A Small Mind At The Theatre

John Steinbeck’s classic novella Of Mice and Men has been a staple of many young people's education, and it is relatively common in curricula; as such, it is a popular choice for theatre groups, both professional and amateur, to bring to the stage. Therefore, this week, The Playhouse Theatre Northampton has brought its own version to the stage at Christ Church Hall as its latest offering. So, after close to ninety years since the first publication, is this still worth a trip to the theatre? For those unfamiliar with the story, published in 1937, Steinbeck’s tale, here adapted for the stage by the author, chronicles a moment in the lives of George Milton and Lennie Small, an unlikely pair of migrant workers, as they move from ranch to ranch. Constantly moving due to the mentally unstable Lennies' constant leaning towards doing something bad, they find themselves at a new farm where they hope to make the coin to pursue the dream of their own piece of land. However, as always for...

Music artist Tina Turner was a staple of the music network for a remarkable time, active as an artist for eight decades; her work is, or at the very least should be, familiar to every generation. Therefore, it was little surprise that in 2018, a stage musical of her work and life arrived upon the stage. You could say that for such an artist, it actually took longer than it should have to appear. Now, as part of its first UK & Ireland tour, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical , it arrives at Milton Keynes Theatre for a two-week run. So, the question is, is it worthy of the legendary artist? For those unfamiliar with any part of Tina Turner's life, the content of this stage musical telling her life story might be a surprise to an audience that grew up just listening to her music. It is an early commendation of the show that the show does not shy away from the themes of domestic abuse, racism and parental abandonment that Turner suffered through her life. With all that rich and startlin...

James Graham’s award-winning play Dear England has been around a while now, and indeed, when it was first staged in 2023, some events depicted here hadn’t even happened. Therefore, the pen, likely keyboard, of Graham has been busy adding what amounts to a further epilogue, and it now amounts to the complete package of Gareth Southgate’s tenure as the poisoned chalice that is England football manager. For those who may have missed it, Dear England tells the story of Southgate’s journey from his inception into the manager role in 2016 to his eventual departure and knighthood in the New Year’s Honours of 2025. However, this play, while centred on the beautiful game, is more than about kicking a ball and managing and coaching it. Writer Graham mines from the source material a piece that very much explores what it is to be English and, with Southgate’s approach to coaching, what makes the brain tick. To that effect, enter psychologist Pippa Grange, and the journey for Southgate to become ...

The One Where 2026 starts in a world of confusion. And so, 2026 is upon us and for my first trip to the theatre this year, one of my most significant reviewing challenges was to occur. Touring to Milton Keynes Theatre is Friends - The Musical Parody , based, unsurprisingly, on that little American show that ran to a few audience members for ten years. However, I confess that I was not, and have never been in that audience, never having seen a single episode of the show. However, always up for a review challenge and doing my due diligence by having a Friends superfan as my plus one, I headed to Milton Keynes with anticipation. For those unfamiliar with the show, I could say I can’t help; however, a quick review of some of the information you might need (thanks, Google and my plus one). Running for ten years between 1994 and 2004 with 236 episodes (quiz question, you are welcome), the main characters consisted of Phoebe (ditzy, writer of sad songs), Monica (in possession of an unfeasibly...