West End Theatre reviews from the UK newspaper The Times & Sunday Times.
Here’s a selection of reviews of London shows from the theatre and arts critics at The Times newspaper.
The chief theatre critic at The Times is Clive Davis.
Quentin Letts writes reviews for the Sunday Times.
Also Dominic Maxwell writes theatre and comedy reviews for the Times and Sunday Times.
See below for a full run-down of star ratings and theatre opinions about West End shows in London from The Times & The Sunday Times.
Mlima’s Tale at the Kiln Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A haunting indictment of the ivory trade" "It’s a play that jolts us awake by making us witness the elephant…
Vanya at the Duke of York's Theatre (2023)
★★
"Great Scott! Show is less than the sum of its parts" "It’s one of the greatest plays ever written. He’s…
It’s Headed Straight Towards Us at the Park Theatre (2023)
★★
"The Young Ones grow old in Beckettian satire" "It has, as you’d expect from a play by two former stars…
Pygmalion at the The Old Vic Theatre (2023)
★★
"Overacting drowns out the sting of Shaw’s comedy" "... this Pygmalion played at pantomime pitch. True, the bittersweet final third…
Rebecca at the Charing Cross Theatre (2023)
★★
"No one needs a singing and dancing Mrs Danvers" "Unlike the movie, despite a sinister musical opening we quickly soar…
The Little Big Things at the @sohoplace Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Chorus of approval is not enough to make this show fly" "Nothing would please me more than to say that…
Rumble in the Jungle Rematch at the Dock X (2023)
★★★★
"This Ali and Foreman show is a knockout" "As with any immersive show, you need to be on the alert…
Private Lives at the Ambassadors Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A retro treat with Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers" "... Private Lives promises an evening of unparalleled comic sophistication. Just…
Private Lives at the Ambassadors Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Havers and Hodge have mature chemistry" "Nothing remotely as radical is on offer in Christopher Luscombe’s production, which trundles rather…
God of Carnage at the Lyric Hammersmith (2023)
★★
"Fizzy parenting comedy falls flat" "Yasmina Reza’s play about two sets of parents who meet up because of an issue…
Farewell Mister Haffmann at the Ustinov - Bath Theatre Royal (2023)
★★★★
"It is gripping, surprising, resonant yet accessible" "Lindsay Posner’s British premiere is so beautifully acted. Nigel Lindsay has a straight-backed…
As You Like It at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★★
"The Globe’s As You Like It is pleased with its one big idea. “You are part of a queer family!”…
As You Like It at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★★
"Stick with this singalong Shakespeare" "Sacrilege? Messing with a winning formula? No, for the most part the front foot-forward, LGBTQ+…
A Mirror at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★
"Shooting star cannot save drama of so little spark" "Every now and then, you may wonder if you are having…
Next to Normal at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★
"Farce and tragedy in a slick Broadway import" "... a sleek production from the Donmar’s outgoing artistic director, Michael Longhurst."…
La Cage aux Folles at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"It is what it is: irresistible" "Forty years on the plot has lost some of its shock value, but Jerry…
The Effect at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Paapa Essiedu dazzles in the National Theatre’s revival of The Effect" "Lucy Prebble’s drugs clinic satire is a welcome dose…
The Effect at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Medication drama fails to stimulate the emotions" "... if you weren’t won over by the piece the first time around,…
Jersey Boys at the Trafalgar Theatre (2023)
★★★
"the storyline wanders but Ben Joyce is a revelation as Frankie Valli" (2021) "Better shows have come and gone. This…
Matthew Bourne's Romeo and Juliet at the Sadler's Wells Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Matthew Bourne’s brutal take chills the heart" "The time? The not-too-distant future. The place? The Verona Institute, where young people…
The SpongeBob Musical at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London (2023)
★★★★
"This loopy cartoon spin-off has us hooked" (Birmingham Hippodrome) "Unfamiliar with SpongeBob SquarePants? Not to worry. This bright, shiny and…
The SpongeBob Musical at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London (2023)
★★★
"Nickleodeon’s SpongeBob musical" (Birmingham Hippodrome) "The cast is led gamely by Lewis Cornay’s SpongeBob, a schoolboy geek with a heart…
Macbeth at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★★
"There are many compelling ideas here: a grimly parodic coronation, the way the witches seep into every household role. Yet…
Macbeth at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★
"More Brittas Empire than blasted heath" "Is this a tragedy which I see before me? Abigail Graham’s lacklustre production provokes…
Rock Follies at the Minerva Theatre Chichester (2023)
★★
"A Seventies reboot misfires" "The cast deserve better than this. Perhaps my memories of the 1970s TV series about three…
The Crown Jewels at the Garrick Theatre (2023)
★★
"A polished gem? More like amateur panto" "What a mess. The stately music of Purcell pours from speakers before the…
The Crown Jewels at the Garrick Theatre (2023)
★★
"Publicity material describes The Crown Jewels at the Garrick Theatre in London as a “riotous new comedy”. The trouble with…
Word-Play at the Royal Court Theatre (2023)
★★
"Another blandly middle-class flop for the Royal Court" "The series of vignettes that Rabiah Hussain and the director Nimmo Ismail…
Ride - A New Musical at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant / Charing Cross Theatre (2023)
★★★
"This outstanding pair have real pedal power" (Southwark Playhouse Elephant) "With so much to get through, frankly it’s a bit…
The Sound of Music at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Clear-voiced Gina Beck is perfect as Maria" "... the first half swells to a tremendous climax with Climb Every Mountain,…
The Sound of Music at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★★
" I have confidence in this decorous show" "When the swastikas appear on banners for the all-important scene at the…
Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Visceral insight into a human tragedy" "... the performances are impassioned, and by giving extra weight to those who experienced…
The Empress at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (2023)
★★★★
"A Victorian double romance with cinematic sweep" "Smoothly piloted by a new director, Pooja Ghai, and featuring some fine performances,…
The Empress at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (2023)
★★★
"All this is pretty interesting, and Pooja Ghai’s production has its moments. Alexandra Gilbreath brings mischief and wit to Victoria,…
Cuckoo at the Royal Court Theatre (2023)
★★★
"The dialogue is skilful and the acting pretty good." "Sue Jenkins steals the show as tolerant, resourceful, funny Doreen, who…
Cuckoo at the Royal Court Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A breezy Scouse sitcom with a dark heart" "We’re used to seeing Royal Court offerings in which characters are a…
Disruption at the Park Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A darkly comical AI thriller" "In Andrew Stein’s new play all that can stop AI taking centre stage is a…
Miss Saigon at the The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield (2023)
★★★★
"Who needs a helicopter, this is a hit" "... the great virtue of this pared-back yet electrifying revival from Robert…
Miss Saigon at the The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield (2023)
★★★★
"In Sheffield’s version the Engineer, who is normally a baritone, is played by Joanna Ampil. The casting of a soprano…
In Dreams at the Leeds Playhouse (2023)
★★★★
"Marketing shorthand might call it “the Roy Orbison musical” but that would suggest another pop biopic treatment, which this is…
In Dreams at the Leeds Playhouse (2023)
★★★★
"Roy Orbison’s hits lift an irresistible show" "Death has rarely felt so exuberant as it does in this gloriously irreverent…
Dr Semmelweis at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"One of Mark Rylance’s greatest achievements" "If I told you this was a play about remembering to wash your hands,…
Beneatha’s Place at the The Young Vic (2023)
★★★
"A culture-war skirmish with a tremendous heroine" "... although Kwei-Armah gets fine performances from his cast, you wonder whether another…
The Wizard of Oz - UK & Ireland Tour at the London Palladium (2023)
★★★
"Finally, a Wizard of Oz that doesn’t give me the creeps" "A fun, uncomplicated traipse through Oz should do well…
Crazy For You at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Another thing musicals can do is leave you awed by the performers’ skill." "... Charlie Stemp, in the lead role…
Crazy For You at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"You’ll be swept away by this Gershwin rom-com" "It’s ludicrous. It’s lavish. And finally the romantic-comical shenanigans set to some…
Song From Far Away at the Hampstead Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Will Young hits the right notes as a grieving brother" (Hampstead Theatre) "Smoothly directed by Kirk Jameson, the production marks…
Song From Far Away at the Hampstead Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Will Young turns personal tragedy into a triumph" (Hampstead Theatre) "Mining his loss, eyes glinting with tears, the former Pop…
A Playlist For The Revolution at the Bush Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A radical rom-com with a twist" "It’s in the tradition of fizzy-girl-shakes-up-staid-boy rom-coms. They’ll get there in the end, if…
A Strange Loop at the Barbican Theatre (2023)
★★
"A Broadway hit that goes round in circles" "It is, scene by scene anyway, audacious and playfully resonant enough that…
A Strange Loop at the Barbican Theatre (2023)
★
"F-words abound, the amplification is overdone and the plot is so niche (Manhattan black gospel gay scene) as to be…
Robin Hood The Legend. Re-Written at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2023)
★★
"Too many Hoods spoil the broth" "There’s an awful lot going on in Carl Grose’s jaunty but confusing version of…
Mrs Doubtfire The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Cross-dressing comedy soars from screen to stage" "Beyond the quantum shift in attitudes, you need a lead who’s not just…
The Pillowman at the Duke of York's Theatre (2023)
★★
"Tale of art and suffering is a struggle to sit through" "Is Allen up to the task? It’s true that…
Dear England at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Pitch-perfect Gareth Southgate brings the game home" "He shoots; he scores. James Graham’s fast-moving portrait of Gareth Southgate’s reign as…
Dear England at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"James Graham scores again" "Football is drama, after all. The National Theatre’s big new play about the England football team…
The Third Man - A Musical Thriller at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2023)
★★★
"Musical adaptation is an ambitious near-miss" "In the end, Christopher Hampton, Trevor Nunn and co don’t provide a totally convincing…
The Crucible at the Gielgud Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Aura of terror grips only intermittently" "Brian Gleeson, of Peaky Blinders fame, makes a sturdy if slightly one-dimensional John Proctor,…
School Girls or The African Mean Girls Play at the Lyric Hammersmith (2023)
★★★
"Barbs fly in a teen spitefest" "Hell hath no fury like a teenager scorned — and in this energetic, hormone-spiked…
Frank and Percy at the Theatre Royal Windsor (2023)
★★★★
"Ian McKellen and Roger Allam are note perfect in moving male study" "Try to imagine what would happen if Alan…
Frank and Percy at the Theatre Royal Windsor (2023)
★★★
"Roger Allam and Ian McKellen are paired in a gentle new comedy at Windsor’s under-ventilated Theatre Royal. Frank and Percy…
Romeo and Juliet at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Star-crossed lovers shine in a vague setting" "... while it has bright ideas aplenty, this condensed reinvention from the director…
42nd Street at the Sadler's Wells Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A fiery Ruthie Henshall and a feast of tap dance" "At a time when so many theatre professionals are just…
42nd Street at the Sadler's Wells Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"42nd Street raises the roof with joyful tap-dancing" "Where do we stand on tap dancing? Does a little go a…
When Winston Went To War With The Wireless at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★★
