Young Vic Maria, LondonThe audience become voyeuristic accomplices as two interviewees turn on a rival in Mike Bartlett's gripping account of office politicsMike Bartlett's plays veer betwee…
Lyric Hammersmith, LondonFrantic Assembly's shredded version of Shakespeare's tragedy, set among gangs in a Yorkshire pub, is worth seeing for its astonishing opening sequence alone' Frantic…
Royal Court, LondonDiana Nneka Atuona's impressive play, about a teenage girl forced into fighting for Charles Taylor's cause, opens our eyes to Liberia's past Continue reading...
Gate, LondonAditi Brennan Kapil's play about two schoolgirls' adventures with an incarnation of the Hindu god, Vishnu, is baffling and rootless Continue reading...
Playhouse, London Tamsin Greig gives a sparky performance as she skitters around Madrid in this knockabout, rueful farce based on Pedro Almodóvar's filmWhy Almodóvar's world is pure th…
Old Vic, LondonThere are serious questions about society and dissent underlying Daniel Kitson and Tim Key's beguiling two-hander about a protester holding a 'tree-squat'Daniel Kitson is the …
Jermyn Street Theatre, LondonJames Hogan's study of the lost and lonely gives Lynne Miller the chance to play two women past the verge of desperationMature female actors rightly complain abo…
Finborough, LondonJerry Herman's tunes fail to save a justly neglected Broadway musical about a trio on the run during the fall of France Continue reading...
John Osborne died 20 years ago today. In this obituary, published in the Guardian in 1994, Michael Billington reflects on the playwright's life and legacyOne of the most famous stories about…
Orange Tree, RichmondMore than 120 years on, George Bernard Shaw's powerful and invigorating attack on profiteering landlords is one of the few genuinely socialist plays on the current stage…
She starred in The Omen and Frenzy, but she will always be remembered for her powerful interpretations of Beckett's playsFrank Lazarus: an existential night in Beckett's Not I with Billie Wh…
The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonThe RSC's shrewdly intelligent take on Thomas Dekker's Elizabethan drama is both sobering and comicOne tends to think of Thomas Dekker's play as a jolly, red-nos…
All Soul's, LondonPeter Hutley's nativity - with real sheep, real baby and Mary and Joseph walking across the Broadcasting House piazza - is simple and directIt's not every day you see sheep…
Donmar Warehouse, LondonThis clever show about the travails of a crime writer " and his fictional shamus " ripples with wit and is immaculately presented' Why City of Angels is the musical f…
Almeida, LondonThe glitz of casino culture brilliantly illuminates a play about money lent, borrowed, stolen and investedRupert Goold's revelatory production of this problematic play abruptl…
Young Vic, LondonThough easy on the eye and undeniable witty, 1927's ironic take on the modern obsession with technology is undermined by a lack of focus Continue reading...
Trafalgar Studios, LondonA surprisingly sensuous evocation of Great Expectations' jilted bride is paired with a blood-chilling portrait of the savage brute from Oliver TwistYou can do a lot …
Imelda Staunton was breathtaking and Sofie GrÃ¥bøl made a killing, but our future monarch took the crown. In the first of our Stage critics' picks of the year, Michael Billington lists …
London PalladiumA strong cast led by the former Pussycat Doll bring impressive verve to the song and dance spectacular, but the question remains whether the jukebox musical is Andrew Lloyd W…
Olivier, LondonJim Hawkins becomes a girl rebelling against gender roles in this imaginative adaptation, which keeps alive the wit and excitement of the book Continue reading...
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonThe ceasefire of 1914 was undoubtedly a powerful moment. But surrounded as it was by death, tragedy and brutality, can it really make a festive …
While jokes about 80s series may be for older audiences, Tim Vine and Wayne Sleep help capture children's attentionGiven that Dallas was at its peak in the 1980s, you have to be a moderately…
Lyttelton, LondonTena Å tiviÄić's play about three crucial dates in her country's past is a demanding but fascinating experienceSome plays are instantly accessible; others require p…
Royal Court, LondonThis play about local authority cuts could not be more timely " and it entertains even as it offers a call to arms' Playwright Jack Thorne: 'Writing plays was a way of win…
Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonJamie Lloyd's aggressively visceral production kills off some of the charm in this daring work that explores the dark side of the American dream' Catherine Ta…