Iqbal Khan mightily takes the reigns of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra at the Barbican as part of the RSC’s transfer of their Rome season. An explosion of colour and ceremony is aided by Robert Innes Hopkins’s brilliant stage design, allowing the drama of the piece to stir with its uncompromising power dynamics. This tragedy of affairs, corruption, revolt and war translates with ease, Khan and the cast have done well to make the Bard’s work feel approachable yet hold its dynamism.

Courtesy of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Amidst the gloom of the slave trade in the latter part of 19th century America, a musical revolution within the Deep South would grip the minds and souls of its population. A melting pot of French, Spanish, Haitian, Cuban and West African culture; New Orleans would give birth to an exciting movement incorporating improvisation and individuality. Jazz music has inspired generations; Louis Armstrong, Miles Davies, Billie Holliday and Ella Fitzgerald amongst others shaping the genre. Clarke Peters’ Five Guys Named Moe celebrates New Orleans Vivacity. Louis Jordan’s music and lyrics, is a nod to a genre that would unite a people rather than divide.

Courtesy of Five Guys Named Moe.

The annual (but far from traditional) Leeds pantomime is back with a bang this year, as we’re transported to the magical realm of the giants in Paul Holman Associates’ production of Jack and the Beanstalk. Filled with classic panto tomfoolery and shenanigans (and plenty of jokes for the adults, too!) it’s one not to be missed this festive season.

Courtesy of Paul Holman Associates.

A heart-warming and breath taking retelling of a timeless classic, Sally Cookson’s take on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe brings the tale to life in a truly theatrical manner. Cookson has left no stone unturned when looking for ways to reinvent the well-loved Narnia, treating us to stunning musical numbers, physical theatre, audience participation and aerial acrobatics all rolled into one immersive masterpiece.

Courtesy of the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

La Soirée translates as ‘the evening’ in the English language. The title, jovial sounding, doesn’t give too much away, this forming the show’s appeal. Returning for its 14th year at the newly refurbished Aldwych Theatre, the audience favourite offers its usual brand of the unusual and the outlandish.

Courtesy of La Soiree 2017/2018.

Accept. Enjoy. Merge. Glorify. Glorify. Glorify. (Timothy Leary). The Virgin Suicides was the 1993 debut novel by acclaimed American writer Jeffrey Eugenides. Set in a Detroit suburb during the 1970s, the fictional story centres on the lives of five teenage sisters who are raised by fanatical Catholic parents: Cecilia (13 years), Lux (14 years), Bonnie (15 years), Mary (16 years), and Therese (17 years). After the youngest girl makes an initial suicide attempt, her sisters are placed under close scrutiny by the parents, eventually being completely confined to their home. The girls seek to escape their imprisonment but their parents thwart their efforts and isolate them even more from the outside world, thereby destroying their dreams and suffocating their spirit. The girls all commit suicide within a year.

Courtesy of Judith Buss.

‘Has anyone ever told the truth?’ asks Liwaa Yazji in her weighty political drama Goats, translated for the Royal Court by Katharine Halls. And if it’s truth we’re after this play is as chaotic as it is vital, but Hamish Pirie’s direction seems to flounder and distract from the content of the piece.

Courtesy of Johan Persson.

Gaudy Parisian flowers in Moulin Rouge-esque sumptuous costumes, a shy little mouse sleepily playing a contrabass during a tea party with a loony hatter and a charming all-in-white magician – with a pompom on his bottom – who has a rabbit-daughter called Fluffy. It sounds crazy and makes no sense, but that’s the way it should be – we are in Wonderland, after all!

Courtesy of Pamela Raith.

Vincent Dance Theatre Present Shut Down. We can all agree that 2017 (and pretty much every other year in existence) has been particularly difficult and controversial for men, and it is this theme of masculine identity that Vincent Dance Theatre dissects with the premiere of Shut Down, their first ever all male production, at The Place.

Courtesy of Vincent Dance Theatre.

A swashbuckling tale of piracy, hidden treasure and adventure; Treasure Island is a real family show from start to finish. Gem Hawkins (Jim Hawkins in the original story) takes us on an exciting adventure to find hidden treasure after a stranger turns up at her family’s inn. Discovering the map that this mysterious stranger keeps safe, Gem runs from her home and joins the Hispanola’s crew and sails the seven seas finding herself among blood thirsty pirates.

Courtesy of Andrew Billington.