"Utterly compelling" "Suitably enough for a work about the early days of the BBC, parts of Jack Thorne’s drama, set…
When Winston Went To War With The Wireless at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★
"A timely production" "A play about John Reith in the 1920s has gripping resonance." "Jack Thorne’s play is reasonably interesting…
Assassins at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Lavish Sondheim revival labours political points" "In terms of pure visuals, Polly Findlay’s ambitious revival deserves four stars at the…
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant (2023)
★★★★
"It is skilfully performed by strolling troubadours. A handsomely gruff Jamie Parker takes the title role, Molly Osborne is lovely…
Groundhog Day at the The Old Vic (2023)
★★★★★
"The same magic and satire... all over again" "Well, this glorious collaboration between Danny Rubin, the screenwriter, and Tim Minchin,…
We Will Rock You at the London Coliseum (2023)
★★
"The success of this juggernaut is baffling" "When Ben Elton’s futuristic homage to Queen opened in London 21 years ago,…
We Will Rock You at the London Coliseum (2023)
★★
"We Will Rock You is back again — but is it any good?" "Ben Elton’s crowd-pleaser once tormented the critics,…
Patriots at the Noel Coward Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Russian oligarchs can turn on a rouble" "... Patriots, the play in which Peter Morgan traces the rise and fall…
Re-Member Me at the Hampstead Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Dickie Beau’s enthralling dissection of Hamlet" "Dickie Beau’s arresting take on Hamlet doesn’t so much deconstruct the text as explode…
The Shape of Things at the Park Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Neil LaBute’s battle of the sexes still crackles" "The dialogue still crackles in Nicky Allpress’s pacey revival, even if the…
Great Expectations at the Garrick Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Eddie Izzard’s mighty Dickens marathon" "To be able to memorise a text as capacious as Dickens’s tale of ambition, class…
Rose at the Ambassadors Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Maureen Lipman confronts the shadows of history" "Maureen Lipman is perfect casting — almost too perfect, in fact — for…
Aspects of Love at the Lyric Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love hits all the right notes" "We’re fortunate to live in the same age as…
Aspects of Love at the Lyric Theatre (2023)
★★
"Michael Ball brings heft to a shallow work" "Whether the piece, with all its polite operatic borrowings, is really worth…
A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★★
"A romp with a glorious Bottom" "... Elle While’s production turns out to be an inoffensive, if occasionally overcooked romp.…
The Comedy of Errors at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★★★
"Under the nonsense, a glimpse of realism" "Confusion reigns supreme in Sean Holmes’s brisk, boisterous staging of Shakespeare’s frantic farce…
Bleak Expectations at the Criterion Theatre (2023)
★★★
"This parody doesn’t know when to stop" "... for all this stage adaptation’s jollity scene by scene, for all the…
Bleak Expectations at the Criterion Theatre (2023)
★★
"This prolonged skit on Dickens almost evokes the Goons in its humour. There are surreal and anachronistic gags." "A little…
Brokeback Mountain at the Soho Place Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Theatre re-heats of hit movies can be ersatz and predictable, a surrender of originality by playwrights and producers. This one…
Once On This Island at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A Caribbean Little Mermaid beguiles" "Gabrielle Brooks is superb in the vocally demanding role of Ti Moune. The other characters…
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at the Southwark Playhouse Borough (2023)
★★★
"Sharp suits and strong songs" "If it doesn’t measure up in terms of evergreens (I Believe in You is a…
Biscuits for Breakfast at the Hampstead Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Sparks fly in a foodie love story" "Gareth Farr’s two-hander has energy and passion and fire; all it needs is…
4000 Miles at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Eileen Atkins compels as a leftie matriarch" "Amy Herzog’s play, polished and tasteful and first seen in New York just…
4000 Miles at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★★
"For Eileen Atkins, 88, the show goes on and on" "This doyenne of the stage is an example to us…
Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A gloriously inventive wartime romp" "Sometimes the jokes hit you so quickly that you barely have time to laugh before…
The Vortex at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★★
"An uneven take on Noël Coward’s breakthrough play" "... he gifted mother-and-son double act of Lia Williams and Joshua James,…
The Vortex at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★
"Daniel Raggett’s production contrives to feel both rushed and leaden. Early pearls of flighty, flapper-era dialogue are lost in a…
August in England at the Bush Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Charismatic Henry delivers an unconventional solo piece" "At the end of the 90-minute piece, Henry lets us listen to the…
Cymbeline at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon (2023)
★★★
"Gregory Doran bids farewell with a hyperactive dark fairytale" "For his final offering as the RSC’s artistic director emeritus, Gregory…
Cymbeline at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon (2023)
★★★
"A three-hour whirlwind romance" "Don’t let the running time of more than three hours put you off Cymbeline. Shakespeare’s dark-edged…
The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Burton and Gielgud clash in battle of wits" "Jack Thorne’s thoughtful, often wickedly droll play about Richard Burton and John…
The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Mark Gatiss is eerily good in this clash of titan thesps" "Sam Mendes directs an explosive struggle between Richard Burton,…
Glory Ride at the Charing Cross Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A musical sprint through the life of Gino Bartali" "Glory Ride — written by the former senior White House economic…
Richard III at the Liverpool Playhouse / Rose Theatre Kingston (2023)
★★
"Adjoa Andoh hams it up in wayward production" (Liverpool Playhouse) "Adjoa Andoh pulls out all the stops in her portrayal…
