Paul T. Davies, Author at Keep Colchester Cool

Review: Sherlock Holmes Smells Evil at the Headgate Theatre

Fast becoming a staple of the New Year theatre kick-off at the Headgate Theatre, this [...]

06
Jan

Review: Shrek the Musical at Charter Hall

Green is very much in, helped along by the Wicked films, but there has been [...]

21
Dec

Review: Goldilocks and the Three Bears at The Headgate Theatre

One of the best things about the British tradition of pantomime is that no permission [...]

05
Dec

Review: Easy Virtue at The Headgate Theatre

Playing to all their strengths, Platform Musicals and Plays deliver a sumptuous staging of this [...]

20
Nov

Review: A Christmas Carol at The Headgate Theatre

Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé are defrosting, mince pies have been in the shops since [...]

13
Nov

Review: That’s Not Poetry by James Domestic at Colchester Fringe 2025

With so much happening during a Fringe festival, it’s a real chance to experience something [...]

05
Nov

Review: The Clacton Three at Colchester Fringe 2025

Winner of the Keep Colchester Cool Critic’s Award I moved to Colchester in the 1990s [...]

04
Nov

Review: The Monday Monologuers! at Colchester Fringe 2025

Act V are a group of people aged over 50 who come together at the [...]

04
Nov

Review: About a Spy at Colchester Fringe 2025

Audiences are really looking to be entertained at the moment, with the state of the [...]

02
Nov

Review: Best Man at Colchester Fringe 2025

It’s 1979 in Essex, and two close-knit families with Irish roots are united by marriage. [...]

01
Nov

Review: Little Woman at Colchester Fringe 2025

Created and performed by local theatre artist Tia Winterbottom, this thought-provoking solo show at Colchester [...]

31
Oct

Review: The Chai Queens at Colchester Fringe 2025

What a privilege it is to have work like this performed at the Colchester Fringe, [...]

28
Oct

Review: The Toilet Monologues at Colchester Fringe 2025

A sacred space. That’s what men are led to believe about women’s toilets, a place [...]

27
Oct

Review: Fish Outta Water at Colchester Fringe 2025

This is a gorgeous, tender semi-autobiographical play created by Jess Ashley, offering an insight into [...]

26
Oct

Review: A Two Woman Hamlet at Colchester Fringe 2025

“The play’s the thing”, as Hamlet famously puts it, and here it literally is the [...]

26
Oct

Preview: National and International Productions at Colchester Fringe

With a record-breaking number of submissions this year, the growing reputation of Colchester Fringe saw [...]

21
Oct

Preview: LGBTQ+ highlights at Colchester Fringe

Fringe festivals have become a vital space for LGBTQ+ work, and Colchester is no exception. [...]

20
Oct

Review: One Man Two Guvnors at the Headgate

Theatre editor Paul T. Davies reviews One Man Two Guvnors, presented by Headgate Theatre Productions [...]

09
Oct

Paul T. Davies previews local productions at this year’s Colchester Fringe

There are three things that signal the arrival of autumn: the return of Strictly, a [...]

06
Oct

Review: The Trials at the Headate Theatre

Paul T Davies reviews The Trials, presented by Headgate Young Company As we face the [...]

11
Sep

About the author:
Dr. Paul T. Davies was awarded his PhD from the University of East Anglia for his research on AIDS, Queer Theory, and Theatrical Discourses 1983-94. He is a playwright, and among his plays are the two Colchester Fringe award winners, The Miner’s Crow and Living With Luke, Jacky, and Bury Me In Colchester Mud. He is also a theatre director (NETG Award for Best Production, Frankenstein) and occasional actor, most recently in Tartuffe, NETG Award for Best Supporting Actor as the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, and Rupert in How We Love at the Vaults Festival 2020 and the revival at the Arcola Theatre in 2021. He is an active researcher, theatre reviewer, mentor, and teacher. He will be directing Dragging Your Heels, a new play with music by Terry Geo, at the New Wimbledon Theatre and the Camden Fringe in the summer of 2025, and is developing new scripts.

When reviewing for Keep Colchester Cool, we always aim to:

Provide a professional, fair assessment of the theatre we see, balanced in both praise and criticism.

Be sensitive to the non-professional aspect of community theatre when reviewing amateur productions.

Aim to post reviews within 48 hours of attending, or as close to as possible should circumstances prevent that.

Not review theatre we are personally involved in, but will ask a team member to review it.

Be accurate in terms of spelling names, respecting gender definitions, and providing information the reader may need, as long as the information is provided to the reviewers.