Theatre
Oklahoma!: a ‘stunning reinvention’ of a beloved classic

Oklahoma!: a ‘stunning reinvention’ of a beloved classic
Reinterpreted for a small band, the music has a homespun folksiness that works ‘brilliantly’
12 May 2022
Jerusalem: Rylance gives ‘the greatest performance of the century’

Jerusalem: Rylance gives ‘the greatest performance of the century’
Back in 2009, Jez Butterworth’s play took the world by storm. Now it’s back
6 May 2022
Prima Facie: ‘Awards will follow’

Prima Facie: ‘Awards will follow’
Jodie Comer's ‘ferocious yet forensic performance’ blows the audience away in Suzie Miller’s play
5 May 2022
Theatre review: The Corn is Green

Theatre review: The Corn is Green
Emlyn Williams’s 1938 play has not been seen in London since 1985
28 Apr 2022
The 47th at the Old Vic: ‘rarely less than entertaining’

The 47th at the Old Vic: ‘rarely less than entertaining’
Play is set in an imagined near-future – Biden has stepped down in favour of Kamala Harris
22 Apr 2022
Theatre review: To Kill a Mockingbird 

Theatre review: To Kill a Mockingbird
Aaron Sorkin’s script makes this 62-year-old literary classic ‘feel like it was minted yesterday’
7 Apr 2022
Straight Line Crazy theatre review

Straight Line Crazy theatre review
Ralph Fiennes is a ‘triumph’ as the controversial urban planner Robert Moses
31 Mar 2022

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Kes review: a play that’s both bleak and brilliant

Kes review: a play that’s both bleak and brilliant
Atri Banerjee’s adaptation of the 1968 novel features just three actors on a simple set
24 Mar 2022
Persuasion: a ‘frolicking, rollicking’ take on Jane Austen’s novel

Persuasion: a ‘frolicking, rollicking’ take on Jane Austen’s novel
This romcom is full of mischievous fun and is joyfully silly
18 Mar 2022
The Merchant of Venice: ‘utterly tragic, yet simultaneously mesmerising’

The Merchant of Venice: ‘utterly tragic, yet simultaneously mesmerising’
This Shakespeare’s Globe production is set in contemporary London
10 Mar 2022
Animal Farm on stage: a ‘startlingly handsome’ production

Animal Farm on stage: a ‘startlingly handsome’ production
War Horse-style animal puppetry is used to ‘magnificent’ effect
4 Mar 2022
The Chairs: the theatre of the absurd at its ‘most absurdist’

The Chairs: the theatre of the absurd at its ‘most absurdist’
The 1952 ‘absurdist masterpiece’ by Eugène Ionesco is now on at the Almeida
17 Feb 2022
A Number at the Old Vic

A Number at the Old Vic
Lyndsey Turner’s staging is ‘ignited’ by Lennie James and Paapa Essiedu
10 Feb 2022
Dr Semmelweis: Mark Rylance offers a ‘mesmerising turn’

Dr Semmelweis: Mark Rylance offers a ‘mesmerising turn’
Story follows the 19th century Hungarian physician who ‘realised the life-saving value of hand hygiene’
3 Feb 2022
Moulin Rouge! on stage: ‘it burns prettily enough, but it doesn’t blaze’

Moulin Rouge! on stage: ‘it burns prettily enough, but it doesn’t blaze’
Tony-winning adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s much-loved film now on at the Piccadilly Theatre
27 Jan 2022
Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! – a ‘riproaring return to form’

Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! – a ‘riproaring return to form’
Originally staged in 1992, this adaptation has been revived for the first time in ten years
6 Jan 2022
The Play What I Wrote: a ‘daft and delightful’ celebration of Morecambe & Wise

The Play What I Wrote: a ‘daft and delightful’ celebration of Morecambe & Wise
This stage comedy show is the ‘ideal winter warmer’
16 Dec 2021
Life of Pi on stage: the ‘spiritual successor to War Horse’

