Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Toddlers in mascara? Dance teachers and parents rethink stage makeup by Wendy Syfret

Applying cosmetics for concerts and competitions is part of dance culture but many now question the tradition I recognised the signs straight away: the twirling, the mirror glances, the obse…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:31AM
Monday, February 23, 2026

The Hound of the Baskervilles review – boutique Sherlock gets laughs but fails to solve the real mystery by Mark Fisher

New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme The cast in this four-person capsule telling of the Conan Doyle thriller bring vigour and charm but it’s hard to discern any point to the exercise To get the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42PM

Saint Joan review – urgency and drive in Stewart Laing’s modernist adaptation of George Bernard Shaw by Mark Fisher

Citizens, GlasgowNewcomer Mandipa Kabanda plays the Maid of Orleans from obscure teenager to army-commanding conqueror, tearing through dialogue with rare pace When George Bernard Shaw’s p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:36AM

‘I paid people with pints and chips’: Georgina Duncan on the prize-winning play she tapped out on her phone by Anya Ryan

Revisiting the Troubles in 1990s Belfast, Sapling is the result of intensive research in the city. And winning the Women’s prize, says Duncan, ‘is the maddest thing that’s ever happene…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:36AM
Sunday, February 22, 2026

Pied Piper review – beatbox rewrite of the rat-infested fairytale by Lyndsey Winship

Derby theatreConrad Murray’s family musical is serious about its commitment to community – but completely lacks dramatic thrust This is not the first time the tale of the Pied Piper has …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:42PM

Maria Bamford review – an unflinching comedian in complete command of every joke and every step by Anya Ryan

Soho Theatre Walthamstow, LondonShe draws us in with bursts of manic physical expression and never stops poking fun at her own quirks and compulsions ‘Why did Americans decide to elect a d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:01AM

Ritual review – eight-hour immersive performance is ambitious but under-resourced by Kate Wyver

Colab Tower, LondonGet lucky with your arrival time in this expansion of Aeschylus’s Oresteia and you’ll witness a fight or a sacrifice – but there are long dull patches Egg yolk is be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54AM
Saturday, February 21, 2026

My cultural awakening: Operation Mincemeat taught me how to cry – now I sob at everything by Nick Allen; As Told To Tim Jonze

A musical number about a woman’s letter to her husband on the second world war frontline unlocked my ability to blub – and made me a happier person I am sure I must have cried as a child…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12PM
Friday, February 20, 2026

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind review – Malawian boy’s amazing famine-beating creation inspires a rousing musical by Arifa Akbar

Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon After a book, a film and a Ted Talk, William Kamkwamba’s heroically inventive response to floods, drought and starvation is now delivered with energetic s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:01PM

Shenoah Allen: Bloodlust Summertime review – guns and slaughter as ‘the devil’s son’ strives to know himself by Kate Wyver

Soho theatre, LondonAllen, one half of the influential Pajama Men comedy duo, mines his personal trauma for a slightly undercooked show about his high-octane upbringing in New Mexico Shenoah…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AM

Road review – Johnny Vegas lands his punches in bitter riposte to Thatcher’s Britain by Mark Fisher

Royal Exchange, ManchesterDirector Selina Cartmell delivers a giddily theatrical take on Jim Cartwright’s slice-of-life portrait Selina Cartmell’s vision for Jim Cartwright’s play is b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AM
Thursday, February 19, 2026

Fair Deal review – family ties are pushed to the limit in fizzing black comedy by Helen Meany

Abbey theatre, DublinThe sale of the parental home triggers a generational showdown in Una McKevitt’s droll play about money, inheritance and caring for ageing relatives On a brief stopove…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM
Wednesday, February 18, 2026

‘Summer is coming!’: Royal Shakespeare Company to stage epic Game of Thrones prequel by Chris Wiegand Stage Editor

Novelist George RR Martin says RSC is ‘obvious choice’ to put on new play The Mad King, which will open after spring A new prequel to George RR Martin’s blockbuster fantasy saga Game o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:24PM

The Battle review – Britpop bickering and 90s nostalgia in Blur v Oasis comedy by Mark Fisher

Birmingham RepThe bands that came to symbolise a divided nation compete to top the charts in John Niven’s jokey play but it is woefully short on drama Apparently, they did a lot of sitting…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM

‘OK, talk, but don’t make any sound!’: Philippe Gaulier’s illustrious students on his clowning glory by Mark Fisher

Comedians, theatre-makers and actors including Rachel Weisz, Sally Phillips and Simon Munnery recall the late teacher’s alarming lessons Philippe Gaulier, clown guru, dies aged 82 Louise B…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM

Bloody brilliant or toothless? Cynthia Erivo’s Dracula – reviews roundup by Guardian Stage

