* Classics

A Chaste Maid in Cheapside

Almeida tour Middleton’s Jacobean satire to Oxford Playhouse Mar 20-23, Malvern Theatre Mar 26-30, Richmond Apr 2-6, Bath Royal Apr 9-13, Huddersfield Batley Apr 16-20 Ghosts English Touring in Ibsen to Ipswich Wolsey Feb 12-16, Coventry Warwick Arts Feb 19-23, Salford Lowry Feb 26-Mar 2, Chester Gateway Mar 5-9, Blackpool Grand Mar 12-16, York Royal Mar 19-23, Cambridge Arts Apr 2-6, Greenwich Theatre Apr 9-13, Guildford Arnaud Apr 16-20

Hobson’s Choice Birmingham Rep visits Plymouth Royal Feb 18-Mar 2, Sheffield Lyceum Apr 8-13, Darlington Civic Apr 15-20, Malvern Festival Apr 22-27, Nottingham Royal Apr 29-May 4, Aberdeen Majesty’s May 6-11, Cambridge Arts May 20-25, Coventry Belgrade May 27-June 1, Cardiff New June 3-8

Macbeth Northern Broadsides at Halifax Viaduct Mar 14-23, Wellingbrough Castle Mar 26-27, Worksop Thoresby Park Apr 4-6, Scarborough Apr 8-13, Leeds Playhouse Apr 16-20, Salford Lowry Apr 23-27, Bury St Edmunds Royal Apr 30-May 4, Liverpool Everyman Apr 7-11, Bradford Salts Mill May 16-19, Newcastle-under-Lyme New Vic May 28-June 1

The Merchant of Venice RSC visit Littleport Leisure Centre Feb 12-16, Truro Hall Mar 12-16, Dawlish Leisure Centre Mar 19-23, Workington Lillyhall Lakes College Apr 2-6, Coulby Newham Rainbow Apr 9-13, Cradley Heath Haden Hill Apr 16-20, Portsmouth Mountbatten Apr 23-27, Burgess Hill Triangle Apr 20-May 4, Forres House Community Centre May 7-11

A Midsummer Night’s Dream RSC at Bradford Alhambra Mar 26-30, Stoke-on-Trent Regent Apr 2-6, Norwich Royal Apr 9-13, Salford Lowry May 14-18, Plymouth Royal May 21-25, Woking New Vic May 28-June 1

Nicholas Nickleby Red Shift touring to Mar 16 (020 7378 9787) Othello Theatre Unlimited at Bracknell Wilde Feb 18-20, Middlesbrough Theatre Feb 21-22, Wakefield Royal Feb 25-26, Liverpool Neptune Feb 27-Mar 1, Salford Lowry Mar 4-6, Street Strode Mar 7-8, Edmonton Millfield Mar 14-16, Tewkesbury Roses Mar 18-20

Titus Andronicus Kaos do grisly Shakespeare at Wolverhampton Arena Feb 26, High Wycombe Swan Feb 27-28 Uncle Vanya Harrogate tour to Winchester Royal Feb 19-23, Huddersfield Batley Feb 26-Mar 2, Wakefield Royal Mar 5-9, Bury St Edmunds Royal Mar 12-16

Uncle Vanya Theatre Babel take Chekhov to Perth Apr 24-27, Manchester Library Apr 30-May 4, York Royal May 8-11, Edinburgh Lyceum May 22-25, Glasgow Citizens’ May 28-June 1

* Modern Works

Bouncers ATC do John Godber’s club hard men at Edinburgh King’s Feb 11-16, Salford Lowry Feb 18-23, Woking New Vic Feb 25-Mar 2, Westcliff-on-Sea Palace Mar 4-9, Billingham Forum Mar 11-16, Bradford Alhambra Mar 18-23, Dartford Orchard Mar 25-30, Lincoln Royal Apr 8-13, Milton Keynes Apr 15-20, Llandudno Apr 22-27, Belfast Grand Apr 29-May 4, Jersey Opera May 7-11, Ipswich Regent May 13-18, Glasgow King’s May 27-June 1

The Caretaker Milford Haven’s Torch Theatre in Pinter at Bangor Gwynedd Feb 21, Harlech Ardudwy Feb 22, Brecon Feb 26, Aberystwyth Arts Feb 27, Swansea Taliesin Feb 28, Newtown Hafren Mar 1, Chipping Norton Mar 7-8, Cardiff Sherman Mar 9

