Museum of Science and Technology; Royal Exchange; Home; Mayfield, Manchester A captive audience is ruffled in immersive refugee drama The Welcoming Party. Elsewhere, powerful tales of sons a…
Centenary Building, Salford A doomed attempt to mix disaster survival and party games gets the otherwise promising Manchester international festival off to a shaky startJohn McGrath, foundin…
London Palladium A technical hitch gave rise to a welcome burst of spontaneity from Rufus Hound as Mr Toad in this otherwise tame tale of wildlife"Poop, poop", as Toad so aptly puts it. Rach…
Donmar Warehouse, London Sandra Marvin is imperious as Camila Batmanghelidjh but this verbatim reconstruction needs more vimJosie Rourke keeps pushing at the Donmar. All-female Shakespeares.…
Wyndham's, LondonA bad gig for the jazz legend is a great one for McDonald as she embodies the troubled singer one wild night in PhiladelphiaLady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill supplies an…
Orange Tree, RichmondBranden Jacobs-Jenkins's ingenious reworking of a 19th-century slave drama continues an exceptional new lease of life at this tiny theatreWhat Paul Miller has done at th…
Almeida, LondonCarvel is a natural as the media mogul in James Graham's engrossing play charting the rise of the Sun newspaperIs Ink indelible? Not really. Is it the talk of the theatrical w…
Minerva, ChichesterNearly 60 years after Edna O'Brien's novel outraged the establishment, the gallivanting girls are as vital as ever in this skilled stage versionWhen Edna O'Brien published…
Royal Court, LondonAlice Birch's riveting play, expertly directed by Katie Mitchell, examines how devastating sadness can seep through generations of womenWhen sadness runs through a family,…
Festival theatre, ChichesterJonathan Kent summons arresting moments from Tennessee Williams's drama but can't fully rescue a play that fails to meld personal and politicalTennessee Williams …
Dorfman, LondonAn African world full of anecdote and argument is conjured up at the barber'sIsn't this what all playwrights would wish for? To come across in their daily lives a dramatic are…
Olivier, LondonWords fail everyone in a play about the loss of common land in the early 1800sHow has this to pass come? Lower down explain will why like this I write. DC Moore author of good…
The Observer's theatre critic chooses the 10 sets that changed the face of modern theatre, from a 1912 Hamlet to Punchdrunk's immersive Faust Continue reading...
The Other Palace, LondonSally Cookson's take on the cinema classic makes for magical theatre with just bare boards, smoky light and a fine, versatile castThere is nothing like a woman with a…
Royal Court, LondonGary Owen continues his exploration of male dysfunction through the generations with this fierce three-handerTwo years ago Gary Owen's Violence and Son viscerally suggeste…
Regent's Park Open Air theatre, LondonBernstein's music, three strong women and Drew McOnie's choreography drive his inventively staged productionI was completely taken aback by On the Town.…
Two decades ago, Susannah Clapp filed her first theatre review for the Observer. Here, she reflects on the quirks of the job, the joy of spotting new stars " and how the role of the critic h…
Minerva, Chichester Sharon D Clarke is extraordinary as the defiant heroine of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori's dynamic musical set in 60s AmericaPolitical punch, moral intricacy " and a wa…
Royal Court, London Seeing a man read out an anonymous woman's sexual fantasies on stage produces curious resultsNo one knows who wrote the words of Manwatching. No one can see a script befo…
Young Vic, London Brendan Cowell brings Brecht's rebel scientist to combative life in Joe Wright's coruscating productionHow to see what's really going on? How to recognise interesting stuff…
Olivier, National Theatre, LondonYaël Farber's turgid take on the biblical story leaves some fine actors stranded in the desert"It begins at the end." You might be warned from the start "…
Theatre Royal, Stratford East, LondonEmma Donoghue's acclaimed novel makes the leap to the stage, with a little help from young Harrison WildingEmma Donoghue has written eloquently about how…
Hull Truck theatre, HullMat Fraser is genially terrifying as the dastardly king in Northern Broadsides' urgent 25th anniversary performanceMat Fraser, who hosted the 2012 Paralympics opening…
Lyttelton, LondonGaudy and unflinching, Tony Kushner's 90s Aids drama still resonates in this bold, starry revival directed by Marianne ElliottYou can tell when a show is bound for success. …
Royal Court, London Magic runs through Butterworth's brilliant new play, directed by Sam Mendes, with a fine stage debut from Paddy ConsidineJez Butterworth's plays shoulder their way on to …