Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonBenedick is a midfielder for Serie A team FC Messina in a show with top-form performances and a clever visual metaphor, albeit some pacing probl…
Lyric Hammersmith, LondonGary Owen's update changes the names and themes from the original, but retains the toxic power as a stellar cast negotiate the myriad secrets and suspicions When Hen…
Olivier theatre, LondonJames Graham has rewritten parts of his hit play to reflect the 2024 Euros, and the gaffer emerges as a progressive, gentle, alternative national leader It's unusual f…
New Diorama theatre, LondonWisconsin's 'red scare' of 1950 was a deliberate fake " but this entertaining show by Counterfactual speculates about possible truths behind the pretence Twelve y…
A giant of political drama, Fugard captured the injustices of apartheid in works such as Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island The South African playwright and director Athol Fugard, whose work…
He was Spike the gormless comic in the holiday camp hit and also bagged roles in You Rang M'Lord? and Dad's Army. As he publishes a memoir, Holland talks about frisky stallions, today's 'ove…
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonThe court of Elsinore becomes a ship of state " or a ship of fools " in Rupert Goold's production Thematic merchandise is common at Shakespeare …
Watermill theatre, NewburyThe Private Eye duo adapt AG Macdonell's satire showing how a privileged chancer in English public life gets away with it It's a bad week of theatre for Boris Johns…
Orange Tree theatre, LondonThere are laugh-aloud gags and spiky dialogue as Roger Allam and Peter Forbes star in Howard Brenton's play about the 1942 encounter In the 1970s, Howard Brenton w…
Omnibus theatre, London Natalia Lizorkina's play traces a mother's anguish when she is told her son 'has not been captured' in a dystopia where words mean their opposite Alya, a Russian moth…
Arcola theatre, LondonThis innovative and timely play uses yoga, meditation and mindfulness to explore the experiences of Holocaust survivor Miriam Freedman The term "multimedia" often means…
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon As the petty tyrant cruelly duped by his household West leads a superb, tinsel-inflected take on Shakespeare's melancholy comedy The title Twel…
West Horsley Place, SurreyStaged in Ghosts' Button House, this interactive whodunnit has a lot of fun with detective-story tropes, quick-change characters and a clever solution The writer of…
White Bear theatre, LondonThe former PM's brief tenure is raked over to seriocomic effect in Greg Wilkinson's play, which raises major political questions A running length of 100 minutes for…
Orange Tree theatre, LondonWith its philosopher-fool character seated at a piano and central to the action, this sympathetically staged 1940s-set production is something of a revelation Wint…
Omnibus theatre, LondonThe installation of the Horizon digital till resembles the villain's entrance in a pantomime The false prosecutions and persecutions of 900 subpostmasters by the Post …
In his 10th decade, the writer is as prolific as ever with a war film in the works and a new sex-fuelled novella set in a home for the elderly. He talks about mourning Maggie Smith, turning …
Rose theatre, Kingston Nell Barlow is heartbreaking as the doomed heroine of the alt-reality boarding-school tale, expertly adapted by Suzanne Heathcote Any dramatic adaptation of a well-kno…
The black British performer started out recording with the Rolling Stones, was on the West End stage by 19 and made breakthroughs in TV and theatre 'Trailblazing' TV, film and stage actor Cl…
With two new plays opening this autumn, the veteran playwright talks about the risks of writing about real events and the threats to leftwing drama and politics With the world premiere of Th…
Cambridge Arts, then touringRebus fans will relish Ian Rankin and Simon Reade's play in which the spiky Scottish cop must solve a crime at a posh dinner party Ian Rankin gave his spiky but o…
Minerva theatre, ChichesterThis adaptation of the cold war spy thriller elegantly compresses the narrative and boasts star-making performances In John le Carré's 1963 name-making novel The …
Ustinov Studio, BathInviting macabre surrealism and terror by torchlight on to a brown 1950s set, Richard Jones leaves room for interpretation in Pinter's early play Harold Pinter's first fu…
Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonTamara Harvey's first production as the Royal Shakespeare Company's co-artistic director highlights the play's sharp political intelligence For reasons of fa…
Regent's Park Open Air theatre, London Jordan Fein's revival, using its outdoor setting to sublime effect, stresses the musical's comedy while resonating with the current plight of refugees …