Cave Dwellers 7:84 Scotland with Nicola McCartney on refugees at Paisley Arts Feb 14-16, Edinburgh Traverse Feb 19-23, St Andrews Byre Feb 27, Cumbernauld Feb 28, Inverness Mar 5, Thurso Mill Mar 7, Musselburgh Brunton Mar 13, Glasgow Tron Mar 19-23

The Clearing Shared Experience revive Helen Edmundson’s modern classic of an Anglo-Irish marriage in Cromwell’s Ireland at Birmingham Door Mar 7-16, Mold Clwyd Cymru Mar 19-22, Guildford Arnaud Mar 26-30, Ipswich Wolsey Apr 3-6, Cambridge Arts Apr 9-13, Newcastle Playhouse Apr 16-20, Oxford Playhouse May 28-June 1

The Contractor Oxford Stage in David Storey’s play of a family celebration at Eastbourne Devonshire Park Apr 9-13, Mold Clwyd Apr 16-20, Salisbury Apr 23-27, Harrogate Apr 30-May 4

Damsels in Distress Stephen Joseph Theatre re-tour Alan Ayckbourn’s three plays of 2001, GamePlan, FlatSpin, RolePlay, at Durham Gala to Feb 9, Coventry Warwick Arts Feb 12-16, Worthing Connaught Feb 19-Mar 2, Guildford Arnaud Mar 5-9, Oxford Playhouse Mar 26-30

The Freeze Theatre Alibi show life goes on in a new ice age at Exeter Phoenix to Feb 14, Taunton Tacchi-Morris Feb 19, Bristol QEH Feb 20-21, Cirencester Sundial Feb 22, Shillingstone Portman Hall Feb 23, Plymouth Drum Feb 26-Mar 2, Brighton Komedia Mar 5-6, Crawley Hawth Mar 7, Birmingham mac Mar 8, Dartington Arts Mar 12-13, Penzance Acorn Mar 14, Falmouth Arts Mar 15, Bridport Arts Mar 19, Gillingham School Mar 20, Bath Ustinov Mar 21-23

The Good Hope National Theatre take fishing community in a storm to Glasgow Royal Feb 12-16, Edinburgh King’s Feb 19-23, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Royal Feb 26-Mar 2, Brighton Royal Mar 5-9, Plymouth Royal Mar 12-16, Bath Royal Mar 19-23 Helmet Paines Plough tour Douglas Maxwell’s virtual reality to Liverpool Everyman Apr 16-20, Nottingham Lawrence Apr 22-23, Norwich Playhouse Apr 25-26, Manchester Contact Apr 30-May 2, Birmingham Door May 7-12, Glasgow Tron June 5-9

Hinterland Out of Joint on an Irish leader haunted by his past at Cambridge Arts Apr 23-27, Bath Royal Apr 30-May 4, Oxford Playhouse June 4-8, Liverpool Playhouse June 11-15

Journey to the West Tara Arts bring a trilogy - separate shows and the complete cycle - showing a century long Indian family’s Odyssey to Manchester Contact Mar 13-16, Leicester Haymarket Mar 20-23, Birmingham Repertory Apr 24-27, Leeds Playhouse May 1-4, Darlington Civic May 8-11, Reading Hexagon May 29-June 1

Lament Suspect Culture on loss and globalization at Glasgow Tron Apr 3-6, Edinburgh Traverse Apr 10-14, Manchester Exchange Apr 19-20, Paisley Apr 24 Lord of the Flies Pilot Theatre get Piggy at Reading Hexagon to Feb 9, Jersey Opera Feb 19-23, Brighton Gardner Feb 26-Mar 2, Southend-on-Sea Cliffs Mar 5-9, Chester Gateway Mar 12-16, Liverpool Playhouse Mar 19-23

1984 Northern Stage bring Big Brother to Basingstoke Haymarket Feb 19-23, Dundee Rep Feb 26-Mar 2, Preston Charter Mar 19-23, Mold Clwyd Mar 26-30

No Man’s Land National Theatre’s Pinter visits Newcastle Royal Feb 19-23, Oxford Playhouse Feb 26-Mar 2, Edinburgh King’s Apr 16-20, Sheffield Lyceum Apr 23-27

