Denise Gough reprises her star-making performance in Duncan MacMillan's riotous reflection on addiction and recovery It's unusual for a play to be revived with its original director and star…
Withnail and Marwood fix up the Jag and head for Birmingham Let's put our cards firmly on the table here. I am a big fan of Bruce Robinson's cinematic masterpiece about two out-of-work actor…
Too much camp and not enough content in this tribute to the Greek poet Who is Sappho? What is she? Not much is known about the influential Greek poet who was born some 2500 years ago. Her po…
Queer themes and music take centre stage in a café setting In Shakespeare's day theatre was regarded as "wanton" by those of a Puritan disposition who feared boys dressed as girls could eng…
★★ MULTIPLE CASUALTY INCIDENT, THE YARD THEATRE Too many tricks from the writer and the director dissipates the drama Sami Ibrahim's play examines ethics in a war zone, bu…
★★★★★ SPIRITED AWAY, LONDON COLISEUM Faithful adaptation will delight Studio Ghibli fans Growing up with Chihiro/Sen is overwhelming, enlightening and be…
Strong ensemble work highlights the plight of people with learning disabilities On the morning of the press show of Laughing Boy, the BBC news website's top story was about the abuse of c…
Philip K. Dick's science fiction short story fares far better on screen Towards the end of David Haig's new adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1956 science fiction short story, someone asks if t…
A Brit and a New Yorker struggle to find common ground in lively new British musical Small scale shows, nurtured in offbeat places, are becoming all the rage in the West End. Red Pitch, Oper…
★★★ TESTMATCH, THE ORANGE TREE THEATRE Kate Attwell packs too much into her kitbag as India challenges England  Winning performances cannot overcome a scattergun …
Superb cast deliver Van Badham's anti-incel barbs and feminist wit with gusto What would happen if a notorious misogynist actually fell in love? With a glacial Danish librarian? And decided …
New play-with-songs version of Dickens's 'Our Mutual Friend' is a panoramic Victori-noir "He do the police in different voices." If ever one phrase summed up a work of fiction, and the art …
Sophie Treadwell's 1928 hard hitter gets full musical and choreographic treatment Virtuosity and a wildly beating heart are compatible in Richard Jones's finely calibrated production of Rena…
★★★★ AN ACTOR CONVALESCING IN DEVON, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Paul Jesson finds considerable poignancy in Richard Nelson's bespoke play Fact lightly repackaged as fiction…
Philippa Gregory's first play tries to exonerate Richard III, with mixed results History is very present in Philippa Gregory's new play about Richard III. Literally - History is a character,…
Latest from American penman Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is less than the sum of its parts I've never been one for school reunions, but even if I had kept in touch with former classmates I think …
Ian McKellen's Falstaff thrives in Robert Icke's entertaining remix of the Henry IV plays Shakespeare's plays have ever been meat for masher-uppers, from the bowdlerising Victorians to the m…
★★★★ CASSIE AND THE LIGHTS, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Warm, funny and moving ensemble play about three sisters finding a way to live Heart-rending chronicle of difficult, d…
Dominic Dromgoole directs UK premiere of Paul Grellong play, wit Julian Ovenden, 2024 Olivier nominee Giles Terera, and Michael Benz
Paul Grellong play delivers in its final passages The Menier Chocolate Factory has made something of a habit of late out of trawling unexpected corners of the contemporary American…
A five-women team spell out a feminist message with humour and strong singing Many an Edinburgh Fringe transfer has struggled when it moves to the big city, but the Dirty Hare company's Gunt…
Olivier Award-winner Paul Jesson explains how Richard Nelson came to write a solo play for him In September 2022 I had an email from my American friend Richard Nelson: "Would you like me to…
Gemma Whelan discovers a mean streak under Charlotte's respectable bonnet The Brontë sisters and their ne'er-do-well brother will always make good copy. The brilliance of the women constr…
Patricia Clarkson powers the latest iteration of this great, grievous American drama Memory is a confounding thing. By way of proof, just ask the Mary Tyrone who is being given unforgettable…
Sheridan Smith gives it her all against near-impossible odds Is there a more purely likeable actress than Sheridan Smith, the performer who was still a teenager when she stole the show at t…