3,489 stories from The Arts Desk
Dublin Fringe Festival hit from 2022 comes to London's main new writing theatre
Faye is okay. Or, at least she says she's okay. But is she really? And, if she really is, like really okay, w…
★★★ ROMEO AND JULIET, DUKE OF YORK'S THEATRE Doomy and deathly, and much-hyped
Tom Holland reaches for the stars and makes it to the theatre's roof
One of Shakespeare's lo…
LIFT2024 promises a characteristically broad and bracing array of global performance
LIFT 2024 is nearly here. It's a festival that will take you on deep and personal journeys. We've got sh…
The legendary small-screen drama still resonates in a new medium
Prolific playwright James Graham was born in 1982, the year Alan Bleasdale's unforgettable series was televised. From Notting…
Taboo-tickling comedy about both conceiving a baby and life as empty nesters
"Welcome to motherhood, bitch!" By the time a character delivers this reality check, there have been plenty of la…
Katie Mitchell's staging of Maggie Nelson's bestseller is neither original nor beautiful
When does creativity become mannered? When it's based on repetition, and repetition without developme…
Three talented performers in a revue that doesn't add up to much
Catchy even when the lyrics are at their cheesiest, the Jerry Herman Songbook serves up a string of memorable tunes: you'll p…
A female cast rips into toxic masculinity in a rebalanced treatment of villainy
There's a fierce, dark energy to the Globe's new Richard III that I don't recall at that venue for a fair whil…
Stephen Adly Guirgis's Pulitzer-Prize winner finally makes it to London
It's often said that contemporary American playwrights are too polite, too afraid of giving offence. But this accusat…
Giles Terera excels leading a livewire cast in an irreverent look at Black identity
From New York's Public Theater, the venue that nurtured Hamilton, comes another estimable pocket musical, …
John Cleese's sitcom masterpiece makes seamless transition to the stage
There are many definitions of bravery, and taking on the challenge of embodying John Cleese as Basil Fawlty in Cleese'…
Denise Gough reprises her star-making performance in Duncan MacMillan's riotous reflection on addiction and recovery
It's unusual for a play to be revived with its original director and star…
Withnail and Marwood fix up the Jag and head for Birmingham
Let's put our cards firmly on the table here. I am a big fan of Bruce Robinson's cinematic masterpiece about two out-of-work actor…
Too much camp and not enough content in this tribute to the Greek poet
Who is Sappho? What is she? Not much is known about the influential Greek poet who was born some 2500 years ago. Her po…
Queer themes and music take centre stage in a café setting
In Shakespeare's day theatre was regarded as "wanton" by those of a Puritan disposition who feared boys dressed as girls could eng…
★★ MULTIPLE CASUALTY INCIDENT, THE YARD THEATRE Too many tricks from the writer and the director dissipates the dramaÂ
Sami Ibrahim's play examines ethics in a war zone, bu…
★★★★★ SPIRITED AWAY, LONDON COLISEUM Faithful adaptation will delight Studio Ghibli fansÂ
Growing up with Chihiro/Sen is overwhelming, enlightening and be…
Strong ensemble work highlights the plight of people with learning disabilities
On the morning of the press show of Laughing Boy, the BBC news website's top story was about the abuse of c…
Philip K. Dick's science fiction short story fares far better on screen
Towards the end of David Haig's new adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1956 science fiction short story, someone asks if t…
A Brit and a New Yorker struggle to find common ground in lively new British musical
Small scale shows, nurtured in offbeat places, are becoming all the rage in the West End. Red Pitch, Oper…
★★★ TESTMATCH, THE ORANGE TREE THEATRE Kate Attwell packs too much into her kitbag as India challenges England Â
Winning performances cannot overcome a scattergun …
Superb cast deliver Van Badham's anti-incel barbs and feminist wit with gusto
What would happen if a notorious misogynist actually fell in love? With a glacial Danish librarian? And decided …
New play-with-songs version of Dickens's 'Our Mutual Friend' is a panoramic Victori-noir
"He do the police in different voices." If ever one phrase summed up a work of fiction, and the art …
Sophie Treadwell's 1928 hard hitter gets full musical and choreographic treatment
Virtuosity and a wildly beating heart are compatible in Richard Jones's finely calibrated production of Rena…
★★★★ AN ACTOR CONVALESCING IN DEVON, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Paul Jesson finds considerable poignancy in Richard Nelson's bespoke play
Fact lightly repackaged as fiction…
