The staging is ingenious, the music fiercely eclectic, but it's hard to make out the central ideas in Vladimir Pankov's hyper-stylised first world war spectacular Playwright breaks Russian s…
Theatre Royal, BathEmile Zola's feverish, intense novel is exactly realised in this ultra-theatrical production Continue reading...
The Swan, StratfordMaria Aberg update of the Webster play foregrounds its gender politics but ultimately loses as much as it gains Continue reading...
Donmar Warehouse, LondonKevin Elyot's breakthrough 1994 piece is well played, catching the secret fears and surface buoyancy of a group of companions 'His subject was the longing for love': …
Trafalgar Studios, London Ahrens's treatment of race relations is more exhausting than spiritually enlightening Continue reading...
Arcola, LondonThis story of a Sunni man who flees sectarian Iraq for a life in Britain is more striking in individual scenes than as a whole Continue reading...
Young Vic, LondonAlthough this modern update of Tennessee Williams's play isn't always plausible, Gillian Anderson's performance is stellar Continue reading...
Royal Court, LondonJennifer Haley's prizewinning play triggers a fascinating debate about online fantasy it's just a shame she sets out to shock us Continue reading...
The National Theatre's director steps down next year, after introducing live broadcasts, cheap tickets and a wealth of new writing. How does he reflect on his tenure? Continue reading...
Noël Coward theatre, LondonMany of the best lines may come from the film, but the play manages to be a warm and witty paean to life on the stage Continue reading...
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonDirector Simon Godwin eagerly explores the light and dark sides of romance in a striking RSC debutIt is astonishing to think it is 45 years sinc…
Mythical creatures and Frasier's dad jostle with the crowds enjoying a surprising mix of art, music and new Irish playsThe Galway international arts festival is full of surprises. On Sunda…
Olivier, LondonHelen McCrory excels in this modern-dress take on Euripides that is alive with complexity and psychological astutenessAfter her success wth Ibsen's A Doll's House, Carrie Crac…
Black Box, GalwayEnda Walsh's new manic physical comedy is like Under Milk Wood as interpreted by Buster KeatonThere's plenty of ballyhoo around Ballyturk. Written and directed by Enda Walsh…
Black Box, GalwayEnda Walsh's new manic physical comedy is like Under Milk Wood as interpreted by Buster KeatonThere's plenty of ballyhoo around Ballyturk. Written and directed by Enda Walsh…
Chichester Festival TheatrePeter Shaffer's spectacle of Mozart's mediocre rival distorts historical reality but remains compelling and stylishly presentedFew living dramatists write big star…
Harold Pinter, LondonIf it stripped away the daft framing, this staging could capture Wilde's deft commentary on class, money, marriage and moralsIf visitors to Paris's Père Lachaise …
Southwark Playhouse, LondonIn this well-acted revival, the poet and the philosopher face off in a slow-moving but stimulating debateDid William Blake ever meet Thomas Paine? It is not imposs…
Minerva theatre, Chichester Strindberg's Miss Julie is well directed, but it's Shaffer's dark comedy that illuminates in this contrasting double billAugust Strindberg's tragedy Miss Julie an…
He was one of theatre's most daring stars, whose best films bear witness to a talent many never had the chance to see on stageIt's a shock to realise that it is 25 years since the death of L…
Bush theatre, LondonRobin Soans's play about a Pentecostal family at odds with each other shows the power of faith while exposing the failings of its followers Bush theatre's Madani Younis: …
Trafalgar Studios, LondonJamie Lloyd's latest Shakespearean staging is inventive, but it's missing the monarch's lurid sexiness and demonic exuberance Before Richard III: Martin Freeman on s…
Old Vic, LondonYaël Farber's extraordinary production of Arthur Miller's tale of the Salem witch hunt retains its disturbing relevance todayProductions of Arthur Miller's re-creation of t…
Dominic Dromgoole's lively production, with Elizabethan costume and Roman accessories, delivers Shakespeare with great clarity, but the main roles are unevenly castBefore you enter the theat…
Hampstead theatre, London Beth Steel's recreation of the 1984 strikes exposes the divisions between miners and the destruction of a defiant communityOnce identified with domestic drama, Hamp…