Lyttelton theatre, LondonThe hardship in Steinbeck's classic Depression-era novel is well captured in Frank Galati's atmospheric adaptation, but you long for more tension, more to happen A s…
King's Head theatre, LondonHannah Kumari's monologue about family angst and teenage isolation has potential, but despite a squealingly spirited performance by Nikhita Lesler, it doesn't quit…
@sohoplace, LondonMichael ★★ ★ ☆ ☆ / Delroy ★★★★☆Clint Dyer and Roy Williams' riotous plays are a little unwieldy in this revival …
Minerva theatre, Chichester Paul Unwin reconstructs the first days of Clement Attlee's government in 1945 and moves through momentous history without finding a real focus The economy is in t…
Gulbenkian Arts Centre, CanterburyTheatre company 1927 pull off a high-wire act of graphic novel visuals, song, dance, comedy and psychedelic make-believe in this madcap odyssey This "twiste…
Chichester Festival theatre New staging of classic has perfect singing, cute choreography by Matthew Bourne, but rather too little daring " and one show-stealing performance There are some m…
Lyric Hammersmith, LondonAn infatuated teenager's fantasy of saving a star from his fame clashes with the reality of frenemies and family frictions in an operatic plot Remember how, long bef…
Stage performances have been disrupted this summer by last-minute delays, cancellations and postponements. Is it just a run of bad luck " or a cultural shift? One theatre audience, already s…
With subjects ranging from the deadly serious to the downright silly, this year's shows include plays about addiction, politics, funk and Come Dine With Me "To be or not to be" … that Shak…
Dorfman theatre, LondonThis Pulitzer-winning play delicately explores issues of race, sexuality and masculinity with humour as the main ingredient A group of Black American men have convened…
Palladium, London For all its Broadway dazzle and gags, this musical's story of midlife bereavement and a second chance at love carries intense feeling How often do you see an old-style musi…
Hampstead theatre, LondonChristopher Hampton's sleek adaptation of Stefan Zweig's 1922 novella adds elements of the Austrian writer's own life Letter from an Unknown Woman is perhaps Stefan …
Watermill theatre, NewburyThe story is thin and slow to emerge but the actor-musicians and acrobats deliver the 1980 circus musical with gusto The circus begins outside with fire-eating, jug…
Noël Coward theatre, LondonKit Harington and Olivia Washington star in a charged, often comical drama about the legacy of historical racial violence in three couples' sexual dynamics What…
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonThe hot pink shoes, tights and feathers are wonderful, but this update of the 1777 comedy has no satirical bite beneath its enormous wigs The ca…
Donmar Warehouse, LondonAn infectious soundtrack and a bubbling script boost Dominique Morisseau's drama as the spectre of closure looms over the lives of four assembly-line workers When in …
Harold Pinter theatre, LondonThe sad love story between bereaved piano prodigy KÅsei and free-spirit Kaori is played with verve " but what worked on paper and as an anime TV series stutte…
Olivier theatre, LondonSimon McBurney returns to direct his 1999 drama and it still fizzes, even if some of the images are more rewarding than the ideas Remembering is not a neutral function…
Troubadour Wembley Park theatre, LondonUpdated with references to net zero, the 1984 musical is back on track in all its outlandish glory What bald-faced audacity led Andrew Lloyd Webber to …
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, LondonThis magical production sets the drama against the backdrop of Indian partition, allowing a deft exploration of dual heritage and cultural displacement …
Political art helps us debate and confront the challenges in our lives. It is also a record we must return to again and again 'A play should be an act of moral imagination," said the late B…
Park theatre, London A doctor, a therapist and the Kennedy brothers are among the characters in this cocktail of facts and fiction Marilyn Monroe died on 4 August 1962 from a "probable suici…
Anna Maxwell Martin excels as a good MP, while James Corden's ex-soldier shows he can be dark as well as funny A drama featuring a face-off between an MP and a constituent outraged by the fa…
Coronet theatre, LondonThis gnomic production of Churchill's 1997 play, about a couple awaiting their daughter's return, is packed with confusions and curveballs In Blue Heart, a pair of one…
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon Blanche McIntyre's Midas-touched production is set in the present day and finds delirious comedy in its class divisions This lesser-staged Shak…