★★★★★ THE GANG OF THREE, KING'S HEAD THEATRE The big beasts banter 50 years ago Beautifully written and equally well acted play resonates down the decades There…
★★ CONVERSATIONS AFTER SEX, PARK THEATRE Nudity, but nothing new in UK debut Award-winning Irish play fails to reach a memorable climax In Dublin, a city that has changed more th…
★★★★ MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, RSC, STRATFORD Medieval court's mores translates uncomfortably well to modern football Garish and gossipy, this new production packs a…
★★★★★ GHOSTS, LYRIC HAMMERSMITH - Ibsen screams into 2025 in this perfect reimagining Ten years on, Gary Owen and Rachel O'Riordan top their triumphant Iphigeni…
★ MIDNIGHT COWBOY, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Ambitious project overwhelmed by challenges Two misfits misfire in misconceived show It seems a bizarre idea. Take a pivotal film in America…
★★★★ THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING OSCAR, JERMYN STREET THEATRE One man play from 1960 given a compelling revival Alastair Whatley honours his subject in a quietly powerful…
★★★★ STILETTO, CHARING CROSS THEATRE Castrato finds comfort by the canals Quirky, operatic show won't please everyone, but will delight many That friend you have wh…
★★★ ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS - THE MUSICAL, THEATRE ROYAL BATH Ambitious new musical isn't slaying 'em in the aisles 1950s America feels a lot like 2020s America in…
★★★★ EDWARD II, SWAN THEATRE Rapid and racy adaptation draws on its writer's legend Putsch in the palace brings down a king who chose the wrong person to love "Do…
★★★★★ HAMLET, ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE Rupert Goold's staging lends a gnawing, troubling, transatlantic relevance The iceberg cometh The date, projected be…
★★★★★ THREE SISTERS, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Souls dissected in brilliantly conceived and executed production Russia - but also here, there and everywhere Russi…
★ MRS PRESIDENT, CHARING CROSS THEATRE A widow, a photographer but no soul Curious play that fails to mobilise theatre's unique ability to tell a story The phenomenal global success o…
★★★ SECOND BEST, RIVERSIDE STUDIOS First-class performance in a second-class play Martin is not Harry Potter in the movies, then might be in real life, but proves to be the…
★★★★★ PLAY ON!, LYRIC HAMMERSMITH The Bard and The Duke in perfect harmony! Super performances deliver magnificent entertainment If you saw Upstart Crow on tele…
★★★ AN INTERROGATION, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Detective gets her man, but at what cost? Rosie Sheehy and Jamie Ballard shine in Edinburgh Festival import In a dingy room with …
★★★ CYMBELINE, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Patriarchy defeated! A new, if not as radical as once it were, take on Shakespeare's cross-dressing call to arms There's not much…
★★★★ THE LONELY LONDONERS, KILN THEATRE A beautifully realised stage adaptation Memories, frustrations and hopes in a city emerging from post-war austerity As som…
★★★★ THE MAIDS, JERMYN STREET THEATRE Master and Servant, poison & procrastination Class, in its 21st century manifestation, colours much performed play There ar…
★ TITANIQUE, CRITERION THEATRE Celine! Tina! Jack and Rose! But no wit at all Affectionate piss-take set for cult status at best This Celine Dion jukebox musical has been a big hit in …
★★★ TWELFTH NIGHT The winter comedy provides more chills than chuckles despite a funny fool Too much thinking; not enough laughing It is not just Twelfth Night, it's Twe…
★★★★ NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812, DONMAR WAREHOUSE Broadway show takes eight years to traverse the Atlantic, but proves worth the wait War and Pe…
★★★ HANSEL AND GRETEL, SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE More wicked witch, less sunny siblings please Songs and sweeties, but insufficient sourness and sadism for fans of fairytales …
★★ THE LIGHTNING THIEF, THE OTHER PALACE One for fans of the franchise Myths and monsters make for a curiously bland and bloodless musical Percy Jackson is neither the missing…
★★★ ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Despite its compansations, the play is hard to watch New production lands on shaky ground in 2024 "All's well that…
★★★★ KING JAMES, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Two Cleveland lads bond, break and bond again in perceptive dramedy Beautifully crafted play tracks two men's relationship, as LeBr…