New blood courses through the West End's longest-running musical Do you hear the people sing? In recent months, you're more likely to have heard news stories about the longest running West …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:54PMMike Bartlett's Christmas cracker goes with a bang - eventually The prolific Mike Bartlett – from whose pen have leapt television series such as Doctor Foster and Press, as well as stage h…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:33PMFamily tragedy is emotionally powerful but incomplete and unsatisfying The trouble with prejudice is that you can't control how other people see you. At the start of her career, playwright G…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:54PMMagnificent makeover of the French classic - a jaw-dropping success Actor James McAvoy is much in demand: in the BBC's His Dark Materials he is busy saving a parallel world, while in the poe…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:33PMNew autobiographical play about night thoughts on bodies real and digital Eve Leigh is an experimental playwright who has tackled difficult issues for more than a decade. Yet most members of…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:12PMDirector Bijan Sheibani turns playwright in a fine two-hander about family Family dramas are a staple of British new writing, but as well as talking about our nearest and dearest, can they …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:36PMDavid Greig's much-lauded mountaineering story doesn't quite peak Theatre can touch thousands of lives. But can it compete with the success of a bestselling book? First published in 1988, mo…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:36PMFamily drama is occasionally entertaining, but too dark for its own good Actor Miriam Margolyes is a phenomenon. Not only has this Dickensian starred in high-profile shows both here and in A…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:54PMFirst Ed Thomas play for 15 years is a post-apocalyptic metaphor-fest Memory involves places, people, things and words, especially words. This abstract proposition is given knotty life in We…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:03PMJordan Tannahill's queering of Renaissance art is riotously vulgar and unapologetic Botticelli is a household name, but who knows the true story behind his most famous painting? The painter'…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:36PMAlice Birch's new play prioritizes form over content, and is depressingly reactionary Clean Break, the theatre company that specializes in working with women in the criminal justice system,…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:06PMNew lecture about British imperialism is energetically engaging, but rather slender Sabrina Mahfouz is a British-Egyptian writer who has explored issues of Muslim and British identity in var…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 12:03AMProvocative one-man show about a stalker by stand-up comedian Richard Gadd is darkly exciting True stories, even in a fictional form, have the power to grip you by the throat, furiously shak…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:36PMSharp revival of Peter Nichols's taboo-busting fantasia is magnificent Playwright Peter Nichols died aged 92 last month, just before the opening of this starry West End revival of his most c…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:36PMCaryl Churchill's latest offering is wonderfully bright and incisively perceptive At the age of 81, Caryl Churchill, Britain's greatest living playwright, is still going strong. Her latest i…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:06PMExcellent acting in a play that tickles the senses by morphing from one genre to another Are first ladies second-class citizens? Do they always have to stand behind their husbands? What are …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:24PMNew docu-drama about a distressing case of 1990s corruption and cover-up New artistic directors are popping up all over British theatre. Every week seems to usher in a refreshingly new talen…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:48PMLively gig theatre revival of a 1980s account of the black lesbian experience Identity politics has been around for decades. One of the great things about the Bush Theatre in West London is …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:42AMExperimental exploration of belief and determinism is touched by genius Playwright and performer Tim Crouch is one of Britain's most innovative creatives, with a big back catalogue of chall…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 11:12PMDebut play about the parliamentary ruling class is timely, but ultimately unsatisfying In the current feverish atmosphere at Westminster, with arguments about Brexit becoming increasingly sh…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 01:48AMJuliet Stevenson is brilliant in an ethical debate that is both thrilling and challenging After six years, associate director Robert Icke bids farewell to the Almeida Theatre. In this time h…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:24PMRare Philip King play turns a farce into a serious drama - and it doesn't work Theatre legends die hard. Playwright Philip King, who passed away in 1979, was once hailed as the monarch of th…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:12PMStar cast deliver a terrific revival of Tennessee Williams's last masterpiece One of the glories of contemporary London theatre is its revivals of classic American drama. Year after year, a…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 12:06AMBright new two-hander about an internet troll is intelligent, provocative and funny Few theatres have done as much to promote new young talent as the Royal Court; few theatres have done as m…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:12PMNew play about an extramarital affair is short, but emotionally truthful The best kind of two-hander is the play about couples. And the most dramatic way of saying something about relationsh…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:48PMMagnificent revival of David Greig's 1990s visionary classic is both tough and tender In the middle of the current decade, there was a mild vogue for reviving a handful of the great plays o…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 01:36AMStriking stage version of Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm's 2012 film For a while, child abuse has been banished from our stages. After all, there is a limit, surely, to how much pain …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:54PMThe most controversial play of the year is shaping up to be the worst John Malkovich is back in town - and he's starring in the most controversial play of the year. Trouble is, it might well…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:24PMA poetic journey through time and space in Dublin is beautifully written Irish playwright Dylan Coburn Gray's new play won the Verity Bargate Award in 2017, and his reward is a fine product…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:42PMDecade-hopping story about sexual identity also celebrates the art of theatre In one lifetime, the many loves that once dare not speak their names have become part of everyday chatter. But i…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:06PMRevival of Githa Sowerby's 1912 classic of industrial patriarchy is worthy but inaccessible Githa Sowerby is the go-to playwright if you want a feminist slant on patriarchy in the industrial…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:33PM
