Theatre: ... And beyond

1

Richard III RSC, Cardiff New Theatre

Charismatic Robert Lindsay limps rings round the other characters in Elijah Moshinsky's gripping production.

2

The Seagull West Yorkshire Playhouse

Ian McKellen is a charismatic Dorn in Jude Kelly's beautifully droll and elegiac production of the Chekov classic.

3

Our Country's Good Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds

Max Stafford-Clark's inspiring revival of the Timberlake Wertenbaker classic about a penal colony and the power of theatre.

4

The Black Dahlia Poole Arts Centre

James Ellroy's gripping crime novel trawls the moral sewer of Forties Hollywood. The Method and Madness company give this thriller fast and furious theatrical life.

5

The Norman Conquests Theatr Clwyd

Alan Ayckbourn's masterly, immensely elaborate comic trilogy is revived by Terry Hands.