On the Piste Hull Truck in Godber’s ski laugher at Preston Charter Feb 12-16, Rotherham Civic Feb 18-23, Darlington Civic Feb 26-Mar 2, Huddersfield Batley Mar 4-9, Worcester Swan Mar 11-16, Kendal Brewery Mar 18-23, Buxton Opera Mar 26-30, Harrogate Apr 2-6, Wakefield Royal Apr 9-13, Halifax Victoria May 2-4, Westcliff-on-Sea Palace May 6-11, Cheltenham Everyman May 13-18, Sutton Seacombe May 21-25, Durham Gala June 3-8, Northampton Royal June 10-15

A Pair of Beauties Hull Truck (See Hull) in Gordon Steel’s new play to June 1

Pandora’s Box Northern Stage take modified Wedekind sex plays to Bracknell Wilde Apr 9-13, Salisbury Playhouse Apr 16-17, Leeds Playhouse Apr 23-27, Truro Hall Apr 30-May 4, Worksop Thoresby Riding Stables May 7-11

The Pearl Visible Fictions in Steinbeck for 12+ at Paisley Arts to Feb 9, Edinburgh Traverse Feb 14-16, Inverness Feb 18, St Helens Citadel Feb 21, Kirkcaldy Adam Smith Feb 27, Musselburgh Brunton Mar 1, Oban Corran Halls Mar 5, Stonehaven Town Hall Mar 7, Fraserburgh Dalrymple Hall Mar 8, Aberdeen Arts Mar 9, Invergordon Arts Mar 11, Glasgow Gilmorehill Mar 13-16

PICASSO’SWOMEN ATG offer two solos about the painter’s women at Richmond Feb 18-23, Malvern Festival Feb 25-Mar 2, Bromley Churchill Mar 4-9, Newcastle Royal Mar 11-16, Brighton Royal Mar 18-23

Relative VALUES Royal Bath tour early Coward to Richmond Feb 11-16, Canterbury Marlowe Feb 19-23, Bath Royal Feb 25-Mar 2, Oxford Playhouse Mar 4-9, Woking New Vic Mar 11-16, Milton Keynes Mar 18-23, High Wycombe Swan Mar 25-30

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Theatr Cymru’s Stoppard off to Cardiff New Mar 18-23, High Wycombe Swan Apr 8-13, Plymouth Royal Apr 15-20, Edinbugh King’s Apr 29-May 4, Norwich Royal May 6-11, Newcastle Royal May 13-18

Shoot 2 Win Royal E15 take fighting netballers to Leeds Playhouse Mar 12-16, Liverpool Everyman Mar 19-23, Westcliff-on-Sea Palace Apr 2-6, Leicester Haymarket Apr 9-13, Ipswich New Wolsey Apr 16-20, Brighton Gardner Apr 25-27, Manchester Contact May 7-11

Single Spies Royal Bath do Alan Bennett’s Burgess and Blunt at Oxford Playhouse to Feb 9, Sheffield Lyceum Feb 12-16, Brighton Royal Feb 18-23, Northampton Royal Feb 25-Mar 2, Bradford Alhambra Mar 5-9, Cheltenham Everyman Mar 11-16, Coventry Belgrade Mar 18-23, Cambridge Arts Mar 25-30, Norwich Royal Apr 22-27, Guildford Arnaud Apr 29-May 4, Richmond May 6-13

Top Girls Oxford Stage revive Caryl Churchill’s 1980s power women at Westcliff-on-Sea Palace Feb 11-16, Exeter Northcott Feb 26-Mar 2, Liverpool Everyman Mar 5-9, Coventry Warwick Arts Mar 12-16, Leeds Playhouse Mar 19-30, Mold Clwyd Apr 2-6, Chester Gateway Apr 9-13, Oxford Playhouse Apr 16-20

The Tractor Girls Oxfordshire Touring in David Holman’s new play about football fiends to Mar 30 (01865 778119)

Unsuitable Girls Pilot Theatre do a girl with a big wedding planned but no husband, to Loughborough Mar 18-30, Birmingham Rep Apr 4-6, Newbury Corn Exchange Apr 8-9, Eastleigh Point Apr 11-12, Wellingborough Castle Apr 16-17, Crawley Hawth Apr 19-20, Ipswich New Wolsey Apr 22-27, Nottingham Djanogly May 20-25

