Hampstead theatre, LondonThe songs that unite two grieving sisters are collected and 'tidied up' by Cecil Sharp in this historical drama This beautifully brooding slice of English pastoral p…
Almeida theatre, LondonRupert Goold's production of the alt-rock musical has a talented young cast and some striking moments but the songs are often banal It is audacious of Rupert Goold to …
Hampstead theatre, LondonAlan Plater's 60s-set play honouring agent Peggy Ramsay hasn't aged well " her once maverick ideas now look outmoded Henry Livings felt that "all plays about write…
Ladies and gentleman, please take your seats " for how long? Our chief theatre critic on her Covid-hit week Until a few days ago, I had a diary rammed with first nights. This week was non-st…
Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonPatrick Marber revives Alan Bennett's tiresome 1973 comedy with its trouserless salesman, randy vicar and retrograde Britishness "From end to end I've searche…
The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre, LondonRedmayne and Jessie Buckley 'Willkommen' us into this Weimar-era Berlin nightclub for an evening of flamboyance, menace and magnetism This re…
Dorfman theatre, LondonA play-within-a-play provides an ingenious platform for drama in Alice Childress's still-pertinent 1955 unpicking of American racism Race is "an explosive subject", sa…
Bridge theatre, LondonNicholas Hytner brings a dazzling wizard's touch to this adaptation of Philip Pullman's fantasy tale Nearly two decades ago, Nicholas Hytner triumphantly staged Philip …
As an adaptation of La Belle Sauvage arrives at the Bridge theatre, the author explains why His Dark Materials was better as a play than a film " and how he learned to write for children and…
Theatre Royal Stratford East, LondonAn eco-themed updating of the fairytale without any bite, this panto has clumsy storytelling and half-hearted smut Red wears a magic hoodie in this pantom…
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonThere are strong performances in this tale of sex, power and morality reimagined by director Blanche McIntyre If there is a #MeToo moment in Shakespeare's oeuv…
Wyndham's theatre, LondonThis stage version of Yann Martel's novel is exquisitely designed but the wonder leaks away in flat-footed storytelling Life of Pi had a first life as a Booker prize…
Jermyn Street theatre, LondonPennington plays Prospero in Tom Littler's production, with a bewitching, naughty Ariel in Whitney Kehinde This production brings its enchantments but one enthra…
Omnibus theatre, LondonShocking truths are revealed when a middle-aged gay couple bring home a man half their age for a threesome 'Monogamy is complicated," says Michael, one half of a gay c…
Garrick theatre, LondonBeverley Knight excels as trailblazing manager Faye Treadwell in a musical that skips hastily through history and lacks emotional drama The idea behind this musical i…
Lyttelton theatre, LondonThere is a prevailingly saggy sitcom vibe as characters shelter in an English country house in a production with many failings Moira Buffini's new play tries to be e…
Jacksons Lane, London Through intriguing group scenarios, the impressive Represent cast consider politics and tyranny without resorting to pat solutions Interruptions interrogates the rights…
Barn theatre, CirencesterThis bewitching but at times confusing adaptation offers a spin on the familiar story before swerving into panto mode The Grimm brothers' Aschenputtel is far from th…
Soho theatre, LondonIfeyinwa Frederick's monologue is delivered with humour and energy by Joseph Black as a man nearing 30 when depression seeps in Tunde is turning 30 and there is a fair am…
Rose theatre, Kingston upon ThamesOverly stylised theatrics mar this revival of Colin Teevan's monologues featuring Medea, Phaedra and others from ancient tragedies A fringed curtain of stri…
The singing sensation belting out big numbers in the veg aisle, Britney's Oops! redone as vintage jazz, how to flirt if you're a woman in a musical … our critic takes her seat for theatre …
Finborough theatre, LondonAlana Valentine's drama about a struggling family in New South Wales is superbly performed This is an intergenerational story which deals with the devastating effec…
Ustinov Studio, BathPenhall's 2000 play, set in the world of psychiatric care, is revived by James Dacre in a production with some riveting debate When it premiered in 2000, Joe Penhall's pl…
Criterion theatre, LondonRough-hewn but joyous musical take on the classic novel works in everything from Carly Simon to Chris de Burgh It is a truth universally acknowledged that the Britis…
Nottingham PlayhouseGatiss's delayed rework amps up the ghostly effects while drawing out the overlooked dark comedy in the classic tale If it seems premature to be staging Charles Dickens's…