1,230 stories by "Arifa Akbar"
Riverside Studios, LondonDepicting the insinuating villain as a trio of manipulators is striking and gives the drama thrillerish momentum, but intimacy is lost
Othello's nemesis has come in …
Bold theatre, LondonThis musical meta comedy allegorising Britain's hostility to immigrants arrives ahead of panto season but with perfect timing nonetheless. Unfortunately it seems under-re…
Theatre Royal BathRichard Eyre's production of the father-and-son drama has some strong performances but is too light to probe the play's plaintive depths
A fine roll call of actors have pla…
Theatre503, LondonRachel Bellman explores Jewish exorcisms and rebellion in this darkly funny, psychological play
There is a slow-burn buildup of creepiness in this haunted house story which…
Barbican, LondonCanadian company Why Not Theatre's take on the Sanskrit poem, led by South Asian artists, exquisitely blends classical elements with modern, but feels distant in the second a…
Royal Court, LondonWe're left wondering not just whodunnit but what was done and why in this lushly designed but confusing production
This postmodern whodunnit begins, tantalisingly, with …
Chichester Festival theatreA delightfully performed revival of James Graham's fresh and funny play about the Millionaire cougher case, which critiques the TV industry and trials by media
The…
Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonWith a jarring tone and karaoke hits, this show never truly captures the highs and lows of the star's life
Lesley Hornby was 16 when she became the face of he…
Hampstead theatre, LondonA grieving behavioural biologist meets an anthropologist in Marek Horn's drama starring Jemma Redgrave and Ewan Miller
At the centre of this play of ideas about anim…
Tom Cruise's character becomes a female neuroscientist in a new adaptation of the Spielberg film, kicking off a season that, the venue's artistic director says, will focus on communal experi…
Omnibus Theatre, LondonCharlie Dupré's Bruntwood prize longlisted play asks thoughtful questions about who gets to shape history, but lacks a level of intrigue and emotional depth to addres…
Duke of York's theatre, LondonThe actor gives thrillingly virtuoso performances as multiple characters in an entertaining reimagining but he cannot penetrate any one part deeply enough for t…
Old Vic theatre, LondonThis Shaw revival has wonderful moments but there is little spark between Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins
In its preface, George Bernard Shaw claimed the success of …
Charing Cross theatre, LondonAmong polished performances, Kara Lane's creepily obsessed housekeeper proves a powerful force
This musical adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's novel became a mamm…
Barbican, LondonBelarusian and Ukrainian performers come together in this creepy and atmospheric haunted house story
This operatic tale of folkloric ghost-kings, aristocrats and curses resus…
@sohoplace, LondonThis adaptation of a memoir by a 17-year-old aspiring rugby pro paralysed by a holiday accident has catchy songs, strong performances and schmaltz
"When I was 17, I had an …
Gate theatre, LondonFunny, moving stories about working-class lives are interspersed with political music in this baggy three-hander
Brassic FM is the kind of pirate station you might tune i…
The poet has teamed up with Frantic Assembly to bring the novella, about a man who turns into an insect, to the stage. He explains why this story of family meltdown is all about modern life
…
Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, LondonSet aboard a double-decker as it journeys through London and back and forth in time, this is a poignant but uplifting immersive theatre pi…
Lyric Hammersmith, LondonSome of the punches don't land as hard as they might, but deft direction and slick performances make this a delightfully brutal take down of bourgeois manners
Yasmin…
Minerva Theatre, ChichesterWhile its characters can't quite hold the full weight of the culture wars commentary, Deborah Frances-White's frothy comedy is eminently watchable
Money and friend…
Assembly Checkpoint, EdinburghPerformers Olivia Porter and Jarred Dewey bring this inventive show to (after)life with their dark, messy and often astonishing physical comedy
It begins like a…
Assembly George Square Gardens, EdinburghOscar Wilde hides in a bunker on a dystopian dance floor, but while there is much high-energy music there is little drama
What would Oscar Wilde be d…
Assembly Rooms, EdinburghTwo-hander presents a woman, who has miscarried on a US flight, confronted by a steely lawyer who explains she is representing the foetus
The tension builds from the…
Festival theatre, EdinburghOng Keng Sen's high-octane production for the National Changgeuk Company of Korea is scintillating from start to finish
This operatic production leans into several…
