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Aladdin

★★★★

Hackney Empire

ALADDIN at the Hackney Empire ★★★★ “Clive Rowe is truly the grand dame of panto dames” Stuff Shakespeare, Pantomime is probably my favourite theatrical tradition. There are not many other settings where you can have babies, grandparents, and long-suffering assorted other relatives entertained for a couple of hours by good

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A Sherlock Carol

★★★★

Marylebone Theatre

A SHERLOCK CAROL at the Marylebone Theatre ★★★★ “one of the cleverest and most entertaining of the current festive productions” Sherlock Holmes was just thirty-seven years old when he was reported to have died in the Reichenbach Falls in 1891; having fallen to his death in a struggle with the

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Ikaria

Ikaria

★★★★

Park Theatre

IKARIA at the Park Theatre ★★★★ “The performances are strong, with excellent chemistry and range” Ikaria is both the name of an idyllic Greek island, and the deeply bleak student halls where this play takes place. This dark juxtaposition is indicative of a script filled with ironic humour, but also

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A Woman Walks Into a Bank

★★★★★

Theatre503

A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK at Theatre503 ★★★★★ “there’s lots of laughs. In a doleful, what-can-you-expect-this-is-Russia kind of way” Roxy Cook’s A Woman Walks Into A Bank is a thoroughly delightful—yet pointed, in the way that Gogol’s Dead Souls is pointed—portrait of a corrupt and brutal society drunk on

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A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol

★★★★★

The Old Vic

A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the The Old Vic ★★★★★ “The quality and theatricality of this production is unparalleled” Few pieces of literature have had such a profound impact on how we think of Christmas today as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Has the festive season truly begun unless you’ve read

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Lay Down Your Burdens

★★★

Barbican

LAY DOWN YOUR BURDENS at the Barbican ★★★ “It was a genuinely mixed experience, and sometimes that is refreshing in its own way.” Billed as a piece of ‘radically tender dance theatre’ Lay Down Your Burdens is a brave, if peculiar, piece of immersive theatre. We are welcomed to a

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The Mongol Khan

The Mongol Khan

★★★★★

London Coliseum

THE MONGOL KHAN at the London Coliseum ★★★★★ “its scale is epic, almost biblical” Apparently, “The Mongol Khan” is a milestone for Mongolian theatre. It marks the first time that a play has been exported outside of the country. To say that it is an eye opener is an understatement.

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LOVETRAIN2020

★★★★

Sadler’s Wells Theatre

LOVETRAIN2020 at Sadler’s Wells Theatre ★★★★ “This is a deeply unusual and contemporary performance.” LoveTrain2020 bursts onto stage in a whirlwind of colour and energy. Choreographer Emmanuel Gat has created a vision of contemporary dance, interpreting and complementing the music of ‘80s band Tears for Fears. In its best moments

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Radio Gaga

Radio Gaga

★★★★

Adelphi Theatre

RADIO GAGA at the Adelphi Theatre ★★★★ “Mark Sanders, in the mantle of Freddie Mercury, knows how to get the audience on his side” The test of a tribute act is to close your eyes and see if, in your head, it’s the real thing. I don’t get this from

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Flip!

Flip!

★★★★

Soho Theatre

FLIP! at the Soho Theatre ★★★★ “Racheal Ofori’s script is tight, and feels fresh and current” In a punchy and peppy two-woman show, Flip! explores the dark underbelly of online content creation. Best friends Carleen (Leah St Luce) and Crystal (Jadesola Odunjo) host a trendy, talk show style podcast. But

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Treason

Treason the Musical

★★★

Alexandra Palace

TREASON THE MUSICAL at Alexandra Palace Theatre ★★★ “The show is visually stunning, Jason Taylor’s lighting taking centre stage in the vast auditorium while Philip Witcomb’s looming, slatted set opens and closes to successively release and confine the protagonists” Just as the fireworks are beginning to die down across London,

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