Oxford Playhouse

Box office

01865 305305
Beaumont Street, Oxford. A map is here.

The Seagull, 21st to 25th May
In The Seagull, Chekhov explores emotion, creativity and romantic conflict with the clarity of a doctor and the heart of a poet. Its young, tormented protagonist is determined to overthrow the old and find new forms of expression as he struggles with the frustrations and fulfilments of putting words on a page.

The Firework-Maker's Daughter, 28th to 29th May
Based on the story by Philip Pullman. Discover this gripping tale of friendship, determination and adventure that will be an explosive theatrical experience, perfect for a half-term holiday treat.

Blue Remembered Hills, 4th to 8th June
Almost 20 years after his death, Dennis Potter’s charming and profound play captures humanity, wicked humour and his fierce intolerance of ordinary cruelty.

Lionboy, 11th to 15th June
Charlie Ashanti is eleven years old. He’s a perfectly normal boy, except for one thing: he can speak to cats. When Charlie’s parents are kidnapped, he sets off on a rescue mission – with a little help from a floating circus and its pride of performing lions…

Dancing at Lughnasa, 18th to 22nd June
Told through the eyes of seven-year old Michael, Brian Friel’s Olivier and Tony Award-winning play is a magical, moving story of a rural world on the brink of revolution.

The 39 Steps, 24th to 29th June
Direct from the West End, Broadway and 25 countries around the globe, comes a joyous version of the Alfred Hitchcock classic spy thriller, The 39 Steps, brilliantly and hilariously recreated as a smash-hit comedy.

The Merry Wives of Windsor, 30th June, 14:30 at Cornbury Park, Charlbury
A lovely Summer's day in a beautiful English garden. Welcome to the annual Windsor Fete: a celebration of cake stalls, coconut shys and cricket. The perfect setting for games of jealousy, deceit and revenge in Shakespeare's farcical battle of the sexes where the wives prove once and for all who's boss.

The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1st July to 16th August at Wadham College Gardens, Oxford
A lovely Summer's day in a beautiful English garden. Welcome to the annual Windsor Fete: a celebration of cake stalls, coconut shys and cricket. The perfect setting for games of jealousy, deceit and revenge in Shakespeare's farcical battle of the sexes where the wives prove once and for all who's boss.

Lord of the Flies, 5th to 7th July
A plane crashes on an uninhabited island leaving a group of school boys as the only survivors. With no parents and no rules to obey the boys’ delicate sense of order soon begins to collapse. Presented by Magdalen College School Theatre Academy.

The Taming of the Shrew, 9th to 21st July at Old Schools Quadrangle Bodleian Library, Oxford
Two wealthy sisters in Padua must be married off. The modest, demure Bianca has no shortage of suitors, but who on earth will take the wild Katherina? Perhaps the gold-digging Petruchio, as maddeningly strong-willed and perverse as Katherina herself, will be equal to the task of bullying her to the altar? Shakespeare’s outrageous comedy introduces one of theatre’s great screwball double-acts: a couple hell-bent on confusing and outwitting each other right up to its controversial conclusion. A Globe Theatre on Tour production.

James and the Giant Peach, 23rd to 27th July
If you’re looking for fruit-filled fun and wizz-popping wonders this summer holiday, then don’t miss James and his Giant Peach!

The Pitmen Painters, 29th July to 3rd August
Written by Lee Hall, creator of the worldwide sensation Billy Elliot, The Pitmen Painters examines the lives of a group of ordinary men who do extraordinary things. Highly amusing, deeply moving and always entertaining.

Reviews of Dick Whittington

30th November 2012 to 13th January 2013.

Review from the Newbury Weekly News.

Joyful and triumphant

'A great panto' directed by Peter Duncan at the Oxford Playhouse

Dick Whittington, at the Oxford Playhouse, until January 13

The Oxford Playhouse pantomime, Dick Whittington, directed by Peter Duncan, is a traditional, family show with plenty of high quality performances.

It is noticeable in this, Duncan's seventh production for the Playhouse, just how strong the cast is. The knock-out performance is from Leon Craig as the Dame, Doris Donut: a genuinely funny man with a wardrobe to match his outsized personality (designer Amanda Hambleton).

Nearly every character has a northern accent - Dick (Ashley Emerson) should really become the mayor of Leeds and not London. Dick and his love, Alice (Laurie Scarth, recently prominent in Sister Act and Hairspray) perform some excellent pop numbers while their enemy King Rat (the excellent Australian cabaret artist Reuben Kaye) excels in numbers such as Goldfinger.

There's some exciting aerial work by the show's own Cats tribute, Tigerbilly (Tori Moone). Creation theatre company favourite Richard Kidd has fun as a dictator in North Africa whose decree runs to Hollywood musicals, whilst returnee Deborah Crowe as Fairy Bow Bells muses philosophically on the contrast between fate and destiny.

There's even an inflatable octopus. Lovely stuff.

Grace writes: Wow! What a panto - lots of music, singing and dancing and even fireworks! I liked the bits where King Rat and Fairy Bow Bells were on stage recounting the events and moving the story on.

I liked all of Dame Doris Donut's dresses - especially the dress she wore to get onto the boat. It was very brightly-coloured with fruit - with pineapples, oranges and bananas on it. All of the costumes and colours were feel-good because they made all the audience feel happy and laugh. The colours wouldn't usually work but the way they were put together made it work.

The very best song was The 12 Days of Christmas - five loo rolls ha, ha - and 12 pints of water in a water pistol got my mum wet hehe. Very funny and had the audience in fits of laughter, especially when the Dame kicked the flowers off the stage and Dick had to sprint to get them.

A great panto that will have you in stitches.

JON LEWIS

There are reviews in The Public Reviews ("this panto really is well worth the money" - 4 stars), British Theatre Guide ("a pantomime full of energy and fun... the ensemble deliver performances worthy of the West End stage. A rib-tickling pantomime delight, this is certainly one wonderful Whittington"), the Oxford Mail ("The cat’s whiskers. A bundle of fun. A ringing success... magical festive production" - 5 stars), WhatsOnStage ("an excellent show... this year’s music and dance is the best that we’ve ever seen at a Playhouse Panto... a comic triumph of theatrical spectacle" - 4 stars), Daily Info ("full of spectacle and comedy") and The Stage ("a real heart-warmer... there really is something for everybody here").

Previous productions

Mother Goose, 2nd December 2011 to 15th January 2012. See the reviews in the Archive.
Cinderella, 3rd December 2010 to 16th January 2011. See the reviews in the Archive.
Jack and the Beanstalk, 4th December 2009 to 17th January 2010. See the review in the Archive.
Sleeping Beauty, 5th December 2008 to 18th January 2009. See the review in the Archive.
Aladdin, 30th November 2007 to 13th January 2008. See the review in the Archive.
Dick Whittington, 1st December 2006 to 14th January 2007. See the review in the Archive.
Cinderella, December 2005. See the review in the Archive.
Guys and Dolls, by Oxford Operatic Society, 21st to 26th November 2005. See the review in the Archive.
Peter Pan, December 2004. See the review in the Archive.

For more details

see the Playhouse's web site at www.oxfordplayhouse.com.