THEATRE: ... AND BEYOND

1

The Family Reunion (Swan Theatre, Stratford)

A masterclass in electrically incisive verse-speaking from Greg Hicks, who gives utter credibility to the Furies-haunted Harry in Adrian Noble's skilful revival of this rarely performed T S Eliot play. To 7 Oct

2

Oroonoko (The Other Place, Stratford)

There's political indignation but a refreshing lack of political correctness in Biyi Bandele's powerful and witty dramatisation of the novel by the 7th-century writer Aphra Behn, which takes a humane look at the slave trade. To 6 Oct

3

Noises Off (Theatre Royal, York)

The second act, set backstage during a performance of a tired sex farce, is one of the funniest things ever written. The other two acts aren't half bad, either. To 3 July

4

Tales from Ovid (Swan Theatre, Stratford)

Ted Hughes's adaptation of the Metamorphoses gets the Tim Supple treatment, vividly demonstrating the inherent theatricality of these myths. To 7 Oct

5

Don Carlos (The Other Place, Stratford)

All quixotic humour and Oedipal anguish, Rupert Penry Jones gives notice of the excellent Hamlet he will one day become, playing the title role in this patchy but engrossing studio production of Schiller's mighty tragedy. To 7 Oct