Standing at the Sky's Edge, National Theatre review - razor-sharp musical with second-act woes by Gary Naylor

★★★★ STANDING AT THE SKY'S EDGE, NT 60 years in one Sheffield flat tells our nation's story Chris Bush and Richard Hawley write a love letter to a friendly and fla…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 9:07pm on February 20, 2023☆⚑

Sylvia, Old Vic review - great leads, rambling story by Gary Naylor

★★★★ SYLVIA, THE OLD VIC Beverley Knight is compelling and complex in suffragette musical Sylvia Pankhurst suffers for her commitment to votes for women and to soc…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 5:16am on February 17, 2023☆⚑

Smoke, Southwark Playhouse review - dazzling Strindberg update by Gary Naylor

★★★★★ SMOKE, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Kim Davies' 2014 play has only grown in relevance for the post #MeToo world  The perils of navigating power relations whe…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 5:49am on February 5, 2023☆⚑

Titus Andronicus, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - notorious play hits and misses by Gary Naylor

★★ TITUS ANDRONICUS, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Gory play full of murders played with neither gore nor murders  Tricksy staging distracts and disappoints If All's Well That…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 3:26am on February 3, 2023☆⚑

Noises Off, Phoenix Theatre review - much revived classic farce gains in poignancy by Gary Naylor

★★★★ NOISES OFF, PHOENIX THEATRE Michael Frayn's farce about a farce still jars the funny bone Sure it's overly familiar, but, 40 years on, the laughs keep coming …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 3:04am on January 27, 2023☆⚑

Allegiance, Charing Cross Theatre review - George Takei's childhood story makes a heartfelt musical by Gary Naylor

★★★★ ALLEGIANCE, CHARING CROSS THEATRE Beautifully sung show shines light into a dark corner of American history   Star Trek's Mr Sulu honours fellow Japanes…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 6:31am on January 20, 2023☆⚑

A Streetcar Named Desire, Almeida Theatre review - Patsy Ferran rises above fussy staging by Gary Naylor

★★★★ A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, ALMEIDA THEATRE Torment, toxicity and trauma in New Orleans   Torment, toxicity and trauma in New Orleans It's a long way fr…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 6:20am on January 13, 2023☆⚑

Watch on the Rhine, Donmar Warehouse review - Lillian Hellman's 1940 play is still asking awkward questions by Gary Naylor

★★★★ WATCH ON THE RHINE, DONMAR Country house comedy transforms into call to arms In wartime, when tough actions are needed to back up easy words, what do you do? …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 6:15am on January 11, 2023☆⚑

Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol, Queen Elizabeth Hall review - Scrooge goes to Tennessee by Gary Naylor

★★★ DOLLY PARTON'S SMOKY MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS CAROL, SOUTHBANK CENTRE Great songs, but a sanitised book declaws Yuletide parable  Dolly and Dickens team up for dreams a…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 4:42am on December 15, 2022☆⚑

Hex, National Theatre review - 12 months after being sent to sleep by Covid, Rufus Norris's show is back by Gary Naylor

Victoria Hamilton-Barritt brings superstar quality and emotional depth to villainous ogre Hovering way, way above us, three aptly named high fairies, in voluminous chiffon, open a show that …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 8:06am on December 7, 2022☆⚑

Elf, Dominion Theatre review - hit musical revival slays it again by Gary Naylor

★★★★ ELF, DOMINION THEATRE Plenty of presents for all the family in a spectacular show based on the much loved film  Buddy the Elf charms everyone on either sid…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 7:36am on November 26, 2022☆⚑

A Christmas Carol, RSC, Stratford review - family show eases back the terror and winds up the politics by Gary Naylor

★★★★ A CHRISTMAS CAROL, RSC Old favourite finds contemporary relevance in sanitised staging The RSC Christmas show delivers exactly what it promises Life is full o…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 11:24am on November 19, 2022☆⚑

Here, Southwark Playhouse review - award-winning kitchen sink drama goes down the drain by Gary Naylor