The Wicked star plays all 23 characters in a hi-tech London staging of Bram Stoker’s novel by Kip Williams. Here’s a bite-sized look at the critics’ verdicts Dracula, the Ur-vampire an…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM

Deep Azure review – musical marvels in Chadwick Boseman’s hip-hop tragedy by Arifa Akbar

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonThe Black Panther actor’s melding of social commentary and Shakespearean themes is sometimes opaque yet undeniably poetic Chadwick Boseman was not only an ac…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM

Dracula review – Cynthia Erivo’s magnificent modern bloodsucker is defanged in one-woman show by Arifa Akbar

Noël Coward theatre, LondonDeploying accents and wigs, the Wicked star takes on all Bram Stoker’s characters, but the atmosphere lacks the fever or diabolicism required Are people born wi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:18AM
Tuesday, February 17, 2026

‘Oh my God, what a brutal existence!’ Haley McGee on her global hit about growing old (and white pubic hair) by Mark Fisher

The Canadian performer visited hospices, mystics and cemeteries to research Age Is a Feeling. The show, which has now been performed in 10 languages, has reduced men in their 70s to tears It…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:24PM

After Miss Julie review – sex takes second place to snarling class warfare by David Jays

Park theatre, London Patrick Marber updates Strindberg’s story to a country house in 1945, where upstairs-downstairs disaffection drives the drama Strindberg claimed that he wrote Miss J…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AM

One Day has been a bestselling novel, a forgettable film, a beloved TV series – now can it be a musical? by Miriam Gillinson

David Nicholls’s romantic saga is heading to stage, in the very city where its characters first felt the sparks fly. But how to cram 20 years of romance into two tune-filled hours? By focu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AM

‘I wasn’t ambitious until I was 60!’ Gary Wilmot on comedy, panto, musicals – and his Beckett-style new play by Arifa Akbar

He left school at 15 and worked as a scaffolder. Then success on New Faces launched him to stardom – and he’s been a panto and musicals sensation ever since. So what made him write a com…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AM
Monday, February 16, 2026

Josh Sharp: ta-da! review – 2,000 slides and one ‘weenie massage’ in a show that’s big on laughs by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe former child magician from New York combines PowerPoint and personal trauma in an off-Broadway import that packs a considerable punch Two species of modern standup jo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM
Sunday, February 15, 2026

Dreamscape review – dazzling hip-hop drama reclaims vital spirit of teenager slain by police by Arifa Akbar

Omnibus theatre, London Inspired by the 1998 shooting of Tyisha Miller, the lost hopes and memories of a young Black woman – played beautifully by Jada Evelyn Ramsey – are explored throu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PM

Sweetmeats review – the ripe fruits of late love by Anya Ryan

Bush theatre, London Karim Khan’s tender portrait of South Asians finding companionship through shared grief and illness is played with crackling chemistry by Shobu Kapoor and Rehan Sheikh…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:01AM
Saturday, February 14, 2026

Peta calls for pork-free menus as Peppa Pig show rolls into Grimsby by Mark Brown

Auditorium to remove bacon and sausages from cafe during stage run after request from campaign group Campaigners are calling on theatre bosses to stop serving bacon, sausages and ham in thei…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:01AM
Friday, February 13, 2026

Shadowlands review – Hugh Bonneville charms in a weepie that’s as creaky as an old library by Arifa Akbar

Aldwych theatre, LondonWilliam Nicholson’s take on CS Lewis’s marriage to an American divorcee should have you in bits but it fails to feel as eviscerating as it should The drama of love…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06PM

I’m Sorry, Prime Minister review – Hacker and Sir Humphrey return as baffled but charming old codgers by Brian Logan

Apollo theatre, London Jonathan Lynn’s farewell to the beloved parliamentary sitcom casts Griff Rhys Jones as ex-PM Jim Hacker, making one last call on his wily consigliere Death comes to …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM

The Shitheads review – primal urges rear up in a playful, prehistoric oddity by Kate Wyver

Royal Court Upstairs, LondonCave people with very different perspectives meet on an elk hunt in Jack Nicholls’ savage but sweet play about love and violence among early humans Love is exp…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM

Here There Are Blueberries review – devastating anatomy of the truth behind Nazi snapshots by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal Stratford East, London Using photographs from an archive album of Auschwitz staff relaxing, this searing drama builds into an unforgettable inquiry This play is based around a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36AM
Thursday, February 12, 2026

Tutu review – cheeky tribute to ballet has a disco Swan Lake and the Dirty Dancing lift by Lyndsey Winship

Sadler’s Wells East, LondonThe all-male French troupe Chicos Mambo mix parody and pointework in a fast-paced comic celebration of dance’s high art and sillier side When the curtain goes …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:42PM

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off