Adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan and the film by Alfred Hitchcock Derby Theatre 29 September–17 October 2026 Cal McCrystal is regarded as one of Britain’s most celebrated comedy directors, so it was a no-brainer that Derby Theatre and Hull Truck would turn to the Belfast-born award-winner to take charge of The 39 Steps. The laughter specialist ...

By William Shakespeare New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme 17 September–10 October 2026 Who would have thought that Russell Kane, the hilarious comedian who has more than half a million followers on some of his social media channels, was fascinated by Shakespeare? It’s been his ambition for a long time to perform the Bard’s works. His only previous theatrical experience was touring ...

By Beth Steel Nottingham Playhouse 5–26 September 2026 Beth Steel’s Till the Stars Come Down has had an unusual first couple of years: it started life at the National Theatre where Steel was writer in residence before transferring to Theatre Royal Haymarket in the West End. There have been 20 international productions since then but audiences outside London have been ...

The third crime novel in the Detective Inspector Miles Davies series, Storm Ransom, has been published. This will be Davies’ most difficult case yet: when two professional footballers are kidnapped, their clubs face an impossible demand: pay a huge ransom or risk never seeing their star players again. DI Davies is called in to bring the footballers home alive. But Miles ...

Andy Parsons has been making us laugh for nearly 40 years. His satirical, sharply observational, politically aware brand of comedy aims to “puncture people in power” – and the way the country is going at the moment it looks as though he won’t have any problems finding material for his shows. He’ll shortly be returning to the road with his ...

By Robert Thomas, translated and freely adapted by Sean Aita Theatre Royal Nottingham 25–29 August 2026 Anyone thinking of buying a ticket for the final play in the 2026 Colin McIntyre Classic Thriller Season must have wondered how The Mantrap qualifies as a classic. Written by the late French playwright and director Robert Thomas, it started off as Piège Pour ...