★★★★ 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…
★★★ GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY, OLD VIC Conor McPherson's smash hit is looking dated already Fragmented, cliched story rescued by tremendous acting, singing and music Well…
Muti revitalised by young musicians, and a three-year theatre project reaches completion Anyone seeking local genius in an international festival should look no further than the annual Raven…
Emma Pallant and Katherine Pearce are formidable opponents to Falstaff's buffoonery Shakespeare's Prince Hal may have rejected Sir John Falstaff as a symbol of his misspent youth, but the re…
Chloë Moss's latest play about the different lives of two sisters is deeply felt Near the start of Chloë Moss's latest play, Run Sister Run, one character tells his wife to "Calm your…
★★★ HERCULES, THEATRE ROYAL Show aimed at a family audience delivers enough, but no more Big West End crowdpleaser lacks punch and poignancy with join-the-dots plotting …
An early Lynn Nottage work gets a superb cast and production The corset is an unlikely star of the latest Lynn Nottage play to arrive at the Donmar Warehouse, 2003's Intimate Apparel. After …
★★ SHOWMANSHIP, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Dickie Beau's one-man show is lost in too large a venue Technically accomplished production with Dickie Beau never settles into a coheren…
Sarah Kane's exceptionally groundbreaking play gets a nostalgic anniversary reboot Sarah Kane is the most celebrated new writer of the 1990s. Her work is provocative and innovative. So it s…
Chapters and scenes from 'Ulysses', 'Dubliners' and a children's story vividly done It amuses me that Dubliners dress up in Edwardian finery on 16 June. After all, this was the date in 1904 …
David Adjmi's clever and compelling hit play gets a crack London cast The tag "the most Tony-nominated play of all time" may mean less to London theatregoers than it does to New Yorkers, but…
★ NORTH BY NORTHWEST, ALEXANDRA PALACE Too small a show in too large a venue Emma Rice's storytelling at fault in misconceived production Older readers may recall the cobbled togeth…
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community We are bowled over!Â
★★★★ HAMLET HAIL TO THE THIEF, RSC Music drives the prince to madness in spectacular show An innovative take on a familiar play succeeds far more often than it fails …
★★ THE KING OF PANGEA, KING'S HEAD THEATRE - Highly personal American musical fails to land in London Heart and soul proves insufficient in world premiere of therapeutic show The…
This Dream is a great night out, especially for Shakespeare first-timers It's a sign of the inroads that the term "immersive" has made in theatreland that it now gets jokily namedropped at t…
New play about loss, love, grief and gardening is humane, but flawed  The Bush Theatre is becoming a garden centre. Earlier this year, the venue staged Coral Wylie's Lavender, Hyaci…
This transfer from Regent's Park Open Air Theatre sustains its magic It's always a risk when a production changes venue. In the curious alchemy of live performance, no-one can be sure whethe…
Unspoken emotion flows through this late work Terence Rattigan's rehabilitation - some might almost say deification - as a leading Twentieth Century playwright is complete. As well as academ…
Sarah Ruhl turns her bond with a student into a lesson in how to love In 2012, the award-winning American writer Sarah Ruhl met a Yale playwriting student who became a special part of her li…