Tap & Chat with Lionel Blair

The veteran dancer, choreographer and TV personality give an evening of irresistible appeal and charm

Arabian Nights

In what is surely this Christmas’s least fainthearted show laughter is everywhere, but so is wonder and, at times, menace

Two stars for Blithe Spirit

Just who is the blithe spirit, Elvira or the uncaring Charles? Whoever, this show is too effortful to enchant

The Forest

There’s a grace to this show that captivated and moved me as the performers keep this a very human experience

Les Patineurs/Tales of Beatrix Potter

The best way to enjoy the Royal Ballet’s Frederick Ashton double bill is to bring along your inner child

Northern Ballet Theatre Gala

Saturday’s 40th anniversary gala showed that NBT and its artistic director, David Nixon, know how to throw a classy party

Ballet Boyz put the beef into modern dance

They learnt moves from porn stars and pole dancers and say a former bad boy will be a big hit in their all-male company

Michael Flatley eat your heart out

The Brooklyn-based choreographer Mark Morris has helped create a ‘Scottish Riverdance’ at Dance Base in Edinburgh

The Enchanted Pig

The magic of The Enchanted Pig is that it can, like all the best legends and fairytales, be enjoyed on different levels

Moving Othello has the first black British lead

Graham Vick’s Birmingham Opera Company encourages audience participation in Verdi’s late Shakespearian tragic masterpiece

Should opera be made child’s play?

If you want your kids to appreciate opera, is it best to drop them in at the deep end or give them their own shows?

My first opera, by those in the know

Simon Callow, Philip Pullman and others recount their first experiences of the art form and what they made of it

Tom Wrigglesworth’s Open Return Letter to Richard Branson

The comedian’s encounter with a jobsworth train conductor makes for a warm and witty story with a real-life happy ending

Lee Mack

If Mack picks on you and you cannot talk back to him, you’re toast. If you do talk back to him, you’re also toast

Kim Noble Will Die

The multimedia suicide note is nervy, off-time, a little crude at times, but it is an incredibly original, touching show

Climate change humour?

If he disregards the disappointment of those expecting a straight comedy show, this show could find the rhythm it needs