Spirited revival of Charlotte Jones's 2001 hit buzzes with funGood programming is an art, and Paul Miller " artistic director of the Orange Tree Theatre " is clearly on a continuous rol…
★★★ THE BEST MAN, PLAYHOUSE THEATRE Martin Shaw and Maureen Lipman fail to heat up chilly political thrillerMartin Shaw and Maureen Lipman fail to heat up chilly political …
Martin Shaw and Maureen Lipman fail to heat up chilly political thriller Is it possible to get too much of American politics? With Donald Trump's daily tweets invading our digital space, a n…
★★★★ FROZEN, HAYMARKET THEATRE Suranne Jones, Jason Watkins and Nina Sosanya examine human darknessSuranne Jones, Jason Watkins and Nina Sosanya convincingly examine …
Suranne Jones, Jason Watkins and Nina Sosanya convincingly examine human darknessWhatever the weather, this week is Frozen. On Broadway, the Disney musical of that name begins previews, but …
★★★★ ANGRY, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Six monologues about extreme emotions offer trips to outer space and dystopiaSix monologues about extreme emotions offer trips to oute…
Six monologues about extreme emotions offer trips to outer space and dystopiaMonologues are very much the flavour of the start of this theatrical year. At the Royal Court, we have Carey Mull…
Dennis Kelly's remarkable new monologue is a terrific experienceThis is Carey Mulligan week. She appears, improbably enough, as a hard-nosed cop in David Hare's BBC thriller Collateral, as w…
★★★★★ GIRLS & BOYS, ROYAL COURT Carey Mulligan is stunningly brilliantDennis Kelly's remarkable new monologue is a terrific experienceThis is Carey Mul…
★★ THE DIVIDE, OLD VIC Alan Ayckbourn's overblown dystopiaEpic, very long satire on religion and sexual segregation prefers comedy to tragedyPlaywright Alan Ayckbourn basically c…
Epic, very long satire on religion and sexual segregation prefers comedy to tragedyPlaywright Alan Ayckbourn basically comes in two flavours: suburban comedies of embarrassment and sci-fi fa…
New misery fest about rural life is symbolic, but lacks drama and resonanceFirst the goats, and now the sheep " has this venue become an urban farm? Rural life, which was once so central to …
New misery fest about rural life is symbolic, but lacks drama and resonanceFirst the goats, and now the sheep " has this venue become an urban farm? Rural life, which was once so central to …
PAINES PLOUGH ROUNDABOUT, ORANGE TREE THEATRE Too brief to really rockThree-piece repertory is well staged, but the short-play formula doesn't really workHype is a dangerous thing. It often …
Three-piece repertory is well staged, but the short-play formula doesn't really workHype is a dangerous thing. It often raises expectations beyond the reasonable, and disappointment inevitab…
★★★ THE BELIEVERS ARE BUT BROTHERS, BUSH THEATRE One-man show about political extremism on the internet occasionally disturbsOne-man show about political extremism on the i…
One-man show about political extremism on the internet occasionally disturbs Do boys never leave the playground? Just when I was reasonably sure that the crisis of masculinity was an old-fas…
Toby Jones, Zoë Wanamaker and co breathe vibrant new life into classic Pinter comedy of menaceIs modernism dead and buried? Anyone considering the long haul of Harold Pinter's The Birthda…
New play about refugee camp life in Calais is a grueling docu-dramaRefugees, it is said, have no nationality " they are all individuals. This new docu-drama, deftly put together by theatre-m…
New drama about political extremism is brilliantly written " mostlyThe political story of our time is the upsurge in support for Jeremy Corbyn, leftwing leader of the Labour Party, mainly by…
New play about Syria is upstaged by its animal performersThe civil war in Syria spawns image after image of hell on earth. Staging the stories of that conflict presents a challenge to playwr…
International season continues with savage Ukrainian war playWar is morally acidic: it dissolves social rules, loosens inhibitions and gives permission to men to behave like animals. And the…
All-star cast in modern American classic celebrate the ideal of the dealAmerican classics dominate the straight plays in London's West End. Whenever a producer wants to revive a straight dra…
New play about getting away from it all by Peep Show writer fails to enlightenIs Buddhism a path to finding spiritual enlightenment " or just an excuse for not facing your personal problems?…
New play about storytelling examines a children's book craze " and its repercussionsHarry Potter has a lot to answer for. The phenomenal success of J K Rowling's books, and of their film ver…