A visually stunning stage re-adaptation of a recent gay classic plunges the audience into blood and earth As shockingly beautiful as it is horrifyingly brutal, actor Armando Babaioff's deepl…
Nothing less than the history of human civilisation is the theme of FC Bergman's visually stunning show With the sheer density of theatrical creations jostling for attention across Edinburgh…
Lenny Henry is the ideal ringmaster for this exercise in audience participation The Fringe piece Duncan Macmillan devised with Jonny Donahoe in 2014 has since been round the world and back, …
A deft, epoch-straddling climate six-hander and a celebration (and take-down) of the pantomime dame at the Traverse Theatre The Beautiful Future is Coming, Traverse Theatre ★★�
Oscar Levant is an ideal subject to refresh the debate about media freedom Back in the day, when America's late-night chat show hosts and their guests sat happily smoking as they shot the br…
Tabloid excess in the 1980s; gallows humour in reflections on life and death Monstering the Rocketman by Henry Naylor, Pleasance Dome ★★★★
Twists in the tail bring revelations in two fine shows at the Traverse Theatre Lost Lear, Traverse Theatre ★★★★ A rehearsal room; a tense preparation session for a p…
James Graham's dazzling comedy-drama on the rise and fall of RBS fails to snarl You could distinctly hear the murmurs of recognition from the Edinburgh audience " responding to knowing menti…
An intimate one-to-one encounter and an examination of brotherly love at the Traverse Theatre I'm Ready to Talk Now, Traverse Theatre ★★★★
Three early Fringe theatre shows offer blissed-out beats, identity questions and powerful drama Alright Sunshine, Pleasance Dome ★★★★★
★★★★ TOP HAT, CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE Lovely to look at, but don't think too much Glitz and glamour in revived dance show based on Fred and Ginger's movie Af…
The writer did impressive research but shouldn't have fleshed out Josephine Tey's story Following confirmation that he was the owner of the bones found in a Leicester car park in 2012, Ri…
Andrew Lloyd Webber's best musical gets a brave, biting makeover for the modern age Would Jamie Lloyd's mind-bending revival of Evita win through twice in four weeks, I wondered to myself, …
★★ MAIDEN VOYAGE, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE All women crew sail around the world, singing, grouching and bonding Pleasant tunes well sung and a good story, but not a good show As th…
★★★★★ BRIXTON CALLING, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE The story of two men & one venue is a delight Nostalgic, but the message is bang up to date What a delight i…
★★★ THE WINTER'S TALE, RSC, STRATFORD Bleak production that skewers male jealousy Strong women have the last laugh, but the play's bizarre structure overwhelms everything T…
Suzie Miller's follow up to her massive hit Prima Facie stars Rosamund Pike Rosamund Pike is back. For her first stage appearance since 2010, when she played Hedda Gabler in Adrian Noble's …
Rebecca Frecknall shifts American gears to largely satisfying effect Michael Shannon's long legs reach to the stars - or perhaps one should say the moon - in the Almeida's hypnotic revival …
Adaptation of 2010 film is busy, bustling - and bad "It all starts with a snap," or so we're told early in the decidedly un-snappy Burlesque, which spends three hours borrowing shamelessly …
★★★★ DON'T ROCK THE BOAT, THE MILL AT SONNING Sound of shared laughter excuses flaws Great fun, if more 20th century than 21st Now 45 years in the past, its dazzling …
Comedy debut stars Adeel Akhtar, but is an awkward mix of the personal and the political The first rule for brown people, says the main character " played by BAFTA-winner Adeel Akhtar " in …
★★★★ POOR CLARE, ORANGE TREE THEATRE Chira Atik's award-winning comedy packs a punch Funny and clever show illuminated by a dazzling debut from Arsema Thomas What am …
James Inverne enjoyably reconstructs the rivalry between Puccini and Leoncavallo Before Luigi Illica wrote the libretti for Puccini's Tosca and Madama Butterfly, he had joined the composer …
Beth Steel makes a stirring West End debut with her poignant play for today The 2024 play at the National Theatre that put writer Beth Steel squarely centre-stage has now received a West End…
Revisiting Tim Price's dream-set account of the founder of the health service The National Health Service was established seventy-seven years ago this month. Resident doctors are about to s…