Back to rock school...

PUNK Rock by Simon Stephens will be presented by Prime Theatre at the Wyvern tonight.

The show, which opened on Tuesday night, takes the audience back to school — the best years of your life, or so they say.

Exams are hard enough. Adding spots, sex and peer pressure means something’s bound to blow.

Prime Youth Theatre and a live band present a hilarious and hard-hitting trip to teenage life. Audiences will sit amongst the action on the Wyvern stage.

The show is recommended for age 14 and over as there is some swearing.

Tonight’s performance will feature a BSL interpreter who will integrate alongside the actors rather than standing at the side to give a complete theatre experience for everyone.

Prime Theatre offer training for young actors, writers and technicians aged five to 25. Free places are available.

To find out more, visit primetheatre.co.uk or call 01793 614864.

Tickets for tonight’s performance, which starts at 7pm, are £15.50 (£10.50 for under-16s).

To book, call 01793 524481 or visit swindontheatres.co.uk.

Kind of magic

THE Great Jaydini brings his Summer Magic Show to the Wyvern Theatre today and next Thursday, August 10.

Youngsters are invited to bring along their mums and dads to enter the funny and magical world of The Great Jaydini, a talented and professional magician whose unique style puts together a blend of comedy and magic suitable for ages four and older.

Tickets are £11, which includes an ice cream and squash in the interval and lucky adults go free.

Performances are at 11am both days. o book, call 01793 524481 or visit swindontheatres.co.uk.

You’ll go mad for North by Northwest

A GROUNDBREAKING production of an old Hollywood classic has got audiences enthralled at the Theatre Royal in Bath.

Hitchcock’s North By Northwest has been reimagined for the stage by Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Kay & McLean Productions.

This is your only chance to see it in the UK as it heads off to Canada when its run at Bath finishes.

This lively producion’s wit, sassiness and inventiveness makes it a must-see for theatre fans.

Canadian Jonathan Watton takes on the role of the smooth, insouciant Roger O Thornhill and exudes all the charm and mischief originally brought to the film role by Cary Grant.

The Cold War is heating up and Thornhill finds himself the victim in a case of mistaken identity, with well-dressed thugs insisting he is George Kaplan, and there ensues a plot involving spies, double agents, deceit and murder.

The cast are to a man superb, bringing verve and dynamism to the fantastically sharp and witty dialogue.

But the truly fantastic thing about this production is the set and the very staging of the play. Gleaming glass panels serve as lifts, windows from skyscrapers, office walls and a cinematic backdrop to recreate the famous scene in which Thornhill is chased by a plane through a field. Inventive use of magic lanterns brings humour and further brilliance.

It’s riotously good fun and utterly compelling, and the atmosphere is enhanced by the sweeping, filmic score.

North By Northwest is at the Theatre Royal Bath until Saturday, August 12. To book tickets, call 01225 448844 or visit theatreroyal.org.uk.