QUEEN ANNE at The Swan, Stratford upon Avon

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If your history lessons excluded Queen Anne or reduced her to a footnote, you can now compensate by meeting the real women in this RSC production of Helen Edmundson’s enthralling new play . . . Roll over the Elizabeth and Victoria drama industry, there’s a new queen on the block with a captivating tale of passion and politics, told with deep psychological insight courtesy of surviving personal letters, and set against the scurrilous journalism, satire and licence of the time.

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TEECHERS at Cheltenham and Gloucester

TEECHERS at Cheltenham and Gloucester

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A production from the Everyman Studio, Cheltenham. Teechers is a well-crafted, well observed and, you could say, political comedy that knows where it’s coming from. There are several underlying messages and occasionally an overt tirade about equality and opportunity but the general consensus is that everybody would be much happier and more fulfilled at Saint Georges, the posh school on the other side of town. Paul Milton’s direction was tight and to the point and had some nice touches. Very enjoyable and recommended.

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SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS at the Bristol Hippodrome

SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS at the Bristol Hippodrome

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The star of the show, of course, is Warwick Davis; he plays Prof, the resourceful leader of the dwarfs. We don’t meet him until Herman has abandoned Snow White in the forest, and his long anticipated appearance was greeted rapturously by last night’s audience. Davis undoubtedly exudes star quality – his Elvis impersonation is a surreal highlight – but not all of his fellow dwarfs deliver their lines with confidence, and some of their slapstick moments fall a little flat.

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ALADDIN at the Oxford Playhouse

ALADDIN at the Oxford Playhouse

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A particular combination of satire, wit, silliness and audience participation, pantomime remains a singularly British tradition and obsession, and the last remnants of a British variety tradition. No-where else would you see a cross-dressing dame camping it up and taking centre stage . . . And so it is with this year’s jamboree of Aladdin at the Oxford Playhouse, written and directed for the first time by Steve Marmion, artistic director of the Soho Theatre, and he misses none of the panto classics with slapstick, sing-a-long tunes and innuendos aplenty.

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SMASHER at the Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol

SMASHER at the Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol

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Following the sell-out success of Vanity Bites Back at the Tobacco Factory in October, Helen Duff was back in Bristol last night with Smasher. This new show has some similarities with its predecessor, as once again she tackles a taboo subject with a mix of clowning, story-telling and a great deal of audience participation . . . Duff is at her best once she allows her story-telling skills to come to the fore, using her many other skills to underpin a strong narrative line. She has a five-star personality and is a talented and original comic; I will certainly look out for her next time she’s in town.

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WENDY AND PETER PAN at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford

WENDY AND PETER PAN at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford

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Traditional pantomimes are not the only Christmas shows in town. Although the other shows dispense with the dame, the Good Fairy, Baron Hard-up and a slosh scene they still manage to conjure up all the magic and, more importantly, all the fun. The RSC’s Wendy and Peter Pan at Stratford has all that and a lot of thrills and drama as well . . . This is a spectacular production with the most amazing transformation as the Lost Boys’ hide-away emerges from the stage. . . some spectacular flying too.

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