National Theatre, LondonGaiman's novel turns into a dynamic and quirky stage spectacular, though at the expense of the more nuanced relationships There are some hair-raising monsters in The…
Almeida, LondonLydia Wilson is riveting as the strong-willed duchess in Rebecca Frecknall's arresting update When The Duchess of Malfi was revived in 1945 after falling out of fashion for ce…
Bunker, LondonMatilda Ibini's autobiographical coming-of-age play mixes serious scenes with underpowered comedy sketches Little Miss Burden begins as a Jackanory-style story, narrated by two…
This year, the tried-and-tested tale at London's Old Vic is up against subversive surprises at Wilton's Music Hall, where Scrooge's sister takes the lead Charles Dickens knew he had struck g…
Royal Court, LondonSaturating the senses with sound, light and sign language, this imaginative experience explores whether the web can free us from our 'glitching' bodies In Midnight Movie, …
She needed police protection after her play about a rape in a Sikh temple was axed mid-run. The playwright talks about the extraordinary upbringing that drives her Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti was a…
Park theatre, LondonAnna Akhmatova is forced to choose between artistic integrity and saving her son in Olivia Olsen's play In 1935, Anna Akhmatova began writing Requiem in Soviet Russia. He…
Southwark Playhouse, LondonSamuel Bailey's moving play is carried along by its characters' wisecracking " and reveals the anguish hidden underneath The bored young men in Shook yearn to be e…
Her musical Poet in da Corner brought raving to the Royal Court. Now the writer and performer is exploring first love. She talks Mormonism, trauma and teen dreams Debris Stevenson's first pu…
Southwark Playhouse, LondonVR headsets and a gender switch give National Youth Theatre's exuberant production a modern twist, but the storytelling feels gimmicky 'The human era is coming to …
Soho theatre, LondonIn his debut play, starring Alan Davies, David Baddiel gambles on a mash-up of physics and midlife crisis Alan Davies emerges on stage to address the room, or so it seems…
Her dramas confront the growing horrors facing women in India today. Now she's reworked Ibsen's Ghosts, taking out the syphilis and putting in the Delhi bus gang rape of 2012 Anupama Chandra…
Hampstead theatre, LondonThe painter resembles a drunken YBA in a flawed but timely show that veers from camp humour to political intrigue 'This is not just a play, it's an extravaganza," sa…
Vaults, LondonShepard picks apart the frailties of two men tormented by unspoken emotions, from marital meltdown and armchair priapism to the existential crisis of mortality The men in Sam S…
Old Vic, LondonDuncan Macmillan's two-hander is a frenetic portrait of flawed love in a flawed world, exposing the neuroses of a modern couple who struggle to put their principles aside 'The…
Hackney Showroom, LondonZawe Ashton aims high with an intricate dissection of race and gender but a smart ending can't save this muddled show Zawe Ashton has described her play as both an "i…
Theatre 503, LondonDanusia Samal's complex drama explores the double life of a young Muslim millennial heading for marriage Zara is a British-Arab millennial who feels the strain of her doub…
A drama competition for 200 naked people in a giant sauna? Our writer gets a sweaty taste of 'aufgass' in the Netherlands I am standing behind a partition rope, waiting for the theatre to op…
Soho theatre, LondonThis fearless production uses intelligent humour to expose racial typecasting in the entertainment industry How diverse is theatre? Are there more roles for BAME actors …
Belgrade theatre, CoventryPlacing Mary Shelley alongside the characters she created undermines the extraordinary power of her classic story The real-life tale behind the creation of Frankens…
Yvonne Arnaud theatre, Guildford Set during and after the blitz, the lives of five characters and the scars left behind are movingly explored Sarah Waters writes historical novels that seem …
Young Vic, LondonYaël Farber's visceral production, relocating the action to rural Ireland, retains all the potency of Lorca's play about tribal vengeance How to stage Lorca's Blood Weddi…
Park theatre, LondonOberman stars as the mother of a teenage rapist in this revival of Evan Placey's rich exploration of family conflict Matthew Kapowitz is a Canadian teenager under house a…
Orange Tree, LondonMaya Arad Yasur's complex play about the consequences of war is obscured by a series of comic games Amsterdam is billed as an "audacious thriller" and the mystery at its h…
Finborough, LondonAfter a boy runs away, a Maori social worker is sent to investigate the parents in Emma Kinane's engaging if overlong New Zealand drama A young Maori social worker is sent …