National Theatre, LondonEmlyn Williams' 1938 play is a kind of Billy Elliot of the Valleys: the old-fashioned but hugely entertaining and affecting story of a Welsh miner's son who escapes h…
Donmar Warehouse, LondonDespite strong performances, Jackie Sibblies Drury's play zigzags so much that it overshadows the remarkable life at its centre The provocations and final controversi…
One Cartridge Place, LondonThis immersive retelling of Greek tragedies is stylish and atmospheric but lacks narrative momentum and its scattered scenes can be frustratingly arcane It is imme…
Birmingham RepCasey Bailey's moving, emotionally honest grime musical grows in power and has its own poetic, street-smart presence Grimeboy starts off with a deceptive lightness as a coming-…
Available onlineThe canine curse is given a comic makeover, sapping the story of its terror but bringing laughs and charming energy from the cast of three Arthur Conan Doyle's sinister tale …
Bush theatre, LondonThe performer of this one-woman play steers through multiple characters with charm, but is held back by a story that is less than the sum of its parts Princess Dinubolu o…
Lyric Hammersmith, LondonMike Bartlett's rambunctious capers with types including Lady Susan Climber and Matt Eton MP are great fun if not exactly stinging satire In Mike Bartlett's rambunct…
Hampstead theatre, LondonClaire Latham is utterly arresting as a traumatised woman, surrounded by violence, who transforms into a wolf This monologue, by a woman from the deep south of the U…
Theatre503, LondonA mother-daughter confrontation at a motivational speaker's coaching session raises urgent questions about mental health A play about a self-help circle can usually guarant…
Cabaret and Life of Pi were deservedly recognised on a night that could have spread the love more widely and often favoured comforting shows Full list of winners It began with the host Jason…
Old Vic theatre, LondonMike Bartlett's script turns US politics into Shakepearean comedy but falls oddly flat despite magnetising performances Donald Trump's inner circle has, in Mike Bartle…
Almeida, LondonA white billionaire art collector's relationship with a young Black artist forms the heart of this bold, brawny play about race, patronage and exploitation Ever since Sunset…
Hampstead theatre, LondonThere is some fine acting as the wife and children of Robert Lindsay's patriarchal professor bicker and bond over inheritances and legacies, but it is all a little t…
Birmingham RepWe see the shock of Windrush-era racism from a child's perspective, but miss the details of how she rose nontheless to become the face of children's TV It is fitting that an ad…
Gielgud theatre, LondonRafe Spall is a dignified Atticus Finch in Aaron Sorkin's smooth and confident adaptation, which finds modern-day resonances in the 1960 classic about racial injustice…
Battersea Arts Centre, LondonThough innovative in delivery, this bizarre experimental production has gratuitous descriptions of sex and violence and fails to satisfy as a performance Psychod…
Park theatre, LondonThe acting, by Imogen Stubbs and Eric Underwood among others, is formidable but Bruce Norris's 2010 play lacks depth Bruce Norris's 2010 satire was written as a response …
Harold Pinter theatre, LondonIvo van Hove's production divests this drama of emotional power and momentum, keeping us at arm's length Jean Cocteau's 1930 play is a monologue disguised as a s…
The Law & Order: SVU star is returning to the stage in a White House satire set in 2024. She talks about the 'black-lash' after Obama's election, brokering a new deal for Broadway divers…
The Olivier-winning actor is starring in his own play about a horrifying chapter of history and the fight to abolish slavery. He reflects on the resistance to making the story heard At a piv…
Available onlineThis is a gripping drama about the inner struggles and temptation endured by a recovering alcoholic during a dark night of the soul at his father's wake Marcus Brigstocke's d…
Unicorn theatre, LondonBewitching video and ingenious sets combine in a staging that turns the 18th-century adventure into an escape for a troubled student This radical reimagining of Jonath…
Ambassadors theatre, LondonJade Anouka's character causes an existential earthquake in Marianne Elliott's stylised revival of Mike Bartlett's comedy about sexual identity The world has at la…
The eponymous do of Mike Leigh's 1977 play is reimagined in Abi's House Party, a youth production at the Watford Palace theatre. But what would Bev think? The drama in Abigail's Party focuse…
Park theatre, LondonRon Hutchinson's play picks up intriguing themes about fake news and psychology but fails to explore them in depth "What if the Titanic never hit an iceberg? What if it s…