Rose theatre, KingstonMemories of Peter Hall and John Barton's original 1963 conflation are banished in refashioned plays for our own divided ageI am old and lucky enough to have seen the or…
Almeida, London Rachel Cusk's updated version of Euripides's tragedy is wild and witty but dilutes the tragedy by eschewing the violenceReimagining the classics is fine. There is, however, a…
Friel, whose death has been announced, was never a writer to be pigeonholed. He leaves a vast variety of personal and political plays, as well as beautiful translationsBrian Friel, who has d…
Everyman, LiverpoolThis timely adaptation has a Europhobic prime minister, Odysseus as a politician turned migrant " and a dead pig jokeLast year, Simon Armitage boldly gave us a version of …
Finborough, LondonFrom a soldier grappling with shellshock to a study of miners' wives, this selection of northern dramas brings the early 20th century aliveBetween 1908 and 1917, Annie Horn…
Lyric Hammersmith, LondonPerformed by a fine ensemble, this adaptation of the picaresque novel is a good night out and a rousing tribute to feminist principlesLaura Wade's adaptation of Sara…
Arcola, LondonBarney Norris's poetic, character-driven portrait of a changing Hampshire seizes your interest and never lets goAll good dramatists carve out their own territory. After an awar…
The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonMarina Carr showcases her fascination with outsiders in this emotional and intelligent take on a classic " with contradictory consequencesMarina Carr, in plays s…
Print Room at the Coronet, LondonEliot's baroque drawing-room drama presents a couple's faltering relationship as a spiritual trial, echoing his own troubled marriageOnce a popular West End …
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonGregory Doran's imaginative production, in which the action is played out on a largely bare stage, allows the words to weave their spellShakespe…
Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonSteven Berkoff plays the Iraqi dictator with virtuosic menace in Anthony Horowitz's admirable yet troubling comedyCan you have a comedy about tyranny? Chaplin…
Hampstead theatre, LondonRussell Beale is as coyly flirtatious as ever in a merry, if overstuffed, tale of a trailblazing Georgian comedianIan Kelly's play, based on his biography of the sam…
Royal Court, LondonDavid Morrissey and Reece Shearsmith give pitch-perfect performances in the theatrical maverick's first London premiere in 12 years Related: Martin McDonagh interview: 'Th…
Lyttelton, LondonA shortened version of the acclaimed Bristol Old Vic production has much to admire, but inevitably loses the fine detail of the great novelAcclaimed last year at the Bristol…
Harold Pinter Theatre, LondonKristin Scott Thomas and Lia Williams are currently alternating the two female roles in Harold Pinter's 1971 play with Rufus Sewell as the man in the middle. The…
Bush, LondonTanya Ronder's play probes the clash between corporate career and private conscience via one conflicted familyYou can't accuse the British theatre of ignoring climate change: in …
Adelphi, LondonFrom Cyndi Lauper's score to impressive lead performances, this winsome men-in-frocks show puts its best foot forwardThis theatre seems to be specialising in factory-set music…
Watching dramatisations of Chekhov's early short stories, Michael Billington finds the writer sketching out his caustic portrait of the Russian character " complete with drunken fishermen an…
Noël Coward theatre, London Anna Ziegler's new play asserts the contribution of 1950s chemist Rosalind Franklin to the discovery of DNA and asks: is science still sexist?You could hardly …
Old Vic, LondonEverything that art can do to boost this revival of Tennessee Williams's 1959 play has been done. Marianne Elliott's production is first-rate. The cast, led by Kim Cattrall, i…
Aldeburgh, Suffolk Ninth time round, the festival showcases three impeccable new plays using sharp writing to deal with testing topicsNow in its ninth year and transferred from Halesworth to…
He was one of Britain's most shocking, uncompromising playwrights. Then he fell out of favour. But now Edward Bond is back. He grants Michael Billington a rare interview'I'm an extremist,&qu…
Old Vic, London Tamsin Oglesby's play dissecting the British education system packs a punch yet still has fun in the playgroundMatthew Warchus begins an ambitious, eight-play first season at…
Stephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughThe playwright directs a well-acted and ruefully comic view of marital breakdown, mayhem and murderGiven that this is Alan Ayckbourn's 79th play, it is har…
Orange Tree, RichmondA rare revival of Sharman Macdonald's quietly haunting play reveals uncomfortable truths about the oppressiveness of family life and sexual attitudes in wartime Scotland…