Going easy on MPs over arts cuts, despite broken promises of a 'golden age', was one of several shortcomings at the conferenceJust like last year, the annual State of the Arts (Sota) confere…
Southwark Playhouse, London"Marriage," declared Mae West, "is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution yet." Neither is Bobby, the anti-hero of Stephen Sondheim's 1970 music…
Wyndhams, LondonThere are few more enjoyable sights than watching liberal hypocrisy being given a good thrashing, and Bruce Norris's Royal Court transfer arrives in the West End with such a …
Ustinov, BathMemory is a construct in this double bill of Pinter shorts, two plays that are like sharp shards of reflecting glass.In the 20-minute Monologue, a dapper, ageing man (the excell…
Octagon, BoltonIt is a brave director who offers an audience a modern-dress Romeo and Juliet on a nearly bare stage, but since he transformed Bolton into an essential theatre-going destinati…
Royal Exchange Studio, ManchesterEven the cruelest, iciest winter eventually turns to spring. In Andrew Sheridan's dense, difficult and brave debut play the shoots can barely be glimpsed, bu…
Chichester Festival TheatreWhen cowed evacuee William Beech is billeted to the elderly Tom Oakley in Dorset, it looks as if he is out of the frying pan and into the fire. Will is covered wit…
Bristol Old Vic StudioEnter the Old Vic Studio, and you no longer feel as if you are in a theatre. All disbelief is instantly suspended, and you are in a dilapidated church hall in a remote …
A family-friendly theme runs through this week's theatre " and plenty of shows are on the move, too. Can you keep up?I'm off to Chichester tonight for David Wood's adaptation of Goodnight Mi…
Barbican, LondonIvo van Hove's Roman Tragedies, seen at the Barbican in 2009, was an invigorating experience using technology, video and live performance to make you see and engage with Shak…
A high court ruling that London Councils failed to consider the full effects of cuts has delayed belt-tightening in the capital " and could prompt challenges nationwideLast Friday, courtesy …
Playwright Simon Stephens is right " writers should take to the stage and make their voices heard, no matter how ugly it gets"The Bruntwood prize is a clarion call to all playwrights through…
Unicorn, LondonLong before such theatre became fashionable for adult audiences, Oily Cart was making immersive and interactive experiences for children. The audience dons either hard hats th…
Gulf Stage, which shares young Arab companies' work online, gives British theatre an invaluable opportunity to look outwardsAs we know, nowadays all the world's a stage. Only a couple of wee…
Some foreign theatre-makers still risk their lives abroad " but most UK underground theatre is just out for a good timeI'm in a bar chatting with an arty young couple about underground theat…
Sheffield Lyceum"I think you are all mated or stark mad," says the Duke towards the end of The Comedy Errors. You might say the same about Edward Hall and his all-male Shakespeare outfi…
You'll find yourself happily drowning in great shows this week, so head down to Bath or let Beachy Head come to youBy the time you read this there may still be some tickets available for Mat…
Barbican, LondonThere is a moment in this extraordinary, exhilarating circus-theatre piece, from Mathurin Bolze and Compagnie MPTA, when you can't help thinking of the Titanic and …
Purcell Room, LondonArms extended as if embracing freedom itself, a woman falls from the sky. She certainly lands with a bump of harsh reality in this piece, which draws on the experiences o…
Professional reviewers are rightly banned from experimental or developing shows, but it's always open season for citizen reviewersIf you want to see a sign of the changing times, you only ha…
Noël Coward, LondonIf you were forced to live troll-like under a bridge and regularly found your living room furniture flying around in circles, you would probably want to get away to Mos…
Pleasance, LondonThe work of neuroscientist Oliver Sacks has previously inspired theatre pieces by Harold Pinter, Peter Brook and Michael Nyman, and now new young company Curious Directive u…
Union, LondonDid he or didn't he? There is no doubt that the Duke's dissolute son, Henrique (Adam Redmore), the anti-hero of this tragi-romance who rapes the virtuous Violante (Jessie Lilley…
Arch 6, LondonYou wouldn't go to Austrian playwright Peter Handke's 1968 play, inspired by the story of the 19th-century teenager discovered in Nuremberg who had been raised in isolation and…
An action-packed week as NT Wales gives audiences the ride of their lives; and in London, a 50-hour Improvathon awaits youThings begin to hot up nicely this week, with National Theatre Wales…