Retrograde at the Kiln Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A poignant tale of the Hollywood witch hunt" "Homing in on the early career of Sidney Poitier, the young playwright…
No ID at the Royal Court Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A breezy, revealing story about becoming a man" "... this eye-opening, hour-long exploration into his still-evolving new life as a…
The Good Person of Szechwan at the Sheffield Theatres & Lyric Hammersmith (2023)
★★★
"Ping! Brecht reimagined as an arcade game" (Crucible, Sheffield) "In the director Anthony Lau’s hands, Nina Segal’s update of Bertolt…
Blue at the London Coliseum (2023)
★★★
"At full tilt, a thrillingly combative opera" "I was expecting something rather more belligerent, volatile and shocking from Jeanine Tesori’s…
Animal at the Park Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A mischievous, unforgettable look at dating culture" "What a joy to discover a play that is so bold, so outspoken…
Ain't Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations at the Prince Edward Theatre (2023)
★★
"The Temptations musical won’t get you dancing in the aisles" "In its prime, Motown ran a ruthlessly efficient quality control…
Ain't Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations at the Prince Edward Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Thirty R’n’B classics are crowbarred into a night of close harmonies, cool-suited dance routines and the usual narrative. Discovery leads…
The Secret Life of Bees at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A civil rights musical buzzing with delights" "The strength of the performances can sometimes lift a musical into a different…
The Secret Life of Bees at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★
"It’s an ankle-swinger" "Sweet, breezy and optimistic, this is a charming musical" "As one might expect of a musical about…
Dancing at Lughnasa at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A handsome revival of Friel’s flawed memory play" "... I still find the piece, even when it’s performed with conviction,…
Dancing at Lughnasa at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"I danced a jig at this classic" "Maybe, just maybe, the high water of political correctitude at the theatre has…
Private Lives at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★
"Low on laughs, a Noël Coward for a different age" "The best productions of Noël Coward’s much-revived 1930 comedy lace…
Hamnet at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (2023)
★★★
"Alas, poor Hamnet, you struggle to make tears flow" "... Lolita Chakrabarti’s largely adroitly condensed adaptation captures much of the…
Hamnet at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (2023)
★★★
"Hamnet — to see or not to see?" "The bestselling novel about Shakespeare’s lost son gets the RSC treatment" "Period…
The Dry House at the Marylebone Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A potent tale of the demon drink with one twist too many" "Irish writer Eugene O’Hare’s intriguing study of the…
A Little Life at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2023)
★★
"James Norton bares his soul in second-rate melodrama" "One of the many strange things about this utterly grim play is…
A Little Life at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2023)
★★
"James Norton’s a star — but A Little Life is a punishment beating" "Graphic predatory sex, self-harm and rape, this…
For Black Boys Who Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy at the Apollo Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Note-perfect actors in a dreamlike confessional" "The interplay between the actors and their public is a key element of this…
Black Superhero at the Royal Court Theatre (2023)
★★
"A bundle of slogans and clichés" "Surely someone could have seen, early on, that Danny Lee Wynter’s overwrought psychodrama about…
The Way Old Friends Do at the Park Theatre (2023)
★★
"A drag comedy that needs more va-va-voom (Birmingham Rep)" "Grindr, Abba and an excruciatingly unexpected school reunion form the kick-off…
The Way Old Friends Do at the Park Theatre (2023)
★★★
"This Abba comedy by Mark Gaitis is jolly good fun (Birmingham Rep)" "Mamma mia! It’s camp and funny — and…
Further than the Furthest Thing at the Young Vic Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A vivid elegy for a vanished world" "For once, the trigger warnings underdo it... there is a steady strangeness and…
Marjorie Prime at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2023)
★★★
"Anne Reid and Nancy Carroll are brilliant in a dystopian fantasy" "What Harrison has given us is a thought-provoking miniature…
Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Sheer theatrical bliss" "Here’s a dream production that dares you to imagine that you’re in the coolest nightspot in the…
Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Shamelessly sexy" "Hurrah! A joyous liberation from our age’s ghastly priggishness" "From the opening blast of the overture you know…
The Great British Bake Off Musical at the Noel Coward Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A fluffy show that’s risen beautifully" "This show has put on a tiny bit of weight since it opened in…
The Great British Bake Off Musical at the Noel Coward Theatre (2023)
★★
"It gave me tooth rot" "A stage spin-off of the show is a horribly saccharine enterprise" "This spin-off from the…
The Merchant of Venice 1936 at the Watford Palace (2023)
★★★
"Shylock battles the blackshirts of the East End" "The director Brigid Larmour’s adaptation, based on an idea by Tracy-Ann Oberman…
Sleepova at the Bush Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A teenage pyjama party that bursts with life" "Between the PJs-with-attitude and the popcorn, the hormones and the Haribos, there’s…
Shirley Valentine at the Duke of York's Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Sheridan Smith’s charm conquers all" "Smith turns out to be a perfect fit for the role in the director Matthew…
Shirley Valentine at the Duke of York's Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Sheridan Smith is the ultimate leading lady" "The actress goes beyond star quality as Willy Russell’s liberated Scouse housewife in…
Oklahoma! at the Wyndham's Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A brutal, controversial revamp with jagged edges" "Daniel Fish’s Tony award-winning production... is just the kind of experiment to set…
