Established names such as Hare, Bennett and Frayn are absent from director's opening year as he introduces a new team and a promising lineup. The big question concerns his 'reimagined classi…
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonStar's expert portrayal of a woman on the edge of neurosis is the highlight as this venue continues to grow in stature Continue reading...
Bush theatre, LondonCaroline Horton's toothless, self-delighting show leaves its object of ridicule serenely untouchedNothing is more frustrating than seeing a satirist, or a footballer, mis…
Southwark Playhouse, LondonJuliet Gilkes Romero's fiery drama puts Labour in the dock for failing multicultural Britain Continue reading...
Tom Stoppard's new play The Hard Problem opens on 21 January. Michael Billington, who first reviewed him in 1966, salutes a playwright who, at his best, achieves a perfect balance of intelle…
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...