★★★ UNBELIEVABLE, CRITERION THEATRE Entertaining show, but short of a little magic in more senses than one Pantomime vibe undermines the unique frisson of the magicia…
★★ UNTITLED F*UCK M*SS S**GON PLAY, YOUNG VIC A gruelling watch, but message hits home Satirical comedy-drama labours its points across an uninterrupted two hours Seldom can a…
 Austrian musical finally arrives in London to entertain, but not quite thrill There are times when it's best to know as little as possible before taking one's seat for a show " this new…
★★★ INFAMOUS, JERMYN STREET THEATRE Caroline and Rose Quentin perfectly cast in mother and daughter play A clever, sexy, confident woman woos the aristocracy but is diso…
★★★★ MAKESHIFTS AND REALITIES, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Three one act works revived with a beautiful attention to detail Plays that show that much may have changed for w…
Feelgood show acquires added poignancy on an emotional night Forty years ago, the world was very different for gay men. AIDS was devastating their communities around the world, especially …
★★ THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL, SOUTHBANK CENTRE Broadway show drowns in an unsympathetic venue, holed beneath the waterline by a lacklustre book and incoherent score Fine performan…
★★★ MACBETH, SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE Stripped back version has plenty of echoes of today's news, but lacks coherence and spectacle Matti Houghton shines as a grieving, accus…
★★ THE CROWN JEWELS, GARRICK THEATRE True story, dreadfully low on laughs and drama, in which the only successful heist comes at the box office Al Murray and Carrie Hope F…
★★★ ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, LAVENDER THEATRE Corny book still has its problems,. but Irving Berlin's songs are as glorious as ever In fields of lavender flowers, an open ai…
★★ MODEST, KILN THEATRE A trans and queer celebration, but not a very good play Art, songs and a cabaret (indeed, Cabaret) vibe, but the story goes nowhere Whether you believ…
★★★★ STUMPED, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE A smart, funny, and beautifully staged new play An hour zips by in the company of two playwrights bickering on the boundary edge Mu…
★ ROBIN HOOD. THE LEGEND. RE-WRITTEN. REGENT'S PARK OPEN AIR THEATRE Play with music lost in a forest of competing genres and tones New version of old story wastes talent and resources…
★★★★★ 42nd STREET, SADLER'S WELLS THEATRE Glorious entertainment led by a star in the making Old show sparkles in astonishing new production that dazzles fro…
★★★ A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE - Hot button issues douse fiery passions MIchelle Terry steals the show as a Puck who brings a malevolent undertow to the…
★★★★ A BRIEF LIST OF EVERYONE WHO DIED, FINBOROUGH THEATRE New play that mines the bittersweet moments of a long life Jacob Marx Rice's new play mines the bitters…
★★★★ THE CIRCLE, ORANGE TREE THEATRE Acerbic reflections on the price paid for love Jane Asher leads an ensemble cast in Somerset Maugham's comedy of manners Tom Lit…
FlawBored's meta-theatrical show comforts and then goes in for the kill Just when you've relaxed a little, privileged duly checked and confident that you won't be guilt-tripped for nipping i…
Classy new stage adaptation of 1950s French novel proves intellectually rewarding It's apt that this new play, with characters moving in and out of Paris either side of World War I, is stag…
Frenetic take on Brecht's tale of doing good in a bad world loses focus As the UK undergoes yet another political convulsion, this time concerning the threshold for ministers being shitty to…
American show is lost in the West End with only the hits to save it Ain't Too Proud? Ain't too good either I'm afraid. Which is a shame as there's plenty of the raw material here that powers…
New production of the West End show based on the Alan Bennett film is perhaps near its sell-by date People can't find the food they want in the shops. Nobody has enough money. Public service…
A reprehensible man treats women badly, but the political magic is left entirely unexplored One wonders if Ricky Simmonds and Simon Vaughan pondered long over their debut musical's title. S…
Evanna Lynch heads up wan troubles-themed dark comedy "Darkly comic thrillers" (as they like to say) set in Ireland tracking how families, or quasi-families, fall apart under pressure are ve…
Ambitious but misconceived take on musical theatre landmark outstays its welcome It is, perhaps, important to note that this production was first staged in London at the Young Vic, a venue …