The Winter's Tale at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★★
"A jolly caper that needs to find its heart" "Bring an extra layer. And a woolly hat. And maybe a…
The Walworth Farce at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant (2023)
★★★
"A funny but cryptic family tragicomedy" "The super-local south London setting makes reviving Enda Walsh’s 2006 play an obvious choice…
Grenfell: System Failure at the The Playground Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"The banality of corporate evil" "Grenfell: System Failure is the latest in a series of political plays that are nothing…
Women, Beware The Devil at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★
"I feel sorry for the cast of this unholy mess" "The plotting is so erratic that I began to wonder…
Women, Beware The Devil at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★
"The director Rupert Goold and the set designer Miriam Buether throw all their talents at this cod-medieval story about witch-hunting…
Romeo and Julie at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"The lovers get a witty, gritty, working-class update" "As it turns out, this witty, gritty yet generous rom-com by Gary…
Trouble in Butetown at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★
"Wartime Cardiff comes to life" "For the second time running, the Donmar is offering a defiantly old-fashioned drama with the…
The Rhinegold at the London Coliseum (2023)
★★★★
"ENO’s Ring has lift-off in this witty, cheeky show" "Yes, only one performance is world-class — Christine Rice’s magisterially sung…
Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical at the Birmingham Rep (2023)
★★★
"Polish but not enough bite" "There is too much going on in Sean Foley’s production for it to get boring,…
Medea at the @sohoplace (2023)
★★★★
"Sophie Okonedo’s hellish descent into darkness" "In the end, it’s the auditorium that emerges as the most potent presence of…
Medea at the @sohoplace (2023)
★★★
"Sophie Okonedo, initially in sunglasses, is self-assured and chic in the title role, although she never quite mines the depths."…
Sylvia at the The Old Vic Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Beverley Knight shines in a stodgy suffragette show" "There are some stirring songs buried in the director Kate Prince’s hip-hop…
Winner's Curse at the Park Theatre (2023)
★★
"Clive Anderson’s charm can’t save this strange show" "Well, its heart is in the right place, and Clive Anderson certainly…
Phaedra at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Succession meets Peep Show in stunningly sharp update" "It’s Phaedra, kind of, but Simon Stone’s rivetingly black-comical psychodrama is also…
The Lehman Trilogy at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"A mesmerising epic, perfectly played" "This mesmerising chronicle of an American dynasty sweeps past like one of those gigantic freight…
The Lehman Trilogy at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"The Lehman Trilogy is back — but is it better?" "Five years after it first astonished audiences, the tale of…
Linck & Mülhahn at the Hampstead Theatre (2023)
★★
"Love, trans rights and punk in 18th-century Saxony" "We’re passing through a phase where dramatists addressing the question of gender…
Linck & Mülhahn at the Hampstead Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Maggie Bain and Helena Wilson are sweet, if a little 21st-century, as the lovebirds. Owen Horsley’s production is jolted by…
The Tempest at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Prospero magic holds long show together" "... Elizabeth Freestone’s production may veer between the inspired and the rather clunky, but…
Carmen at the London Coliseum (2023)
★★★★
"Bizet with extra dollops of sex and violence" "Bieito’s more pretentious conceptual junk — the dour focus on the tacky,…
2:22 A Ghost Story at the Lyric Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Haunted Cheryl makes a confident West End debut" "Danny Robins’s gripping ghost story is as verbally spiky as it is…
2:22 A Ghost Story at the Lyric Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"It’s a chilling modern classic" "The pop singer proves the snoots were wrong in her West End debut." "This domestic…
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Wordplay rom-com is short and sharp, but hits a character limit" "Can two good actors and a gifted director, Josie…
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2023)
★★
"Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, a revived 2015 chin-stroker from Sam Steiner, is altogether more pretentious. It’s the sort of…
Steel Magnolias at the UK Tour (2023)
★★★
"Grief, giant perms and southern charm" "It’s a play of paradoxes in many ways (not that any character would put…
Sound of the Underground at the Royal Court Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Travis Alabanza’s show teeters about like a drag queen" "The young, gifted, non-binary writer and performer Travis Alabanza’s first crack…
Noises Off at the Phoenix Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Frayn’s immortal farce is an antidote to winter gloom" "... even if sinking into the door-slamming, trouser-dropping netherworld of a…
Noises Off at the Phoenix Theatre (2023)
★★★
" Act II, when we see the panic and calamities backstage, can be the stuff of genius. So it proves…
The Unfriend at the Criterion Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Steven Moffat’s comedy hits the funny bone" "... with Alan Ayckbourn’s West End supremacy a distant memory and good farces…
Cirque du Soleil: KURIOS at the Royal Albert Hall (2023)
★★★★
"A weird and wondrous spectacular" "Together, they encourage a gently spooky sense of joy. There are capering conjoined twins, men…
George Takei's Allegiance at the Charing Cross Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"George Takei brings the spark to a sentimental journey" "We first meet Sammy as an old man looking back six…
A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Magnetic Paul Mescal is no normal leading man" "Mescal is tremendous: he makes the latent violence of Stanley Kowalski into…
A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"A Streetcar Named Desire is superb" "Ferran is so convincing that it is hard to imagine how the show could…
On The Ropes at the Park Theatre (2023)
★★★
"No knockout punch in this boxing docudrama" "The scenes of his confrontations over his immigration status are harrowing, though, as…
