Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonJosette Simon seems born to play Cleopatra, but the dissection of tyranny in Julius Caesar makes it the thrilling highlight of this Roman double…
Royal Court, LondonSimon McBurney's adaptation of the Hollywood tycoon's memoir is technically brilliant and often breathtaking but it adds little to his familiar storyRobert Evans's Hollywo…
Dominion, LondonChristopher Wheeldon's superb show is a riot of colour and movement, with irresistible dance routines and a wealth of Gerhswin classicsA magical transformation has taken plac…
Menier Chocolate Factory, London Eve Best and Helen George star in a production that merges the playwright's Love in Idleness with its former iteration, Less Than KindBetween August and Dece…
To mark the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth we're choosing our favourite versions of his plays. Here's a handful of the finest Hamlets' 45 Hamlets for Shakespeare's 450th birthday "…
Jermyn Street theatre, London Funny things happen on the way to Hades in this version of Aristophanes' civic-minded comedy about the function of artIt is disconcerting to find the creator ha…
With its male rivalry and edgy dialogue about London buses, Pinter's 1950s novel The Dwarfs holds the key to all his later plays, says Michael BillingtonApart from their public prominence an…
Hampstead theatre, LondonSara Kestelman excels as an uncliched Jewish matriarch in Ryan Craig's punchily acted new play about an East End family firmIf plays survive by creating meaty roles …
Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's 1983 musical has been revived once more. The show struck an important, rarely acknowledged blow for equalityWhen it opened in New York in 1983, La Cage au…
Lyric Hammersmith, LondonAdults play confused adolescents in Matthew Whittet's playground drama, adding an extra layer of hope and sadness to their characters Related: Seventeen going on 70:…
Rose theatre, KingstonApril De Angelis's inventive and fluid five-and-a-half-hour production spans 50 years in its characters' lives, and makes clear the books' feminist messageI am normally…
Garrick theatre, London The audience is clobbered into submission by an anything-for-a-laugh Molière adaptation that casts Lee Mack " in his theatre debut " as the sane oneI guess, since we…
National Theatre, London Britannia is shown to be fractious and divided in this bold but fragmented piece " built from interviews with UK voters " that does not tell us anything newTom Stopp…
It's wrong to characterise 1930s theatre as escapist or frivolous. In Europe and America, many plays were alerting audiences to the dangers of fascism " led by the German fugitive Bertolt Br…
Harold Pinter theatre, London Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill are both superb as they trade insults and toy vindictively with their guests in a first-rate revival of an astonishing playThis…
Donmar Warehouse, LondonRoger Allam is astonishing as Roy Jenkins in this drama about how the 'gang of four' left Labour to form the SDPSteve Waters likes to peep behind closed doors. In Tem…
Donmar Warehouse, LondonJames Graham's new play under the direction of Josie Rourke is rich and adrenaline-fuelled but lacks a real intellectual tussle' Ewan MacAskill: Fear, then relief, at…
Old Vic, LondonActor perfectly matched in nimble high-wire act that is still spritely " but gains heft from its awareness of death The play's the thing. Fifty years after its professional pr…
Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, LondonMeera Syal stars in debbie tucker green's play about intimate relationships which is given a perverse staging that leaves you with a crick in the neckAs t…
Chichester Festival TheatreTrevor Nunn's fine production of Tom Stoppard's 1966 play begins with a striking image: the two heroes seen against the stark background of a leafless tree. The Be…
Audiences have been asked not to consume food at a new show. Theatre is a collective act of concentration " it's spoiled by constant chomping and slurpingHallelujah! Imelda Staunton has had …
Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonThe ghost of a wronged widow hovers over a modern industrial town in the RSC's intriguing update of a 13th-century playThis is a genuine curiosity. As part of its mi…
Hull Truck theatre, HullStaged for Hull's year as UK City of Culture, this One Man, Two Guvnors-style farce is a merry take on local historyThe road to Hull, they say, is paved with good int…
Richmond theatre, LondonSally Cookson directs a fine ensemble in a witty and inventive high-wire production with a modern edgeThe last attempt to stage Fellini's Oscar-winning 1954 movie had…
Almeida, LondonRobert Icke's staging of Shakespeare's tragedy has fine performances and highly intelligent touches but some of its ideas are eccentrically wrong-headedBy a strange irony Andr…