Reviews

Studio Theatre  Studio Theatre, SalisburySusanna Greenwood 25 March 2026 Richard Harris’ Outside Edge, following an amateur cricket team and their disordered private lives, has been doing the rounds for decades now and remains seemingly as popular today. I note that this is one of three productions occurring locally this Spring. As we enter the auditorium, we are greeted by a gentle, relaxing soundscape of birdsong and nature. The beautifully crafted, high-quality set instantly brings the cricket clubhouse to life and, within the studio environment, creates an almost interactive feel for the audience. This peace and tranquillity is quickly broken with

Maskers Theatre Company    Maskers Studio, SouthamptonSusanna Greenwood 23 March 2026 Maskers Theatre Company has been delivering an eclectic range of plays and live performances in and around Southampton since 1968, impressively covering everything from Shakespeare to Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Born from a handful of dedicated troupe members, they now boast a membership of 120, allowing them to present a varied programme all year round, including an annual open-air production—the jewel in their artistic crown. Beginning life as a touring company, they are well versed in storytelling across a multitude of venues. In 1994, with the help of a National Lottery grant,

Swanage Musical Theatre Company  The Mowlem Theatre, SwanageKD Johnson 19 March 2026 It’s a bit late now for the traditional pantomime season but these days they can happen all year round.  When I was offered this review at the Mowlem Theatre in Swanage, I assumed that it was a pantomime, but I was mistaken.  This production is the complete Disney Beauty and the Beast musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, book by Linda Woolverton.  What a great job Swanage Musical Theatre have done with it. We are struck at first by the elaborate

AUB Productions  Palace Court Theatre, BournemouthCaroline Burr 19 March 2026 This play is an adaptation by Neil Bartlett from the original 1886 gothic horror novella by Robert Louis Stevenson. As the director James Parker points out in the programme, it seeks to shine a light on the women affected by various plot twists in this ‘strange case’. The show was well attended on the first night, with the audience seemingly engrossed in the action, some of them showing their appreciation with a standing ovation at the end. However, for me the story did not come over very clearly. It started

Ferndown Drama  Barrington Theatre, FerndownSuzanne Viney 11 March 2026 The acclaimed playwright, Harold Pinter, once commented, “…cricket is the greatest thing that God ever created on earth – certainly greater than sex, although sex isn’t too bad either.”  It is this sentiment that seems to be the driving force behind Ferndown Drama’s latest offering, Outside Edge, a play by Richard Harris, written in1979, and notably adapted for television in the 1990s. Egocentric Roger, played with great pomposity by Jeremy Mills, seems to believe he is the King of the Pavilion; his wife Miriam (Kristy Dixon), is Queen of the teapot. From