Watch on the Rhine at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★
"Patricia Hodge shines in a dowdy drawing room drama" "The wonderful Patricia Hodge is just about incapable of giving a…
Watch on the Rhine at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★★
"Donald Trump must see this" "This revival about US wartime isolationism is gripping and timely." "Ellen McDougall’s production whacks you…
The Fir Tree at the Shakespeare's Globe (2022)
★★★★
"A witty reboot of Hans Christian Andersen" "... Hannah Khalil’s adaptation doesn’t shy away from all references to death and…
Derren Brown: SHOWMAN at the Apollo Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Britain’s favourite magician conjures another hit" "He brings his own life on stage and fuses raw honesty with prestidigitation, misdirection…
One Woman Show at the Ambassadors Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Much more than a Fleabag spoof" "People, most importantly, have seen it and laughed, laughed, laughed. Its mix of the…
As You Like It at the @sohoplace (2022)
★★★★
"Cerebral and playful . . . there’s a lot to like" "Josie Rourke’s enchanting production, a shimmering blend of the…
Jack and the Beanstalk at the London Palladium (2022)
★★★★
"Camp innuendo, Dawn French and a singing cow" "Dawn French having more fun as “juicy old Dame Trot” — the…
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre (2022)
★★★
"This is very much Dolly Does Dickens. It’s country music, not carols," "Parton, who writes the songs, and her co-adapters,…
Sons of the Prophet at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Grief and grievances in a brilliant tragicomedy" "... a show that, never mind the BlackBerries wielded by its mid-2000s protagonists,…
Paradise Now! at the Bush Theatre (2022)
★★★
"A deceptively oily comedy with a standout performance" "Michele Moran gives a pitch-perfect demonstration of physical comedy" "despite its deft…
Mother Goose at the Duke of York's Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Ian McKellen delivers knockabout fun in a cheerfully chaotic show" "Ian McKellen had no end of fun in this cheerfully…
The Nutcracker at the Royal Opera House (2022)
★★★★★
"Royal Ballet classic brings sumptuous wonder and fireworks" "Unlike theatre and opera — which regularly reimagine and reinvent their pasts…
Mandela at the The Young Vic (2022)
★★
"Bland musical says little about Mandela" "The great man surely deserved better than this. It’s always going to be a…
Disney's Newsies at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Spectacular dancing, but where’s the story?" "If an audience can’t find thrills in the director and choreographer Matt Cole’s large-scale…
Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty at the Sadler's Wells (2022)
★★★★
"Matthew Bourne’s zany rewrite is still a riot" "Matthew Bourne’s zany rewrite of The Sleeping Beauty — that most luminous…
Kerry Jackson at the National Theatre (2022)
★
"Less food for thought, more overcooked cliché" "Ripley gives a performance that’s painfully lacking in subtlety. Everything in Indhu Rubasingham’s…
Hex at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Jewel box of a fairytale whose contents fail to sparkle" "It looked ravishing, but could I always tell you, hand…
Hex at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Full of spectacle and knowing jokes and performed with infectious vigour." "Jim Fortune’s music is a mish-mash, but the staging…
Orlando at the Garrick Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Nudges, winks and a pack of Woolfs make Orlando bloom" "Think of it, if you like, as the Bloomsbury Group…
Orlando at the Garrick Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Corrin has a magnetic presence" "There are two solid reasons to catch Michael Grandage’s Orlando. The first is Emma Corrin’s…
Mother Goose at the Hackney Empire (2022)
★★★
"Panto dame Clive Rowe holds court in Hackney" "Is Clive Rowe the greatest pantomime dame of the century? Oh, he…
Othello at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A cold-eyed Iago and a menacing chorus dominate this tragedy" "In the end, the cascade of arresting visuals wins you…
It's A Wonderful Life at the London Coliseum (2022)
★★★
"Well-crafted show is just a little too sickly sweet" "On the brink of oblivion, with its public subsidy withdrawn from…
Best of Enemies at the Noel Coward Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"An enthralling political pub brawl" "... James Graham’s pundit wars drama explores the moral and cultural battles of the Sixties…
Jack and the Beanstalk at the Lyric Hammersmith (2022)
★★★★
"Pun-filled, udderly brilliant panto" "This Jack and the Beanstalk is a sequin-clad riot of kick-ass choreography, streetwise silliness and jokes…
Henry V at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (2022)
★★★
"A back-to-basics staging" "Here’s a Shakespearean chronicle reduced to basics by a young cast. Squeezed into the confines of the…
A Sherlock Carol at the Marylebone Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A very merry mashup of Dickens and Doyle" "As a murder mystery, it’s a tad convoluted, admittedly, yet the production…
Elf The Musical at the Dominion Theatre (2022)
★★★
"A functional family Christmas treat" "... functional family seasonal treats on this scale don’t grow on Christmas trees. And, within…
A Christmas Carol at the The Old Vic (2022)
★★★
"Jack Thorne’s Dickens comes with all the trimmings" "Short of ushers guiding you to your seats on sleighs made of…
Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial at the Wyndham's Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Wagatha Christie play hits back of the net" "Vardy v Rooney proved to be a high-wire act, all right, but…
Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial at the Wyndham's Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Much of Vardy v Rooney — the costumes, the wild stakes, the vanities and tautness of plot — felt theatrical.…
Matilda The Musical (2022)
★★★
"Emma Thompson’s Trunchbull lifts an uneven film" "The London Film Festival opened not with a bang but with an acknowledgment…
The Sex Party at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2022)
★★
"Snogging and stereotypes in Terry Johnson’s limp Islington farce" "The first thing to point out is that, this being a…
The Sex Party at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2022)
★★
