Gate theatre, LondonDespite Temi Wilkey's best efforts, including rolling in slime, Tue Biering's play can't decide whether it is a critique of utopianism or a message of reassurance 'I've s…
Shaftesbury theatre, LondonSongs of the prolific Swedish tunesmith are shoehorned into a silly Shakespeare-derived story for this misguided West End musical Romeo and Juliet, the starting po…
Noël Coward theatre, LondonSam Tutty shines as the lonely student who fabricates a friendship with a dead boy, but this award-winning musical has plot holes This musical arrives from the …
David Greig's survival-story adaptation has clawed its way to the West End " and it is a triumph of resolve and innovation When this adaptation of Joe Simpson's mountaineering memoir, Touchi…
Hampstead theatre, LondonChinonyerem Odimba's subtle play is a celebration of female friendship, given an intimate production by Daniel Bailey There is much to admire in this play by Chinon…
Prince Edward theatre, LondonZizi Strallen is excellent as the buoyant nanny in Eyre's chippy and enduring show, which also calls on Julian Fellowes, Matthew Bourne and Petula Clark I was ra…
Theatre 503, LondonWriter John Webber shows edgy promise with this story of a woman's contrasting encounters with two men Like many emerging dramatists, John Webber is an actor. He doesn't,…
After two incidents in six years, visitors may need reassurance before they return to the West End "Don't clap too hard: it's a very old building," says Archie Rice in John Osborne's The Ent…
The Other Palace, London This new musical by Alick Glass carries its fight against 30s movie plagiarism with pleasant songs, but lacks the showbiz sparkle to land a killer punch This theatre…
Park theatre, LondonDark comedy peeks through the relationship between a malevolent mum and her paranoid middle-aged son in Eugene O'Hare's Pinteresque play This is the second play by Eugene…
Southwark Cathedral, LondonJasper Britton is outstanding as Thomas Becket in Scena Mundi's revival, but the church acoustics make the rest of the cast hard to hear How do you stage TS Eliot'…
Turbine theatre, LondonA delightfully tuneful adaptation of the Broadway musical returns the unlucky-in-love record-shop owner to his London roots Nick Hornby's bestselling 1995 novel about …
Pioneering black British-based playwright who examined the effects of colonialism on his native TrinidadMustapha Matura, who has died aged 79 after a heart attack, was a pioneering black pla…
Finborough theatre, LondonDepression provides the tough backdrop for an intense affair in Jacob Marx Rice's smart, flawed and compellingly acted play Depression is a subject the theatre is o…
Dorfman, National Theatre, LondonBaker probes the relevance of stories in her new play, seemingly set at a strategy meeting, but the concept runs out of steam I was enthralled by Annie Bake…
Royal Exchange, ManchesterSarah Frankcom says her farewell as the Exchange's artistic director with this moving testament to the power of family life This has the air of an event. It is the …
In an era of uncertainty and anxiety, New York theatre is shunning its obsession with private lives to throw a powerful spotlight on politics It used to be argued that British drama is drive…
On the actor's birthday, our critic picks three key performances that illuminate her gift for earthy honesty Joan Plowright, who celebrates her 90th birthday today, is the senior figure in a…
Almeida, LondonSiobhan Redmond is impressive as a tyrannical mother trying to rescue her debt-ridden family in Tinuke Craig's strangely rootless production This production of Maxim Gorky's p…
Donmar Warehouse, LondonThe playwright throws down the gauntlet to directors, and the result is a show full of ideas but lacking unity Alice Birch's new play, whose title comes with built-in…
Royal Court, LondonPoet Sabrina Mahfouz uses songs, music and humour to deliver an impassioned assault on British imperialism Passion counts for a lot in the theatre. That is proved by this …
Jermyn Street theatre, LondonThis vigorously performed play confronts the country's past issues with a battle between the disgraced ex-president, Jacob Zuma, and one of his fiercest critics …
Vaudeville, London From age six to 30, Mischief Theatre's engaging band of classmates bicker and play but rarely test the assumption that character is formed in childhood Mischief Theatre, w…
Wyndham's theatre, London With fart jokes and skiffle songs, this Sean Foley adaptation ditches the innocence of the 1950s capitalist comedy, but has plenty of drive This is Sean Foley's ver…
Barbican, LondonA gifted cast from Moscow's Theatre of Nations brings Soviet-era stories of folly and obsession to enchanting life I confess to knowing little of Vasily Shukshin (1929-74) wh…