Feted for her macabre and freaky stage shows, Gisèle Vienne has created a time-bending piece of 'physical philosophy' inspired by her clubbing days When Gisèle Vienne was growing up in Gre…
Barbican, LondonRhythms ricochet around an imaginary cell as the hip-hop partnership return with a darker, depression-themed piece In 2017, Boy Blue " the hip-hop partnership founded in 2001…
Her plays are full of big, soulful, sexually charged parts for women. As Dirty Crusty hits Britain, the writer talks about binge-dating and casting off the shame she learned growing up Clare…
Chichester Festival theatreThe murderous thane faces witches, relentless video and a musical assault in this lengthy production but emerges as a figure of rare complexity Read interview with…
Brighton DomeThe would-be MP's 'last' standup show teems with delightful animals and gobbledook but often feels in need of an edit 'This is my last tour before politics," says Eddie Izzard, …
Bridge theatre, LondonNancy Harris's study of an American first lady and her French counterpart is thin stuff, despite the best efforts of Zoë Wanamaker and Zrinka CviteÅ¡ić It will…
Sherman theatre, CardiffWriting, acting and design combine brilliantly in Ed Thomas's new, semi-autobiographical playJohn Daniel (Rhys Ifans) fears that daily wearing of his only pair of tro…
Royal Court, London; Curve, LeicesterCaryl Churchill conjures four short, sharp, unconnected plays that add up to one remarkable whole. And a new spin on an 80s film classic What a rapt, int…
The Lowry, Salford Following two friends over three decades, Daniel Kanaber's play spans friendship, mental health and emotionally pent-up men 'Take care of yourself," one character grunts t…
Rose theatre, KingstonSet in the 80s, this character-led comedy drama features fine performances, but is all just a bit too deliberate Imagine a time when five grand had a significant impact…
From his Life on Mars cop to Crime and Punishment's Raskolnikov, Simm does a fine line in the troubled and conflicted. Next up? Macbeth John Simm doesn't do any of that superstition nonsense…
Curve, LeicesterAdapted from Hanif Kureishi's 1985 film, this production retains its 80s ethos while speaking to today's world with the racial and gender politics heightened Making plays out…
Birmingham Hippodrome Three dancers explore the harmony between music and movement in a show that flirts with parody as it unleashes joy 'Don't Mickey Mouse!" It's one of the most basic rule…
Yvonne Arnaud theatre, Guildford Set during and after the blitz, the lives of five characters and the scars left behind are movingly explored Sarah Waters writes historical novels that seem …
The Irish standup, writer and actor on the things that make her laugh the most How am I supposed to answer that? It's like asking about your favourite kid, or the best ice-cream, or naming o…
Young Vic, LondonYaël Farber's visceral production, relocating the action to rural Ireland, retains all the potency of Lorca's play about tribal vengeance How to stage Lorca's Blood Weddi…
In 1987, Dan Watson's dance routine failed to nab first prize from a panel of pesky bluecoats. He revisits this haunting childhood experience in his new comedy show, Venus Good art often chi…
Back on tour for the first time in 15 years, the trailblazing comedian has some scores to settle. How can he be a sellout, he asks, if he was never radical to begin with? They say you should…
Bridge theatre, LondonZoë Wanamaker and Zrinka CviteÅ¡ić attempt to seize power at a summit meeting in Nancy Harris's provocative play The finest song in Hamilton hymns the urge to …
Royal Court, LondonCaryl Churchill's four pieces entertainingly combine mythical, mundane and gory Every Caryl Churchill play is an experiment with form. Her latest work comprises four piece…
The in-demand actor, writer and director talks about staging The Last King of Scotland, representing inner-city London and what he learned from Millwall supporters When the actor, writer an…
Park theatre, LondonOberman stars as the mother of a teenage rapist in this revival of Evan Placey's rich exploration of family conflict Matthew Kapowitz is a Canadian teenager under house a…
Comedian will make his West End stage debut as Shakespeare in comedy adaptation promising troubles, twins and a dancing bear Ben Elton's sitcom Upstart Crow, which imagines the beleaguered p…
Sherman, CardiffEd Thomas's lyrical new play situates its characters in a post-cataclysmic, Beckettian nowhere in which words are all they have left Bear Ridge Stores, a family-run butcher a…
Following our selection of this century's best new plays and dance shows, readers give their reactions and suggestions " from Book of Mormon to The Red Shoes The top 50 theatre shows of the…