Waiting For Godot Compass Theatre and Beckett tramp to Worcester Swan Mar 6-9, Buxton Opera Mar 12-13, Huddersfield Batley Mar 14-16, Bolton Apr 2-6, Sheffield Crucible Apr 9-10, Chester Gateway Apr 16-20, Pwllheli Neuadd Dwyfor Apr 23, Aberystwyth Arts Apr 24, Sevenoaks Stag Apr 30-May 1, Westcliff-on-Sea May 2-4, Barrow Forum 28 May 10, Southport Arts May 11, Stamford Arts May 21, Abergavenny Borough June 5-6, Brecon Brycheiniog June 7, Pontardawe Arts June 8, Jersey Arts June 11-15

* For Young People

After You Red Ladder for 13+, using text, technology and movement as a boy searches for truth at Widnes Queen’s May 14, Manchester Contact May 16-17, Bury Metro June 12, Trowbridge Arc July 5

Beauty and the Beast Teatro Kismet, leading Italian theatre company for young people with a strong physical style, at Brighton Dome Feb 12-13, Bury St Edmunds Royal Mar 26-30, Salford Lowry Apr 2-6, Oxford Playhouse June 19-22, Sheffield Lyceum June 25-29

The BFG Fiery Angel take Roald Dahl to Llandudno Feb 5-9, Bromley Churchill Feb 19-23, Stoke Regent Feb 26-Mar 2, Richmond Mar 5-9, Brighton Royal Mar 12-16, Newcastle Royal Mar 19-23, Milton Keynes Mar 26-30, Woking New Vic Apr 2-6, High Wycombe Swan Apr 16-20, Southampton Mayflower Apr 23-27, Edinburgh Festival May 7-11, Bristol Hippodrome May 14-18, Salford Lowry May 21-25, Wolverhampton Grand May 28-June 1

Bill’s New Frock Southampton Theatre First in Anne Fine for 5-11s at Bury St Edmunds Royal Feb 9, St Helen’s Citadel Feb 16, Churchstoke Blue Barn Feb 20-21, Grays Thameside Feb 25-28, Southampton Nuffield Mar 5-10, Potters Bar Wyllotts Mar 16, Milton Keynes Stantonbury Campus Mar 20, Norwich Maddermarket Apr 3-4, Swindon Arts Apr 6

The Book of the Banshee Pied Piper and the Arnaud tour Anne Fine on domestic strife from a 14 year old’s viewpoint compared with World War I, day and evening at Crawley Hawth January 29-30, Bexhill-on-Sea De La Warr Feb 1-2, Preston Charter Feb 5-6, Whitley Bay Feb 8-9, Harlow Feb 12-15, Cheltenham Everyman Feb 19-22, Middlesbrough Feb 26-27, King’s Lynn Corn Exchange Mar 1-2, Bracknell Wilde Mar 5-6, Brighton Gardner Mar 8-9, Hayes Beck Mar 11-12, York Opera Mar 15-16, Wakefield Royal Mar 19-22

The Borrowers Watershed under the floorboards at Crawley Hawth Feb 14-17, High Wycombe Swan Feb 20-24, Harrogate Feb 27-Mar 3, Worthing Pavilion Mar 7-10, Mold Clwyd Mar 20-24, Canterbury Marlowe Mar 28-31, Hull New Apr 3-7, Cheltenham Everyman Apr 10-14, Croydon Ashcroft Apr 17-21, Eastbourne Devonshire Park May 23-26, Leicester Haymarket May 30-June 2, Preston Charter June 5-9, Coventry Warwick Arts June 12-16, Liverpool Playhouse June 19-23, Swansea Grand June 27-30, York Opera July 4-7, Darlington Civic July 11-14, Oxford Playhouse July 18-21, Southend-on-Sea July 25-28, Leeds Grand July 31-Aug 4

The Butterfly Lion Theatre First with Morpurgo for 8-14s at Bexhill-on-Sea De La Warr Feb 10, Churchstoke Blue Barn Feb 22, Winchester Hog the Limelight Feb 24, Southampton Nuffield Mar 6-10, Dorchester Arts Mar 18-19, Milton Keynes Stantonbury Campus Mar 20, Swindon Arts Apr 6