"An orgy in Islington" "Oglers may initially enjoy The Sex Party, a new Terry Johnson play at the reopened Menier.…
Blackout Songs at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Hypnotic performances lift a tale of alcoholic destruction" "A bleak exercise in self-deception, then; yet what gives momentum to Guy…
From Here To Eternity at the Charing Cross Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Tim Rice’s Pearl Harbor musical fights again" "... Rice’s son Donald has joined Bill Oakes to co-write the book, a…
A Christmas Carol at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Adrian Edmondson makes an excellent Scrooge" "Adrian Edmondson takes the role of Scrooge this time, and it’s a pleasure to…
A Christmas Carol at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Adrian Edmondson’s bulgy-eyed, lip-licking Scrooge is the best thing about the show. “K-k-keep the change,” Scrooge stammers when he is…
Not One of These People at the Royal Court Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Theatre meets art installation in a play for 299 voices" "In this new work, directed and designed by Christian Lapointe,…
Fisherman's Friends: The Musical at the Theatre Royal Bath (2022)
★★★★
"This heart-on-sleeve show is quite a catch" "Crammed with sea shanties, this heart-on-sleeve portrait of the fishing community in Port…
Fisherman's Friends: The Musical at the Theatre Royal Bath (2022)
★★★★
"I loved it, me hearties" "Blow me down, this sea shanty yarn is a beautifully sung tonic." "The opening sound…
Super High Resolution at the Soho Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Fleabag in navy scrubs" "Written by Nathan Ellis, it is punchy, mordantly funny and occasionally soapily melodramatic, and it is…
Mary at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Lots of cut and thrust but we rarely feel real lives are at stake" "Douglas Henshall, star of the TV…
Elephant at the Bush Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Brief but intense play addressing the intricacies of colour and class" "Lucas has a sharp ear for the vocabulary which…
Tammy Faye – A New Musical at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★
"Not much to praise the Lord about in Elton’s show" "She was a larger-than-life figure, yet Tammy Faye Bakker emerges…
Tammy Faye – A New Musical at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Elton John helps put the fun into fundamentalism" "The singer teams up with James Graham and the Scissor Sisters’ Jake…
A Single Man at the Park Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Isherwood’s tale impresses on stage" "Tom Ford’s film of Christopher Isherwood’s novel added layer after layer of designer gloss to…
A Single Man at the Park Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Philip Wilson’s production is easy to watch. The set design by Caitlin Abbott, with a few sliding compartments, sound effects…
My Son’s A Queer, (But What Can You Do?) at the Garrick Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Charming but slender confessional" " It’s principally in a couple of simple gestures — no more than sudden extended pauses…
@sohoplace at the @sohoplace (2022)
"@sohoplace is the first new purpose-built theatre to arrive in the West End in 50 years. I can’t love the…
Marvellous at the @sohoplace (2022)
★★★★
"A life-affirming show that’s true to its name" "I can feel the adjectives queueing up in my head, ready to…
Light of Passage at the Royal Opera House (2022)
★★★★★
"Refugee crisis inspires an eloquent, profound ballet" "at 60 minutes of dance, plus interval — it must be one of…
Local Hero at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Entertaining, not quite enchanting" "Evans has a sure way with a musical, and from the moment the grey thrust stage…
My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Animated whimsy takes to the stage with aplomb" "If you’re an admirer of Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli movies, you’re almost…
My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A monster hit" "The RSC hits the spot with an ambitious children’s show based on a 1980s Japanese classic" "Even…
Good at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Tennant’s nice then Nazi in this insidious revival" "In this hugely rewarding revival of CP Taylor’s 1981 play about Nazi…
Good at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★
"David Tennant’s hero isn’t a nice man, he’s a Nazi swine" "This production’s big draw is David Tennant as Halder.…
The Doctor at the Duke of York's Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Juliet Stevenson stuns in the play of the decade" "It is the most politically pertinent play of the decade. And…
The Band's Visit at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★★★
"Musical finds gentle harmony in desert tale" "These characters seem to be on the long and winding road to nowhere.…
The Band's Visit at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★★★
"The best show at the Donmar Warehouse in ages" "The Band’s Visit restores faith in humanity. This little show, adapted…
The Boy with Two Hearts at the National Theatre (2022)
★★
"Simplistic, clunking agitprop" "If it were a touring production in schools you’d happily cheer it on — after all, it’s…
Dmitry at the Marylebone Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Dynastic ding-dong that befuddles then bewitches" "An unabashedly high-theatrical style that at first makes you clutch your seat in fear…
Tosca at the London Coliseum (2022)
★★★
"Old-fashioned wailing and too much applause" "Puccini’s most violent opera should scorch like a hot iron. Sadly, that’s only occasionally…
Blues For An Alabama Sky at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Good-looking but overlong tale of strivers and hustlers" "Vintage songs and music composed by Benjamin Kwasi Burrell are an integral…
Iphigenia in Splott at the Lyric Hammersmith (2022)
★★★
"An intense, volcanic performance" "Gary Owen’s monologue forces you to pay this young woman full attention. In the handsome surroundings…
John Gabriel Borkman at the Bridge Theatre (2022)
★★
"Simon Russell Beale shines in Ibsen’s leaden melodrama" "It’s a measure of Beale’s charisma that he persuades us to follow…
John Gabriel Borkman at the Bridge Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Although Beale is, as always, delicious to watch, his voice so civilised and English, it doesn’t quite work. He lacks…
