1,230 stories by "Arifa Akbar"
Available onlineTwo actors share the role of Maya, telling stories of her absent sibling and the illusive title character which are unresolved but compelling
This is a bracingly odd 30-minu…
Southwark Playhouse, LondonClive Judd's Papatango-winning play about a West Midlands family haunted by the past is unorthodox and invigorating
It is hard to categorise this unorthodox and i…
Theatre Royal BathGeorge Bernard Shaw's discomfiting play finds a commanding lead in Quentin, playing alongside her real-life daughter Rose
It is clear to see why George Bernard Shaw's 1893 …
Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonThere's tension in Terry Johnson's tale of four couples meeting for sex and nibbles but the unruly debate isn't deep enough
At first, The Sex Party looks like…
Omnibus theatre, LondonAnna Coombs strips out two-thirds of the characters to deliver an intimate and intense adaptation of Shakespeare's play
There is no sign of courtly pomp or ceremony i…
Hampstead theatre, LondonJoe White's romantic tragedy is a brave and original depiction of the hedonistic excess and inner battles of a co-dependent couple struggling with alcoholism
The cou…
White Bear theatre, LondonInspired by real-life accounts, Jules Chan's play returns the audience to the early months of the pandemic but doesn't create enough drama
This part-verbatim drama …
Southwark Playhouse, LondonExploring the agent's life after she fell into Nazi hands, this beguilingly played story reflects on bravery and culpability
Not enough is known of Noor Inayat Kha…
The Pit, Barbican, London With live music, video and spoken word testimony, a dramatic rap subculture energetically seizes the chance to present its own complicated story on stage
Seven bala…
Royal Court theatre, LondonMartin Crimp's show uses AI and deep-fake technology to question the definition of drama " and what it is to be human
There are circles within circles of inquiries…
North Wall Arts Centre, OxfordDeborah Pugh delivers a brilliantly intense take on the ancient tales, foregrounding the heroism of women
'This is the story of my severed head." As first lines…
Available onlineEffectively filmed for streaming audiences in a sharply told adaptation, this adventure stars Luke Barton as the bumptious master detective
"If this is to be our final advent…
Hampstead theatre, LondonRona Munro's engaging debate drama has some thrilling exchanges as three characters argue the case for and against Mary Queen of Scots
The Mary of the title refers t…
Wilton's Music Hall, LondonSet in the New Mexico desert, David Farr's unusual play dips into virtual reality in order to raise questions of love, life and what constitutes the human essence
…
Seven Dials Playhouse, LondonA distressed woman unravels after her father's suicide in a play that strikes the wrong balance between humour and sorrow
Daddy Issues sets itself a tall order: …
They have suffered vicious abuse and ugly trolling, but the team behind the Globe's Shakespeare and Race festival tell our writer why their work feels more urgent than ever
When Farah Karim-…
Almeida, London Songs belt out deliriously in this romp through rise and fall of the Bakker televangelists and latterday gay icons " so thick and fast the James Graham script and Jake Shears…
Park theatre, LondonExcellent performances enhance this story of three young boys hurtling towards gang culture
King Hamlin begins with a teenager's funeral. We learn of the boy's stabbing a…
Park theatre, LondonThis adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's novel about a gay man grieving for his lover lacks the depth of Tom Ford's movie version
Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel abo…
Bristol Old VicWith inky backdrops, jagged sound and frenzied violence, John Haidar's production stars Billy Howle as a prince emanating unhinged anger
The opening scene suggests that this p…
Barbican, LondonThe Royal Shakespeare Company's production has astonishing puppetry, magical music and huge emotional impact
How to adapt an iconic film made by the creative giants at Studio…
Minerva theatre, ChichesterIn spite of a nifty set and new songs, this story of an oil-man trying to buy a Highlands village never quite comes alive
This adaptation of Bill Forsyth's 1983 fi…
The Hope theatre, LondonThe characters might be the Brontës themselves or they might be from novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, mashed-up with wandering strays from a zombie …
Reading Rep theatrePlaywright Gary McNair turns the gothic novel into a brilliantly bewitching show performed by Audrey Brisson
The small square stage looks more fitted up for a standup gig…
Harold Pinter theatre, LondonRevived with a superb cast, CP Taylor's play about a professor embracing nazism is fascinating psychological theatre with the feel of a fever dream
There is an i…
