Paul Benzing

West End star Ben Forster takes the role Will Ferrell made famous on the silver screen in this toe-tapping stage adaptation of the 2003 festive comedy. Staged at the Lowry in Salford, this family-friendly musical tells the story of Buddy, a young orphan child who crawls into Father Christmas's bag of gifts one year, and is accidentally whisked away to the North Pole, where the nonplussed elves raise him as one of their own. Years later, once Buddy has grown to adulthood, he returns to New York City to find his birth father and help the people of the Big Apple rediscover the true meaning of Christmas. Also starring Liz McClarnon, Louis Emerick, Joe McGann and Jessica Martin.

“I’ve no talent for life.” Just married. Bored already. Hedda longs to be free... Hedda and Tesman have just returned from their honeymoon and the relationship is already in trouble. Trapped but determined, Hedda tries to control those around her, only to see her own world unravel.

On a summer’s day in a makeshift theatre by a lake, Konstantin’s cutting-edge new play is performed, changing the lives of everyone involved forever. Chekhov’s masterly meditation on how the old take revenge on the young is both comic and tragic, and marks the birth of the modern stage. Adapted by David Hare whose stage plays include Skylight, Pravada and screenplays include The Hours and The Reader, directed by Jonathan Kent (Gypsy, Private Lives).

"Many areas of London might be under water for days. For example, the Isle of Dogs could be under eight feet of water for six days. River engineers believe that it is not a matter of if there is a flood, but when the flood comes." (Greater London Council)