American theatre phenomenon pushes buttons aplenty to diminishing effect This latest musical theatre exercise in "geek chic" has been an American phenomenon: a show propelled by social medi…
Danny Mac dazzled followers on Strictly Come Dancing with his fancy footwork on the ever-popular BBC program, but the English performer has since made a separate name for himself in st…
Roger Allam and Colin Morgan refashion Caryl Churchill's contemporary classic There are any number of ways to perform A Number, Caryl Churchill's bleak and beautiful play about a father and…
Lesley Manville rises above the prevailing muddle Lesley Manville's thrilling career ascent continues apace with The Visit, which marks American playwright Tony Kushner's return to…
Noah Thomas was appearing in a drama school production of Guys and Dolls when he was tapped to become the third person to star as Jamie New, an aspiring drag queen, in the hit British musica…
The director Patrick Marber has knitted Tom Stoppard's putative swan song into a compelling whole It's not uncommon for playwrights to begin their careers by writing what they know, to co-o…
Gavin Creel has both Tony and Olivier Awards to show for his effervescent talent, so it makes sense that the New York-based Ohioan should continue crossing the Atlantic to work in the West E…
Mike Bartlett's play has deepened in accordance with our divisive times It's not been three years since Albion premiered at the Almeida Theatre, since which time Brexit has happened a…
Josh Williams has appeared across a range of London playhouses, from the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre to the Royal Court, but only now is he in the West End and in a starring role, no less…
In three London productions with great ensemble casts, all the actors receive their due.
Jon Robyns is no stranger to Les Misérables, the musical phenomenon now in its fourth decade on the London stage. The 37-year-old Englishman played Marius over 10 years ago in the West End …
Cormac McCarthy two-hander tries an audience's patience Cormac McCarthy's two-hander, premiered at Chicago's mighty Steppenwolf Theatre in 2006, has by this point been everything short of a…
Overlong Sam Steiner play needs clarity to go with its compassion Armageddon would appear to be at the gates in Sam Steiner's intriguing if ramshackle play, a co-production between Paines P…
Claire Moore was Sarah Brightman's replacement more than three decades ago as Christine Daaé in the West End's The Phantom of the Opera and has rarely been long absent from the London stage…
From the bloodbath of "The Duchess of Malfi" to the intergenerational confusion of "Snowflake," family disputes are at the center of three plays in London.
Heavy topics abound, but there's still room for a laugh and a song " from an Alanis Morissette musical to a dildo-waving new play
Newcomers and veterans were both given chances to shine on the London stage this year. Below, listed in no particular order, are five performances for which we will have fond memories of wel…
Arthur Miller may have been ubiquitous on the London stage this year, but there was no shortage of homegrown British talent"from that fearless octogenarian Caryl Churchill at the Royal…
The classics got a shake-up, while provocative new writing came mostly from America Political dysfunction and societal distress led many amongst us to the brink this year, so where better th…
Late-arrival to the West End is broad, brash - and delightful Who knew? This West End premiere of the 2007 Broadway entry from the legendary songwriting team of John Kander and Fred Ebb (Ch…
Katie Brayben won a 2015 Olivier Award for her star-making performance as Carole King in the West End premiere of Beautiful. Since that time, she shifted genres to star in a revival of the n…
Mike Lew's riff on Shakespeare needs more art to go with its heart If good intentions were everything, Teenage Dick would be the play of the year. As it is, this British premiere at the Donm…
Jodie Prenger came to attention as the winner of the BBC reality TV competition series I'd Do Anything in 2008, as a result of which she got to play Nancy in Oliver! in the West End for the …
As they take on more challenging themes, provocative material and divisive subjects, the capital's theatres have never felt so vital.
Period confection in three acts could use pruning There's slight (White Christmas, to name but one) and then there's The Boy Friend, a period musical so unabashedly vaporous that if you …