queen Lola, Charlie identifies a potentially lucrative niche market - creating footwear to cater for men who dress as women... 
A topical story about diversity and acceptance, Kinky Boots is based on the 2005 film of the same name and features music & lyrics by 80s pop star Cyndi Lauper. 
Expect a feelgood evening of catchy tunes, fierce anthems and warm-hearted humour. 

Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Wednesday 26 - Sunday 30 November

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THE FORSYTE SAGA

An epic family drama, written by Nobel Prize winner John Galsworthy and here adapted for the stage by Lin Coghlan and Shaun McKenna, The Forsyte Saga arrives in Stratford-upon-Avon this month having received rave reviews during its sell-out run at London’s Park Theatre last year. 
Presented in two parts and telling a story of love, ownership, and the end of Empire, the production is set across a time period of more than 40 years, from 1886 to 1927.  

Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, Friday 28 November - Saturday 10 January

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THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA

Everybody’s favourite tea-guzzling tiger is back in town, dropping in on Sophie and her mum just as they’re settling down for an afternoon cuppa... Adapted by David Wood from Judith Kerr’s 1968 book of the same name, this 55-minute show features singalong songs and plenty of magic - not to mention a big, stripy tiger, of course!  

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Saturday 29 November - Sunday 28 December

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​BLOOD BROTHERS

Although it’s effectively a class-driven ‘scouse melodrama’, to describe Blood Brothers as such is to greatly underestimate the emotional response it produces within its audience. 

The show features adult actors playing children, a narrator who wanders through the scenes with warnings of impending doom, a good helping of sharp social awareness to counteract the sticky sentimentality, and a raft of much-loved musical numbers, including Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe, and the emotionally charged Tell Me It’s Not True. 

Musical theatre veteran Vivienne Carlyle stars as Mrs Johnstone.

Crewe Lyceum Theatre, Tuesday 20 - Saturday 24 January; Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Tuesday 27 - Saturday 31 January

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THE WOMAN IN BLACK

Adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from the same-named Susan Hill novel, The Woman In Black is a classic ghost story first performed in 1989. It has since become one of the West End’s most successful plays, and was memorably made into a film starring Daniel Radcliffe in 2012. 

Solicitor Arthur Kipp believes that his family have somehow been cursed by a mysterious woman in black. In an attempt to tell his story, and to exorcise the evil curse which he’s convinced hangs over him, he hires a young actor to assist him in recounting his experiences... 

The Alexandra, Birmingham, Tuesday 27 - Saturday 31 January; Malvern Theatres, Tuesday 31 March - Saturday 4 April 

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MURDER SHE DIDN'T WRITE

Improvised shows are seemingly all the rage nowadays - and this one has certainly got plenty to recommend it... 

First and foremost, it was a multiple-sell-out hit at the Edinburgh Fringe... 
Secondly, it’s presented by a critically acclaimed company - Degrees Of Error - who are past masters of the improv genre...

Thirdly, the show is a real hoot. An Agatha Christie-inspired whodunnit, it features a classic murder-mystery which is created ‘on the spot’. Audience members are then encouraged to don their deerstalkers (if they’ve brought them along), grab a magnifying glass and make sure their ‘finger of suspicion’ is ‘at the ready’... The show runs for two hours, including an interval.

Lichfield Garrick, Tuesday 3 February; The Swan Theatre, Worcester, Tuesday 24 February 

 

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THE GRUFFALO'S CHILD

With millions of copies having been sold in double-quick time after it was published in 1999, it’s fair to say that Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler’s picture book The Gruffalo captured the hearts and minds of children everywhere. So it was no surprise when the dynamic duo then produced this sequel story five years later... 
Despite her dad’s warning to stay away from the deep, dark wood, the Gruffalo’s child decides it’s time to go and explore, caring not a jot about the legend of the Big Bad Mouse...
Award-winning theatre company Tall Stories, who certainly know a thing or two about adapting Donaldson/Scheffler books for the stage, here present a production that brings together ‘songs, laughs and scary fun for everyone aged three to 103’. 

The Rep, Birmingham, Friday 20 - Sunday 22 February; Lichfield Garrick, Monday 9 & Tuesday 10 March

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BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY

Seen by tens of millions of people across the globe, Buddy is an enormously enduring and touchingly affectionate portrayal of one of rock & roll’s earliest and brightest stars. Charting the singer’s meteoric rise to fame and fortune, and following his career through to his very last performance, the show features timeless Buddy classics such as That’ll Be The Day, Peggy Sue, Oh Boy, Rave On and Everyday...  

Lichfield Garrick, Monday 2 - Saturday 7 March; Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Monday 23 - Tuesday 24 March

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THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

Hook up your fishnets, tighten your corsets and prepare to ‘do The Time Warp again’ - The Rocky Horror Show is returning to the Midlands! Richard O Brien’s cult production tells the tale of the straight-laced Brad and the deliciously corruptible Janet, who arrive at the castle of the alien transvestite Frank N Furter and witness the birth of the monster, Rocky. Along the way, they take the audience through a selection of love-’em-or-loathe-’em musical numbers, including Damn It Janet, Sweet Transvestite, and The Time Warp. Great fun’s a guarantee - particularly if you get into the spirit of things and attend the show dressed in your very best stockings & suspenders (as many patrons do)! 

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Monday 13 - Saturday 18 April; The Alexandra, Birmingham, Monday 6 - Saturday 11 July

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2:22 A GHOST STORY

Husband & wife Jenny and Sam are divided. Jenny believes their new home is haunted; Sam isn’t having any of it. But something certainly feels strange and frightening. Determined to find out the truth once and for all, they decide to stay up until 2:22 - at which time, all will be revealed. Or not... 

2.22 A Ghost Story premiered in the West End back in 2021, not only becoming a major hit but also providing both Lily Allen and Cheryl with an opportunity to tread the boards. This latest touring version of the show stars real-life couple Kevin Clifton and Stacey Dooley alongside Grant Kilburn and Shvorne Marks, pictured.

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Tuesday 18 - Saturday 23 May