★★★★★ THREE SISTERS, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Souls dissected in brilliantly conceived and executed production Russia - but also here, there and everywhere Russia.
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:48PM★ MRS PRESIDENT, CHARING CROSS THEATRE A widow, a photographer but no soul Curious play that fails to mobilise theatre's unique ability to tell a story The phenomenal global success of Si…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:42AM★★★ SECOND BEST, RIVERSIDE STUDIOS First-class performance in a second-class play Martin is not Harry Potter in the movies, then might be in real life, but proves to be the boy who sur…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:06PM★★★★★ PLAY ON!, LYRIC HAMMERSMITH The Bard and The Duke in perfect harmony! Super performances deliver magnificent entertainment If you saw Upstart Crow on television or on stage i…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:54PM★★★ AN INTERROGATION, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Detective gets her man, but at what cost? Rosie Sheehy and Jamie Ballard shine in Edinburgh Festival import In a dingy room with dilapidated fu…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:42PM★★★ CYMBELINE, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Patriarchy defeated! A new, if not as radical as once it were, take on Shakespeare's cross-dressing call to arms There’s not much point in ha…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 11:42AM★★★★ THE LONELY LONDONERS, KILN THEATRE A beautifully realised stage adaptation Memories, frustrations and hopes in a city emerging from post-war austerity As something of an immig…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:18PM★★★★ THE MAIDS, JERMYN STREET THEATRE Master and Servant, poison & procrastination Class, in its 21st century manifestation, colours much performed play There are two main reaso…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:18PM★ TITANIQUE, CRITERION THEATRE Celine! Tina! Jack and Rose! But no wit at all Affectionate piss-take set for cult status at best This Celine Dion jukebox musical has been a big hit in New …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:24PM★★★ TWELFTH NIGHT The winter comedy provides more chills than chuckles despite a funny fool Too much thinking; not enough laughing It is not just Twelfth Night, it’s Twelfth Night, …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:42PM★★★★ NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812, DONMAR WAREHOUSE Broadway show takes eight years to traverse the Atlantic, but proves worth the wait War and Peace - but not as y…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:02PM★★★ HANSEL AND GRETEL, SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE More wicked witch, less sunny siblings please Songs and sweeties, but insufficient sourness and sadism for fans of fairytales Growing up wit…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:18PM★★ THE LIGHTNING THIEF, THE OTHER PALACE One for fans of the franchise Myths and monsters make for a curiously bland and bloodless musical Percy Jackson is neither the missing one from …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:48AM★★★ ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Despite its compansations, the play is hard to watch New production lands on shaky ground in 2024 "All’s well that ends well�…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:48PM★★★★ KING JAMES, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Two Cleveland lads bond, break and bond again in perceptive dramedy Beautifully crafted play tracks two men's relationship, as LeBron James comes a…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:31PM★★★★ [TITLE OF SHOW], SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Two decades on, this meta-musical retains its charm Revival of New York show lifts the spirits Not just a backstage musical, a backroom mu…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:36PM★★★★ BURNT-UP LOVE, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Ferocious three-hander finds love too hot to handle Super writing and acting jolts us out of complacency Mac is in prison for a long stretch. …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:06PM★★★ HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR MOTHER, KING'S HEAD THEATRE Jonathan Maitland writes of his mother, but should we laugh or cry? Lots of heartache, but a strange void where the heart of the pla…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:42PM★★★★ THE FORSYTE SAGA PARTS 1 AND 2, PARK THEATRE Epic adaptation falls away a little, but still packs a punch Joseph Millson leads a super cast in a classy production from Troupe …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:06PM★★★ AUTUMN, PARK THEATRE Adaptation of Ali Smith's acclaimed novel drifts when it should bite Promising production, beautifully acted, slides into side plots and confusion Theatre is…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:02AM★★ LAND OF THE FREE, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Good timing, but clunky structure and plodding pace limits appeal A president shot, as a divided country seeks political solutions Straddling th…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:06PM★★★ KNIFE ON THE TABLE, COCKPIT THEATRE London teenagers pulled into gang culture's world of drugs, knives and misery This is exactly the kind of play that should be staged in 2024 …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:54PM★★★★ THE LEHMAN TRILOGY The rise and rise and rise of an iconic Wall Street institution - and its collapse Sensational stagecraft elevates familiar tale of immigrant success in…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:12PM★★★ FRENCH TOAST The English and the French, the men and the women, the young and the old, lock horns in 70s farce Comedy gains momentum when characters are rounded out It’s alw…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:18PM★★★ HERE IN AMERICA David Edgar's new play sounds a warning from the past When political expediency intervenes in a personal and professional friendship, what should one do? The clu…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:48PM★★★ THE TRUTH ABOUT HARRY BECK Nostalgic comedy about the man who originated an everyday design classic An English eccentric quietly re-invents our view of the capital Iconic is a wor…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:42PM★★★ THE BAND BACK TOGETHER AGAIN The perils of turning back the clock laid bare The second album is still tough, even if you never recorded the first We meet Joe first at the keys, si…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:42PM★★★ KIM'S CONVENIENCE, Gentle comedy delivers laughs, but proves too safe and too predictable The play that inspired a Netflix series is heartwarming, but needs more spice to bite O…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:36PM★★★ WHY AM I SO SINGLE?, GARRICK THEATRE Six's writers lay bare their souls in new musical Marlow and Moss are back with deeply personal exploration of how lives are lived today Going…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:36PM★★★★ THE SILVER CORD, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Narcissism up-close and disturbingly relevant Beautifully staged and acted revival of Sidney Howard’s century-old black comedy One of th…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:36PM★★★★ ART, THEATRE ROYAL BATH Three men fall out over a painting in a very French comedy Male friendships buckle as egos clash, with a resonance for today's culture wars For men, nav…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:32PM