Right Before I Go at Pleasance Dome is a powerful verbatim play using real suicide notes to challenge stigma with compassion, honesty and hope.

Dogberry and Verges Are Scared is a hilarious Shakespeare spin-off at C ARTS C Aurora, blending slapstick, heart and literary wit into Fringe gold.

The Past at Underbelly Bristo Square is a brilliantly inventive sketch comedy packed with history, audience interaction and relentless laughs. ★★★★★

Shamilton! at Assembly George Square Studios is a breathtaking improvised hip-hop musical that brilliantly parodies Hamilton while creating something entirely its own. ★★★★★

Waiting for Wonka at Gilded Balloon Patter House is a hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt parody sequel that gives Roald Dahl's characters the ending they deserve. ★★★★★

Sean Morley's Backchannel at Monkey Barrel Comedy is a fearless, hilarious deconstruction of audience interaction and modern stand-up. ★★★★★

Chris Forbes: Father Christmas review from Monkey Barrel Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe. A heartfelt, funny stand-up show full of festive nostalgia and brilliant storytelling.

Operation Mincemeat review from Nottingham Royal Concert Hall. A witty, heartfelt UK tour with unforgettable performances and theatrical ingenuity.

William Ivory's ★★★★★ The Market Deeping Model Railway Club at Nottingham Playhouse is a funny, heartfelt new play packed with unforgettable characters and warmth.

Something Rotten! at Manchester Opera House is a riotously funny UK premiere packed with brilliant performances, dazzling spectacle and razor-sharp comedy.

Review: Legally Blonde at Nottingham Theatre Royal is a dazzling, hilarious five-star revival led by a sensational Amber Davies.

Flyology at the Union Theatre is a bold, funny feminist musical with a thrilling score and standout performances. Read our 5-star review.

Kiss of the Spider Woman at Curve delivers a gripping, five-star revival with phenomenal performances and haunting storytelling.

★★★★★ Inter Alia review at Wyndham’s Theatre. Rosamund Pike delivers a powerhouse performance in this urgent, provocative new play.

★★★★★ Inside American Pie at The Curve, Leicester is a thrilling docu-concert exploring Don McLean’s iconic song through story and rock classics. Five stars.

Road review at the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester — a bold, immersive revival of Jim Cartwright’s modern British classic. ★★★★★

★★★★★ The Glad Game is not simply a programming choice; it is an act of remembrance. Written and originally performed by Nottingham-born actor Phoebe Frances Brown, the piece chronicles her life following a diagnosis of an incurable brain tumour.

★★★★★ The Beekeeper of Aleppo, at Nottingham Playhouse, tackles one of the most urgent humanitarian issues of our time through intimate, character-driven storytelling. With striking performances and thoughtful staging, this production explores trauma, resilience, and hope. But with such a vital message at its core, does the production succeed as powerful and engaging theatre, or does the gravity of its subject turn it into a message-heavy TED talk with fabulous lighting?

★★★★★ There are some productions that remind you why theatre exists at all, not simply as entertainment, but as a deeply human act of shared storytelling. Lace Market Theatre’s production of Things I Know To Be True is exactly that kind of experience.

★★★★★ Just when you think Mischief Theatre have scraped every last inch of material from the amateur dramatics barrel, they come bounding back with another festive offering in their ever-expanding Goes Wrong universe.