He took the shonky British musical and made it a global phenomenon. As the composer celebrates his birthday with a new memoir, our theatre critic looks back at the hits " and flopsI first be…
Dorfman, LondonFrancis Turnly's drama drills to the heart of the harsh politics and complex emotions surrounding a series of historic abductions of young Japanese peopleSometimes a play grip…
Hampstead theatre, LondonAmy Ng's second play is given a crisp, clear and well-acted production, but it tries to compress a few too many big issuesThere are few topical concerns that don't s…
Royal Exchange, ManchesterBlending gothic horror and moral parable, this adaptation is skilfully stitched together by April De Angelis and Matthew XiaThere are said to be more than 55 theatr…
Orange Tree, Richmond Astrophysics and simmering family tensions come to the boil in this superb revival of Charlotte Jones's household dramaCharlotte Jones's prizewinning play, to which I g…
The veteran's linguistic prowess, outlandish appearance and musical smarts could tickle any audience into a state of collective ecstasyThe death of Ken Dodd not only leaves the nation a sadd…
Jermyn Street theatre, LondonWH Auden and Christopher Isherwood's satire on 1930s nationalism has a topical pungency but can't match the gravity of the subjectThis political satire by WH Aud…
The Swan, Stratford-upon-Avon The front row are given protection for the second half of Maria Aberg's RSC staging of Webster's Jacobean tragedy " a brutal tale of female defianceThe RSC laun…
Almeida, LondonPatsy Ferran proves she is one of Britain's most exciting actors in a major and wrongly neglected work by the great playwrightAs it is so rarely seen, this early play by Tenne…
Olivier theatre, LondonRory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff star in a vigorous production that shows scant regard for the rhythms of the languageYou have to admire Rufus Norris's chutzpah. For o…
Playhouse, LondonMartin Shaw and Maureen Lipman star in an entertaining 1960 drama set during a Democratic party conventionIt has taken Gore Vidal's highly entertaining drama about US presid…
Finborough, LondonA Palestinian couple return to their former home to be confronted by its new Israeli owner in this unsentimental, gently political family dramaCommissioned by New York's Pu…
Old Vic, LondonPenelope Wilton leads a top-notch cast in this gothic family drama that only fleetingly captures the brilliance of the filmYou can see the temptation to turn Ingmar Bergman's …
Gate, LondonThe exuberant pessimism of Falk Richter's play might be hard to swallow, but Jude Christian's production is an extraordinary mix of the political, the personal and the pantomimic…
Barbican, LondonThe myth about a group of schoolgirls who go missing on Valentine's Day is hauntingly realised by a versatile cast and impressive special effectsI initially assumed, like mos…
York Theatre RoyalBryony Lavery's adaptation underplays the classic novel's religious theme and focuses on the pleasure-seeking IdaBy a strange quirk of fate, Bryony Lavery's adaptation of G…
Theatre Royal Haymarket, London The performances match the intensity of the writing in Bryony Lavery's drama, which asks if some people are born evilFirst seen 20 years ago, Bryony Lavery's …
NST City, SouthamptonThe Luftwaffe's destruction of a Spitfire factory sparks vivid tensions between local people and the state in this Southampton-set playAn expansive new arts complex in t…
Royal Court, LondonMulligan is a joy to watch as she brings her expressive powers to bear in Dennis Kelly's flawed but compelling one-handerCarey Mulligan has had quite a week. First she sho…
Donmar Warehouse, LondonRobert Hastie's excellent revival of Gill's 2001 play about class, sex and divided loyalties brings out its poetryThe intersection of class and sex has long fascinate…
Barbican, LondonSidi Larbi Cherkaoui's visually spectacular adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's manga is philosophical about our relationships with robots, but lacks a human heartIn 1920, Karel Ä�…
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonRelocating Dryden's tale of love and dynasty in 17th-century India to an English mill, Rutter's final show for Northern Broadsides is at its best when it doesn…
Wyndham's, LondonRichard Eyre's production arrives in the West End, bringing out the dizzying contradictions in Eugene O'Neill's masterpieceTime works wonders. When Richard Eyre's production…
Lan, who ran the theatre for 18 years, reached out to bold, dynamic directors from across the globe " and they repaid him with spectacular showsI often recall a remark made by David Lan, who…
Finborough, LondonHJ Byron's 1868 play sparkles with wit, while Henry Darke delivers a timely message about Cornwall's housing crisis The Finborough Arms in Earl's Court is 150 years old. To…