The playwright reflects on the importance of difficult conversations, putting female characters centre-stage and reading a Greek tragedy a day to write The House of Shades In 2016, Beth Stee…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AMFinborough theatre, LondonThis slow-moving drama inspired by the life of Lady Grange explores the historical control of women and changing attitudes to mental health The little-known story o…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AMHer Majesty’s theatre, LondonThe Italian actor delivers an elegant but eccentric show that can’t quite decide who it’s for: opera aficionados or initiates It is a thrilling pairing on …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AMNational Theatre, LondonEmlyn Williams’ 1938 play is a kind of Billy Elliot of the Valleys: the old-fashioned but hugely entertaining and affecting story of a Welsh miner’s son who escap…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:33AMDonmar Warehouse, LondonDespite strong performances, Jackie Sibblies Drury’s play zigzags so much that it overshadows the remarkable life at its centre The provocations and final controver…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AMOne Cartridge Place, LondonThis immersive retelling of Greek tragedies is stylish and atmospheric but lacks narrative momentum and its scattered scenes can be frustratingly arcane It is imme…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33PMBirmingham RepCasey Bailey’s moving, emotionally honest grime musical grows in power and has its own poetic, street-smart presence Grimeboy starts off with a deceptive lightness as a comin…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12PMAvailable onlineThe canine curse is given a comic makeover, sapping the story of its terror but bringing laughs and charming energy from the cast of three Arthur Conan Doyle’s sinister tal…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AMBush theatre, LondonThe performer of this one-woman play steers through multiple characters with charm, but is held back by a story that is less than the sum of its parts Princess Dinubolu o…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AMLyric Hammersmith, LondonMike Bartlett’s rambunctious capers with types including Lady Susan Climber and Matt Eton MP are great fun if not exactly stinging satire In Mike Bartlett’s ramb…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36AMHampstead theatre, LondonClaire Latham is utterly arresting as a traumatised woman, surrounded by violence, who transforms into a wolf This monologue, by a woman from the deep south of the U…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AMTheatre503, LondonA mother-daughter confrontation at a motivational speaker’s coaching session raises urgent questions about mental health A play about a self-help circle can usually guara…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24AMCabaret and Life of Pi were deservedly recognised on a night that could have spread the love more widely and often favoured comforting shows Full list of winners It began with the host Jason…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12PMOld Vic theatre, LondonMike Bartlett’s script turns US politics into Shakepearean comedy but falls oddly flat despite magnetising performances Donald Trump’s inner circle has, in Mike Ba…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42AMAlmeida, LondonA white billionaire art collector’s relationship with a young Black artist forms the heart of this bold, brawny play about race, patronage and exploitation Ever since Suns…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AMHampstead theatre, LondonThere is some fine acting as the wife and children of Robert Lindsay’s patriarchal professor bicker and bond over inheritances and legacies, but it is all a little…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03PMBirmingham RepWe see the shock of Windrush-era racism from a child’s perspective, but miss the details of how she rose nontheless to become the face of children’s TV It is fitting that a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AMGielgud theatre, LondonRafe Spall is a dignified Atticus Finch in Aaron Sorkin’s smooth and confident adaptation, which finds modern-day resonances in the 1960 classic about racial injusti…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12PMBattersea Arts Centre, LondonThough innovative in delivery, this bizarre experimental production has gratuitous descriptions of sex and violence and fails to satisfy as a performance Psychod…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:24PMPark theatre, LondonThe acting, by Imogen Stubbs and Eric Underwood among others, is formidable but Bruce Norris’s 2010 play lacks depth Bruce Norris’s 2010 satire was written as a respo…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:33PMHarold Pinter theatre, LondonIvo van Hove’s production divests this drama of emotional power and momentum, keeping us at arm’s length Jean Cocteau’s 1930 play is a monologue disguised …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AMThe Law & Order: SVU star is returning to the stage in a White House satire set in 2024. She talks about the ‘black-lash’ after Obama’s election, brokering a new deal for Broadway …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18PMThe Olivier-winning actor is starring in his own play about a horrifying chapter of history and the fight to abolish slavery. He reflects on the resistance to making the story heard At a piv…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:37AMAvailable onlineThis is a gripping drama about the inner struggles and temptation endured by a recovering alcoholic during a dark night of the soul at his father’s wake Marcus Brigstocke�…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36AMUnicorn theatre, LondonBewitching video and ingenious sets combine in a staging that turns the 18th-century adventure into an escape for a troubled student This radical reimagining of Jonath…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24PMAmbassadors theatre, LondonJade Anouka’s character causes an existential earthquake in Marianne Elliott’s stylised revival of Mike Bartlett’s comedy about sexual identity The world has…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03PMThe eponymous do of Mike Leigh’s 1977 play is reimagined in Abi’s House Party, a youth production at the Watford Palace theatre. But what would Bev think? The drama in Abigail’s Party …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AMPark theatre, LondonRon Hutchinson’s play picks up intriguing themes about fake news and psychology but fails to explore them in depth “What if the Titanic never hit an iceberg? What if …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18PMBarbican, LondonFairytale imagery is mixed with absurdist humour in this prescient political thriller in which Russia has become a dictatorial superstate Given the political history of the B…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:03PMRoyal Exchange, ManchesterStef Smith’s reworking of the incendiary play casts three Noras in different eras, but can’t give them credible life There is not one disgruntled wife in this h…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42AMMenier Chocolate Factory, LondonLooking back at the work of Sondheim, Hamlisch and Legrand, with glorious songs and personal stories, this is a mixed bag of a show Maria Friedman has staged …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM
