RICHARD II★★★★Bridge Theatre
RICHARD II Bridge Theatre ★★★★ “Hytner’s direction moves the action at a pace yet there is still time for reflection, and moments of humour too” ‘The Life and Death of King Richard II’, later shortened to “Richard II” is categorised as one of Shakespeare’s History Plays. Even though another early
DELUGE★★★★Soho Theatre
DELUGE Soho Theatre ★★★★ “incredibly beautifully written with effortless alternation between comedy and horror” “Oh, can we just start over?” Gabriela Flarys asks the audience as she pretends to forget her lines. The line is of course deliberate and is referring to something else – the recent ending of her
EAST IS SOUTH★★★Hampstead Theatre
EAST IS SOUTH Hampstead Theatre ★★★ “The cast is superb and slips through the gears with unruffled confidence” In his break-out hit House of Cards, writer Beau Willimon peered into the darker culverts of the human soul to assemble Kevin Spacey’s sinister politician Frank Underwood. In the dazzlingly complex East
PRIDE & PREJUDICE* (*SORT OF)★★★UK Tour
PRIDE & PREJUDICE* (*SORT OF) Theatre Royal Windsor ★★★ “The audience were there for a fun night out and they left happy” The UK national tour of Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of) opened this week at the beautiful Theatre Royal Windsor. Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of) by Isobel McArthur, after
VOLLMOND★★★★★Sadler’s Wells Theatre
VOLLMOND Sadler’s Wells Theatre ★★★★★ “an exhilarating experience” Vollmond, first premiered by Pina Bausch and her company Tanztheater Wuppertal in 2006, returns to Sadlers Wells in 2025. It is a welcome revival, following in the footsteps of the 2024 revival of Nelken. Once again, the Company assembles on stage to
ANIMAL FARM★★★★Stratford East
ANIMAL FARM Stratford East ★★★★ “some truly striking moments of grand theatricality” First things first, there is no farm. Not one that we would recognise anyway. Not the solace of a green field or a puffy cloud against an azure sky. This Animal Farm is a factory farm. A gutter
UNICORN★★★★Garrick Theatre
UNICORN Garrick Theatre ★★★★ “Walker and Mangan are both wonderful in their roles, giving a natural performance that allows us to believe in everything they say” The trigger warning in the publicity for Mike Bartlett’s new play, “Unicorn”, states that it ‘contains explicit content and scenes of a sexual nature,
THE PASSENGER★★★★Finborough Theatre
THE PASSENGER Finborough Theatre ★★★★ “a beautifully directed production that recreates the dark moodiness of the 1930” The Passenger, adapted by Nadya Menuhin from Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz’s novel Der Reisende, has just opened at the Finborough Theatre. It’s a story set in Germany just after the Kristallnacht in 1938. The
855-FOR-TRUTH★★★Hope Theatre
855-FOR-TRUTH Hope Theatre ★★★ “attempts to cover a lot of ground in a short space of time with mixed results” Belief is subjective, which allows you to ‘believe’ you are in a forest in Utah and not at The Hope Theatre off Holloway Road. Hessian trees, rostra and a smattering of
OUTLYING ISLANDS★★★★Jermyn Street Theatre
OUTLYING ISLANDS Jermyn Street Theatre ★★★★ “The subject matter never quite chills our bones, but the context is often unsettling” The atmosphere hits you like a bracing offshore wind as you descend into the depths of the small basement on Jermyn Street. Anna Lewis’ set: a semi-submerged, semi-derelict stone chapel,
ROSIE’S BRAIN★★★★Hope Theatre
ROSIE’S BRAIN Hope Theatre ★★★★ “The story of her journey makes for a tender and funny insight into life” Rosie’s Brain is contained in the head of singer-actor Evelyn Rose – although not without spillage. The ill-disciplined grey matter causes its owner-operator no end of bother – from facial twitches
VANYA IS ALIVE★★★★Omnibus Theatre
VANYA IS ALIVE Omnibus Theatre ★★★★ “sixty minutes of haunting storytelling that passes by in a moment, and it’s well worth your time” On a bare stage in the Omnibus Theatre just off Clapham Common’s North Side, a Ukrainian-born actor named Nikolay Mulakov, part of an independent company called L’Oeil
ANIMAL FARM★★★UK Tour
ANIMAL FARM Rose Theatre ★★★ “There is much to admire, and the ideas are inspired” The unnerving and overpowering effect of George Orwell’s novella, “Animal Farm” is how little has changed less than a century on from its publication in 1945. His biting political allegory was an unveiled attack on
ANTIGONE [ON STRIKE]★★★★★Park Theatre
ANTIGONE [ON STRIKE] Park Theatre ★★★★★ “a magnificent tale of what it is to be human” Antigone [On Strike] is a most intriguing, interactive show where you get to vote by responding to questions related to the show and its subject matter, like a creative poll full of suspense and
SECOND BEST★★★★Riverside Studios
SECOND BEST Riverside Studios ★★★★ “Butterfield navigates the journey with a fearless and faultless performance” Much has been made in the media recently of Asa Butterfield’s stage debut. In interviews he has said that theatre “has always terrified” him. We get the impression that this is genuine, rather than a
FIGARO: AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL★★London Palladium
FIGARO: AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL London Palladium ★★ “The cast of seven worked as well as they could and the standout performances were the two children” A two-night run at the London Palladium of new musical Figaro – An Original Musical; with music, lyrics, co-book, co-created, orchestrated and arranged by Ashley
ROB AUTON: THE EYES OPEN AND SHUT SHOW★★★½UK Tour
ROB AUTON: THE EYES OPEN AND SHUT SHOW Soho Theatre ★★★½ “Auton – with the soul of a poet – is funny, self-deprecating, eager to please and brimful of hope” Genial optimist and shaman-in-a-suit Rob Auton asks us to close our eyes at the opening of his set. For a
PLAY ON!★★★★★Lyric Hammersmith
PLAY ON! Lyric Hammersmith ★★★★★ “The unique quality of this musical is that each number comes with its own ever-increasing ‘wow factor’.” The atmosphere in the bar is electric. The only thing missing is the fog of cigarette smoke, otherwise we’ve walked into an old brownstone building on the corner
MY MOTHER’S FUNERAL★★★★★The Yard Theatre
MY MOTHER’S FUNERAL The Yard Theatre ★★★★★ “fresh and funny and angry” Abigail’s mother has died and she can’t afford the funeral. This simple fact drives a play that spirals in different directions, examining class inequality, the consequences of revealing your trauma for art commissions, the different sides of a
SCISSORHANDZ★★★Southwark Playhouse Elephant
SCISSORHANDZ Southwark Playhouse Elephant ★★★ “The cast are superb across the board and there is an easy camaraderie that adds to the feelgood factor” It is a bold statement to tag your show with the subtitle ‘A Musical Reinvented’. But there is nothing faint-hearted about Bradley Bredeweg’s reinterpretation of Tim
