The National Theatre brings a fascinating cast to Exit the King, the story of King Berenger, who has lived and ruled for 400 years. He is played by Rhys Ifans, a wild and unruly actor who is…
Playing at her spiritual home, the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, Maxine Peake's play about women and the mines is both a political corrective and a highly entertaining night out.
Already a writer and theatre-maker of note, Daisycampbell's one-woman show about her father Ken confirms her as touched by inherited genius, but with her own, exceptional ability to hold an …
Boxman is compelling, urgent and humane theatre about the trauma and terror hidden in plain sight on our streets. It is also an exceptionally high-quality piece, from a confident creative te…
Louise Coulthard's writing is of a very high quality, and a play that could have been worthy or predictable in different hands is moving, complex and real. Cockamany is a true delight, and C…
An entirely contemporary play, Machinal presents themes that are as current on the stage now as they were in Treadwell's time. The Almeida's excellent production should do a great deal to gi…
Spiked is an intriguing collaboration between women, with all-female cast and creatives, but lacks the subtlety or the focus to deliver the impact it clearly intends.
Arinzé Kene is an exceptional performer, who clearly has the makings of a star. If he can make such an ambitious, complex and individual show work, it will be fascinating to see what he doe…
As a progressive company, Ramps on the Moon is leading the way by showing what inclusive theatre looks like. It is encouraging that this fundamental innovation is coming from regional UK the…
There is much to like and enjoy about this production of Macbeth, including inventive performances and strong ideas. However, Rufus Norris should probably play to his strengths as a director…
In adding herself to the short list of actors who've tackled Not I, Jess Thom has made a powerful statement, one which challenges conceptions of what theatre is, and what it can do.
Jubilee is an uneven experience by its nature, but the success of the evening can be judged in the reaction of the audience. It was made for them, and they love it.
The Ferryman feels like a play from a different time rather than the future of British, or Irish, theatre.
The title of Annie Baker's new play, John, is the epitome of the ordinary but turns out to be quite the opposite. The piece is essential to understanding the excitement new writing can gener…
Arnika at the Bridewell Theatre offers a cultural bridge to the perspectives and performing styles of a European theatre we are in danger of forgetting, along with much else. Théâtre Vol…
Ian Rickson's excellent production at the Harold Pinter Theatre demonstrates, without a shadow of a doubt, why The Birthday Party deserves its classic status.
After Chivaree Circus' No Show last year which highlighted the frustrations of female circus artists, the presence of such skilled performers in Becoming Shades at the VAULT Festival, a piec…
What makes KEN really work is the feeling that we have been granted a genuine glimpse of the real Ken Campbell, a rare insight into why he mattered. Johnson's play at The Bunker does not jus…
Jessica Lazar's production of East is imaginatively directed, satisfyingly choreographed and acted with commitment by a talented cast within the tight boundaries of the King's Head Theatre's…
Wilton's is perhaps the most atmospheric theatre in the country, a miraculously preserved jewel box of a space, fringed with flaked plaster and precariously supported on barley sugar columns.
The action is tightly choreographed, with the nine-strong cast playing multiple characters in a black and white world, wearing black and white costumes and performing in black box speckled w…
Blanche McIntyre's production features a fine performance from David Troughton in the title role. His performance as Titus, intensely watchable, is wracked with grief and both real and stage…
Albion has strong writing, intriguing characters and one barn-storming lead role. However, it is also flabby, predictable and clichéd so, despite its various strengths, it amounts to a frus…
The Bridge Theatre's programming policy is not yet clear, but we can surely look forward to evenings here with more to offer than harmless entertainment.
Of course, Follies is much more than a spectacle. It is simultaneously a nostalgic tribute to the showgirl era and, a show written to consign it to history.