Life of Pi on stage: the ‘spiritual successor to War Horse’
What the critics are saying about this ‘phenomenal’ adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel
9 Dec 2021
Manor: a ‘breathtakingly inept’ satire

Manor: a ‘breathtakingly inept’ satire
New ‘state-of-the-nation’ drama mystifies, bores and slowly enrages
2 Dec 2021
The Wife of Willesden: Zadie Smith’s ‘rambunctious’ reworking of Chaucer

The Wife of Willesden: Zadie Smith’s ‘rambunctious’ reworking of Chaucer
Kiln Theatre production is a ‘stunning piece of freewheeling stagecraft’, said The Times
25 Nov 2021
The Ocean at the End of the Lane: ‘shows like this don’t come along very often’

The Ocean at the End of the Lane: ‘shows like this don’t come along very often’
Critics praise ‘hauntingly memorable’ performance with some ‘genuinely terrifying’ moments
11 Nov 2021
The Magician’s Elephant: a remarkable feat of large-scale puppetry

The Magician’s Elephant: a remarkable feat of large-scale puppetry
RSC’s big Christmas show features a convincing life-sized elephant, with a ‘playful trunk, flappy ears and mournful eyes’
4 Nov 2021
Wuthering Heights on stage: an ‘emotionally epic’ adaptation

Wuthering Heights on stage: an ‘emotionally epic’ adaptation
Emma Rice’s touring production is packed with her ‘trademark troubadour quirkiness’
28 Oct 2021
The Tragedy of Macbeth: Saoirse Ronan’s ‘spellbinding’ British stage debut

The Tragedy of Macbeth: Saoirse Ronan’s ‘spellbinding’ British stage debut
‘Psychological terror’ too slow to materialise, though when it does arrive it is ‘brute, unrestrained and blood-curdling’
21 Oct 2021
The Mirror and the Light on stage – what the critics are saying

The Mirror and the Light on stage – what the critics are saying
Adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s final book of trilogy pulls off ‘extraordinary achievement’ in ‘making history live’
14 Oct 2021
Dracula: The Untold Story

Dracula: The Untold Story
This ‘hypnotically’ watchable show presents an alternative history of the 20th century
7 Oct 2021
Back to the Future musical: a crowd-pleasing ‘triumph’

Back to the Future musical: a crowd-pleasing ‘triumph’
Marty, the Doc and the DeLorean hit 88mph at the Adelphi Theatre
23 Sep 2021
Frozen the Musical

Frozen the Musical
Stage production is ‘breathtaking’ but film’s ‘weak story’ and gaping ‘plot holes’ have not been resolved
16 Sep 2021
Bedknobs and Broomsticks on stage: ‘a B-list Disney film, but an A-list adaptation’

Bedknobs and Broomsticks on stage: ‘a B-list Disney film, but an A-list adaptation’
There are some odd tonal shifts, but this musical has ‘undeniable charm and wit‘
10 Sep 2021
Theatre in review: what the critics are saying about Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella

Theatre in review: what the critics are saying about Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella
Oscar-winner Emerald Fennell’s rebooted storyline and dialogue have ‘heart’ as well as ‘barbed wit’
26 Aug 2021
2:22 A Ghost Story: Lily Allen makes a triumphant stage debut

2:22 A Ghost Story: Lily Allen makes a triumphant stage debut
People are snapping up tickets to see this ‘chilling romp’ at the Noël Coward Theatre
19 Aug 2021
Theatre in review: Anything Goes at the Barbican

Theatre in review: Anything Goes at the Barbican
‘I would give it six stars if I could’
12 Aug 2021
Theatre in review: Joseph, Oleanna and Hymn

Theatre in review: Joseph, Oleanna and Hymn
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is ‘firing on all cylinders’, says The Guardian
5 Aug 2021
Theatre in review: Hamlet, The Comedy of Errors and Pride and Prejudice

Theatre in review: Hamlet, The Comedy of Errors and Pride and Prejudice
The opening night of Ian McKellen’s ‘age-blind’ Hamlet felt like an ‘act of defiance’, says The Daily Telegraph
29 Jul 2021