A Small Mind At The Theatre

Independent theatre company Nerve Theatre was founded in January 2025, when its first original production, Broken Party , took to the stage at Benn Hall in Rugby. That was followed the same year by a modern retelling of Frankenstein . Now, for 2026, Nerve Theatre founder Mia Ballard has written and directed The House She Built , staged for three nights at The Black Diamond, Northampton. The House She Built , set in 1950s Hollywood, is a dark thriller influenced by the lives of Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn and their treatment as women within the cogs of Hollywood. Our leading lady here is Nancy Carlton, who returns to Mellor Brothers Productions to make one final film. But something awaits her, and the scene is set for a period thriller that explores the grimy world behind Hollywood's apparently glamorous days. Michaela Clement-Hayes leads the cast as Nancy Carlton, the star troubled by her past, but returning to her old studio for that final mov...

The low-budget film Paranormal Activity , first released in 2007, has since become the starting point of one of the most prolific horror series ever, with seven films now released in the franchise and another due next year. Its unique down-to-earth style of storytelling, inhabiting what is many people’s real life, with dangers within the house, has contributed greatly to its success. So, from one successful medium franchise, it is no surprise the series was developed for theatre in 2024, with a new story by Levi Holloway (though it borrows heavily from the original film). First performed at Leeds Playhouse before heading to both the West End and Broadway, and now, for 2026, a UK and Ireland tour, which this week arrives at Milton Keynes Theatre. So the question is: has the medium successfully crossed to the other side? Newly married couple, James and Lou, move from Chicago to London in an attempt to escape both of their past lives. However, as events begin to repeat themselves, they re...

Barnum , with a book by Mark Bramble, lyrics by Michael Stewart, and music by Cy Coleman, premiered on Broadway in 1980 and followed in the West End just a year later. At the helm for these two productions were two huge names in the entertainment business: Jim Dale on Broadway and Michael Crawford in the West End. It needed, of course, big names to fill the shoes of the legendary P. T. Barnum, whose tale is told in this now-fondly remembered musical. Filling these boots in this new production, now pitched at Milton Keynes Theatre, is Matt Rawle, a prolific theatre performer himself, but can he, and this production, live up to the iconic greatest showman? “Step right up and enter the dazzling world of P.T. Barnum, where imagination and ambition know no bounds”, the publicity for the show announces, and this new production of the now-classic Barnum - The Circus Musical mostly ticks these boxes. Rawle is a captivating and strong presence as the lead, bringing an infectious charm to the p...