Cooking the Books Midlands Arts Centre for 4-11s, about The Story Inspector’s visit to the Restaurant of Dreams at Birmingham mac Mar 9; 16; 24; 27, Redditch Palace Mar 19, Worcester Swan Mar 25-26, Sheldon Heath Artsite Mar 28, Guildford Arnaud Mar 30, Darlington Arts Apr 2, Newcastle-under-Lyme New Vic Apr 3-4, Cambridge Drama Centre Apr 6, Ludlow Assembly Apr 8, Huddersfield Batley Apr 9, Stamford Arts Apr 10, Barnet Bull Apr 14, Wellingborough Castle Apr 20

Feast Monster productions serve up Chris Speyer’s text on food garnished with Ieuan Goch Ab Einion’s music for up to 6s, at Kendal Brewery Apr 6, Lancaster Duke’s Apr 9-13, Wallsend Buddle Arts Apr 29-May 18, Salisbury Playhouse May 21-25, Chester Gateway June 5-7, Liverpool Unity June 8

Gingerbread CTC days and early evenings on the magic of cooking, for 5-7s at Newport Quay Feb 9, Rotherham Arts Feb 13, Trowbridge Arc Feb 16, Bolton Feb 23, North Pennine Highlights (various venues) Feb 25-Mar 1, Cambridge Drama Centre Mar 2, Bourne Morton School Mar 6, Deeping St James Primary Mar 7, Legbourne and Little Cawthorpe Mar 9, Market Rasen Festival Mar 10, Kinoulton Village Hall Mar 12, Ranskill Church Room Mar 13, Church Warsop Community Centre Mar 14, Tennyson d’Eyncourt Memorial Hall Mar 15, Long Sutton Church Hall Mar 16, Leadenham Hall Mar 17, Farnham Maltings Mar 27

James and the Giant Peach Birmingham Stage in Roald Dahl at Northampton Derngate Feb 12-16, Blackpool Grand Feb 26-Mar 2, Salford Lowry Mar 5-9, Whitley Bay Mar 12-16, Basingstoke Haymarket Mar 20-23, Truro Hall Apr 2-6, Barnstaple Queen’s Apr 10-13, York Opera Apr 16-20, Canterbury Marlowe Apr 23-27, Cambridge Corn Exchange Apr 30-May 4, Buxton Opera May 7-11, Cork Opera May 14-18, Sheffield Lyceum May 21-25, Woking New Vic June 4-8, Richmond June 11-15, Bromley Churchill June 25-29, Nottingham Royal July 2-6, Reading Hexagon July 9-13, Jersey Opera July 16-20, Southend-on-Sea Cliffs July 23-27

Monkey Young Vic visits Huddersfield Batley to Feb 9, Oxford Playhouse Feb 12-16, Liverpool Everyman Feb 26-27, Brighton Gardner Mar 14-16, Chester Gateway Mar 19-23

Peter Rabbit and His Friends Unicorn go Potter for 4-10-year-olds in Brighton Dome Mar 26-30, Wimbledon Polka Apr 3-6, Oxford Playhouse Apr 10-13, Wakefield Royal Apr 23-27, York Royal Apr 30-May 4, Exeter Northcott May 8-11, Glasgow Royal May 15-18, Coventry Warwick Arts May 21-25, Harrogate May 28-June 1, Bury St Edmunds Royal June 5-8

The Railway Children New Perspectives tour E Nesbit round the East Midlands to Feb 23 (01623 635225) Red Red Shoes Unicorn drama and dance version of Hans Andersen for 10+, set in the age of ethnic cleansing, to Brighton Royal May 8-11, Hornchurch Queen’s May 16-17, Winchester Royal May 21-25, Exeter Northcott May 28-June 1

Smashed Eggs Pentabus and Phil Porter on the messy adventure of breaking household rules for 8-11s round the South and West Midlands to Apr 13 (01584 856564)

Street of Strangers Monster Productions for 9+, international stories told by a group seeking new lives elsewhere, at Hexham Queen’s Hall Apr 9-10, Keswick Apr 16-19, Barrow Forum Apr 20, Lancaster Duke’s Apr 23-27, South Shields Custom House May 7-8, Whitley Bay May 28-30, Stanley Civic Hall June 11-12, Blyth Phoenix June 14-15

Truckers Terry Pratchett for 5 and older at Stevenage Craig Apr 23-27, Bury St Edmunds Royal May 7-11, Darlington Civic May 14-18, Crawley Hawth May 22-25, Wellingborough May 28-June 1, Sheffield Lyceum June 5-8, Huddersfield Batley June 11-15, Cheltenham June 25-29