Unity theatre, LiverpoolPantomime is perfectly suited to addressing political issues " even if, as in this case, it can make the story unwieldy and imperfect Panto may be primarily entertain…
Little Angel theatre, LondonLizzie Wort's sparkling one-woman show floods the stage with colour and a thousand magical flourishesIt's two-and-a-half-year-old Emelie's first trip to the theat…
Peter Brook calls him a 'superb artisan' and his classic Cet Enfant has been celebrated for its uncompromising look at family life. Now, Joël Pommerat is reviving a Pinocchio that startle…
Wayne McGregor distilled the essence of Virginia Woolf while others tackled Milton and Samuel Beckett, and the beauty of maturity found champions in Alessandra Ferri and Sylvie GuillemThe ex…
16 December 1959: No comedian, however funny, should laugh at his own extravagances quite as much as Mr Wisdom did last nightRobinson CrusoePalace Theatre, Manchester.There is no need of art…
Atlantic Theater, New YorkRolin Jones updates Much Ado About Nothing to swinging London, as Benedick and Claudio lead a band and play Beatles-esque songs by the Green Day frontmanRolin Jones…
In her review of Cymbeline (12 December), Lyn Gardner refers to the heroine as Innogen, and states that the more common use of Imogen is a misspelling. This theory is based on a 1611 diary e…
The Death and the Maiden playwright was inspired on his wedding day, in 1966, to note the 'seed' of a story about music as a form of resistance, now in printOn his wedding day on 7 January 1…
The cult comic's spellbinding New York show brought powerful memories flooding back to our expat correspondent " but its appeal is universalThere are some Christmas traditions in the UK that…
West Yorkshire Playhouse, LeedsThe musical adaptation flies higher and farther than ever before thanks to scintillating choreography, precipitous video design and a fluid steampunk setIan Fl…
Jemima Rose Dean, a cast member of 'full-on' stage show The Wyld, talks about dancing in sparkly high heels, BMX bike stunts and her canine co-starsThe Wyld, our show at the Friedrichstadt-P…
Liverpool PlayhouseA young woman explores the ghostly recesses of a shape-shifting old house " and her own troubled mind " in this enjoyable Shirley Jackson adaptation"Houses aren't haunted.…
Royal Opera House, LondonFrancesca Hayward is superb as Clara, bringing acting skills to match the gorgeous elegance of her dancing at the heart of a very fine productionClara is the most in…
A lost work is often buried for a reason, but the recent rediscovery of a seminal Miller play, No Villain, confirms his brilliance and anticipates later masterpiecesThe biggest dream of all …
Bridget Christie was belligerent, Doug Stanhope was savage, and Nish Kumar was reborn a rightwinger. But a touching show about Lance Armstrong wins our critic's best comedy of 2015' More on …
UKTV's comedy channel Gold invited amateur wits and comedians to write their own modern festive cracker gags. A public vote revealed these winners. Can you do any better?1. Why does Ed Milib…
Imelda Staunton bustled brilliantly through Gypsy and Shaw's Superman soared. But it's a celebrity hangman who tops our theatre critic's pick of this year's best showsMartin McDonagh's play,…
Bush theatre, LondonAn unremittingly emotional play focuses on a family torn apart by the British empire's practice of shipping UK children abroad to cover labour shortagesTom Holloway's pla…
In 1961, on tour in Paris, the Kirov Ballet's star made a historic dash from his KGB bodyguards into the arms of French police. But was there more to his defection than meets the eye? A BBC …
Royal Exchange, ManchesterMatthew Xia's revival of Stephen Sondheim's dark, grownup musical lacks the light touch needed to stop it straying into the preachyIn the darkness, a child cries at…
Royal Ballet principal ballerina Lauren Cuthbertson prepares for her opening performance of the classic Christmas production The Nutcracker at London's Royal Opera House. Alone in the studio…
The Welsh singer-songwriter has turned his 2007 solo album Candylion into a colourful Christmas kids' show … with a dose of political theatreWhen Gruff Rhys started gigging his second solo…
A new breed of performers has transformed burlesque " is it now performance art? By Ben WaltersIt's a cold December night but inside the Bethnal Green Working Men's Club in east London, thin…
Oily Cart create a Land of Lights in London, Aidan Gillen reads Joyce's The Dead at Shakespeare's Globe, and there is acrobatic mayhem in BrightonThe interactive Christmas family adventure T…
Imelda Staunton bustled brilliantly through Gypsy and Shaw's Superman soared. But it's a celebrity hangman who tops our theatre critic's pick of this year's best shows Continue reading...