Theatre and Comedy

Ring out the dreary winter weather and ring in a sun-soaked break.

Mix high-flying action, jaw-dropping 3D fun and brilliant performances from stars Joe Paquale and John ‘Boycie’ Challis with the classic elements of pantomime and you have the recipe for success that makes Peter Pan at Nottingham Theatre Royal a total triumph.

The festive juices can’t really start flowing in my view until you’ve taken in a pantomime — and one of the best around is always staged at Nottingham Playhouse.

Multi-platinum recording artist Michael Ball will be singing in Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester on his UK tour next year.

Catch rising conedy star Scott Bennett when he headlines a show in Chesterfield next week.

I defy anyone to leave the theatre after watching Nativity The Musical without a smile resembling a Cheshire cat and an aching jaw from all the laughter.

The actor who Freddie Mercury’s dad in the new film Bohemian Rhapsody has recalled the time plays the flamboyant frontman of Queen gave him a tenner for singing outside his house.

Ruby Wax, a passionate advocate for better mental health, reminds us How To Be Human in her new show.

Get ready to do the time warp with Joanne Clifton, Ben Adams and Stephen Webb in a new tour of The Rocky Horror Show.

If you haven’t seen the Shrek movies — and there can’t be many of you — then you must have been living in some abandoned, far-flung swamp like the unlikely and grumpy hero of these wonderful animated stories.

Academy Award nominee and TONY and Olivier award winner Ian McKellen stars in King Lear which will be beamed live to Derbyshire cinemas from London’s West End.

Former Manchester City, Wrexham and Northern Ireland midfielder Jim Whitley has exchanged his football boots for tap shoes in comedy musical Crooners.

Theatre fans have a triple treat in store as Chesterfield Pomegranate Theatre hosts its Summer Play Season.

A summer festival of fresh and thrilling theatre returns to Derbyshire this month.

Production chiefs have been inundated with requests from young people wishing to audition for this year’s festive offering at Derby Theatre.

Breath-taking and death-defying are just two of the ways to describe the incredible Cirque Berserk, which is currently running at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham.

A Crich teenager will take the stage with one of the UK’s leading musical theatre companies for young people this summer after beating hundreds of other hopefuls.

Riding high on a wave of critical acclaim, a West End run and a tour of UK theatres The Kite Runner is currently being performed in Buxton - but audiences need to act fast.