★ HERE, Southwark Playhouse Characters drown in a surfeit of issues The prestige of the Papatango Prize cannot rescue a play that fails to transcend its inexplicable limitations The k…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 7:54am on November 17, 2022☆⚑

From Here to Eternity, Charing Cross Theatre review - Pearl Harbour musical fails to fly by Gary Naylor

Super songs can't quite rescue an ill-focused story and sparse staging Whorehouses, gay prostitution and suicide " you can see why James Jones' bestselling 1951 novel was bowdlerised by the …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 8:06am on November 9, 2022☆⚑

Tammy Faye, Almeida Theatre review - Elton John's often dazzling new musical by Gary Naylor

★★★★ TAMMY FAYE, ALMEIDA THEATRE The rise and fall of a iconic figure whose reach stretched across late 20th century American culture Plenty of heart and bite in a…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 12:03pm on October 27, 2022☆⚑

The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Rose Theatre review - new production of classic proves a gruelling experience by Gary Naylor

★★ THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE, ROSE THEATRE Uncompromising adaptation of Brecht outstays its welcome Carrie Hope Fletcher one of few bright sparks on a tough evening for the audi…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 8:37am on October 7, 2022☆⚑

Iphigenia in Splott, Lyric Hammersmith review - raises as many questions as answers by Gary Naylor

★★★ IPHIGENIA IN SPLOTT, LYRIC HAMMERSMITH THEATRE Howl of protest at the cost of austerity leads to a different conclusion seven years on Timely revival of Gary Owen's sol…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 8:37am on October 1, 2022☆⚑

The Wonderful World of Dissocia, Theatre Royal Stratford East review - wild trip gets a welcome revival by Gary Naylor

★★★★ THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISSOCIA, THEATRE ROYAL STRATFORD EAST The landscape of mental health explored in surreal comedy A woman confronts her neuroses in a ph…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 9:43am on September 24, 2022☆⚑

Clutch, Bush Theatre review - new comedy-drama passes its test by Gary Naylor

★★★ CLUTCH Odd couple in a Corsa drive in fourth gear for comedy but second gear for pathos After a strong start, newly commissioned play takes a wrong exit from the rounda…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 5:07am on September 22, 2022☆⚑

The Two Popes, Rose Theatre review - sparkling with wit and pathos by Gary Naylor

Funny, poignant and stimulating, a delightfully welcome piece of intellectual escapism It can't have been an easy pitch. "Popes. Both foreign, yes. German and Argentinian " sorry, can't cha…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 5:33am on September 15, 2022☆⚑

Ride, Charing Cross Theatre review - A true story of female empowerment by Gary Naylor

★★★★ RIDE New musical about a difficult, charismatic, barrier-breaking woman freewheels into the West End  New musical about a barrier-breaking woman freewhe…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 5:07am on September 1, 2022☆⚑

Into The Woods, Theatre Royal Bath review - If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise by Gary Naylor

★★★★★  INTO THE WOODS Breathtaking production captures the unease at the heart of this fairytale musical Prepare to be dazzled and disoriented in a phanta…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 5:24am on August 26, 2022☆⚑

Treason The Musical In Concert, Theatre Royal Drury Lane review - plenty of musical gunpowder but not enough plot by Gary Naylor

★★★  TREASON THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT Semi-staged production shows promise - and problems Semi-staged production shows promise - and problems A semi-staged concert perform…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 8:25am on August 25, 2022☆⚑

Wonderville Magic and Cabaret - fast-paced show delivers the promised wonder by Gary Naylor

Leave memories of Paul Daniels at the door and embrace the sweet deception inside There's nothing quite like magic, live, up close and personal. Sure there are the TV spectaculars, the casin…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 8:07am on August 17, 2022☆⚑

The Tempest, Shakespeare's Globe review - occasional gales of laughter drown out subtlety by Gary Naylor

If you think a fat man wearing yellow swimming trunks is funny, you're on the right island Alexei Sayle, in his angry young man phase, once said that you can always tell when you're watching…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 5:42am on August 6, 2022☆⚑