Woman in Mind at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Ayckbourn’s suburban Hedda Gabler" "It takes a writer of Ayckbourn’s delicacy to tackle debilitating depression as comedy, yet while the…
Jews. In Their Own Words at the Royal Court (2022)
★★★
"An uneven ‘theatrical inquiry’ into antisemitism" "Drawing on an idea from the actress Tracy-Ann Oberman — an outspoken commentator on…
The Crucible at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Erin Doherty is a convincingly frenzied ringleader" "Here, the performances all round are more variable, and some of the directorial…
The Crucible at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"The Crucible is a five-star scorcher" "Arthur Miller’s 1692 witch hunt targets today’s hanging judges" "Lyndsey Turner’s production of The…
Eureka Day at the The Old Vic (2022)
★★★★
"Helen Hunt adds star power to satire of liberal sanctimony" "This is the play that would have helped to keep…
Cages at the Riverside Studios (2022)
★
"An interminable, flat-footed dystopian musical" "I wonder if someone should be selling hallucinogenic drugs at the door? It’s certainly hard…
Handbagged at the Kiln Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A flight of fancy in Queen’s encounters with Thatcher" "... if Buffini’s satire is full of mischief and gossip, it…
The P Word at the Bush Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A tremendous two-man rom-com" "... The P Word delights on pretty much every level. Akhtar has the two men each…
The Snail House at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★
"Well-crafted, but there’s a hole at the centre" "There are lots of themes swirling in the air, but do they…
The Snail House at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★
"It is unexpectedly shouty" "the second half improves... and by the end it almost has a Chekhovian flavour"
The Clothes They Stood Up In at the Nottingham Playhouse (2022)
★★★★
"Alan Bennett with delightful barbs" "The humour is delicious, as you would expect, but there’s a streak of raw pain…
The Clothes They Stood Up In at the Nottingham Playhouse (2022)
★★★
"Alan Bennett grapples with everyday horrors" "Scarborough being perfect as this fussy, inadequate little martinet. Sophie Thompson overdoes things a…
The Clinic at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★
"A laboured essay in identity politics" "A provocative question lies at the heart of Dipo Baruwa-Etti’s latest offering: how much…
The Clinic at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★
"The Clinic is an attack on middle-class pretension" "Commercial theatres might have been tougher on, and therefore ultimately more helpful…
Gabriel Byrne: Walking with Ghosts at the Apollo Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Entertaining tale of booze, burn-out and stardom" "In a monologue based on his unusually fluent autobiography, published two years ago,…
Antigone at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2022)
★★
"A nuance-free attempt to match Sophocles with politics" "Inua Ellams’s attempt to marry Sophocles with 21st-century British politics paints a…
Silence at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★
"This show adapts a Kavita Puri book, Partition Voices. As a record of ethnic cleansing, it has raw historical value,…
Silence at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★★
"Good as Indian history, less good as drama" "Rose Revitt’s minimalist set, adorned with screens and the occasional item of…
Gary Barlow - A Different Stage at the Duke of York's Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Tales from the boy-band boy scout" "Barlow is an energetic and engaging storyteller, but you won’t mistake A Different Stage…
Gary Barlow - A Different Stage at the Duke of York's Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Hail Gary Barlow, the sex god from next door" "The Take That frontman’s one-man show is rueful and engaging" "This…
I, Joan at the Shakespeare's Globe (2022)
★★★★★
"A gender-fluid revolutionary for our times" "It is a tribute to Josephine’s stirring, questioning and incendiary work that Ilinca Radulian’s…
I, Joan at the Shakespeare's Globe (2022)
★★
"A gender-fluid Joan of Arc? Pull the other one" "It’s not a bad idea, but do we really need battle…
The Narcissist at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Ambitious, witty but frustratingly uneven" "It’s trying to say too much. Christopher Shinn’s play about a disillusioned, not to say…
All's Well That Ends Well at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon (2022)
★★★
"Selfies and memes in a high-energy update" "Is it possible to make complete sense of this “problem play” for a…
Into The Woods at the Theatre Royal Bath (2022)
★★★
"Terry Gilliam’s ‘cancelled’ Sondheim is sheer spectacle" "The visuals are what linger in the memory. The moment you enter the…
All of Us at the National Theatre (2022)
★★
"Taking aim at Tories" "The jokes soon dry up and go down the partisan plughole." "Tory scum kill disabled people:…
All of Us at the National Theatre (2022)
★★
"A well-intentioned drama becomes a rant" "Martinez’s anger is palpable throughout, but the piece is so stacked against the evil…
The Great British Bake Off Musical at the Everyman Theatre Cheltenham (2022)
★★★
"The Musical review — a sugar-and-spice recipe with no soggy bottoms" "This celebration of a TV institution may be no…
Identical at the Nottingham Playhouse (2022)
★★★
"Parent Trap musical has promise, but no spark" "... all its charm, it still looks like a show in need…
Identical at the Nottingham Playhouse (2022)
★★★★
"Even I wept buckets at this wonderful weepy" "With songs by Stiles and Drewe, it is a gooey offering. The…
The Tempest at the Shakespeare's Glob (2022)
★★★
"Inflatable lobsters and football anthems make for gimmicky Shakespeare" "It’s vivid, cheerfully garish and never dull, but it’s also gimmicky.…
The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2022)
★★★
"A fantastical, and functional, trip to Narnia" "That awful moment when Aslan the lion is put to death is still…
The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2022)
★★★
"I wanted The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to evoke wonder" "In all it’s a shrewd commercial package for…
Chasing Hares at the Young Vic (2022)
★★★
"A fitfully fascinating study of compromise and coercion" "At its best, Chasing Hares is a pacy, thrilling depiction of compromise…
Sister Act at the Eventim Apollo (2022)
★★★
"Beverley Knight doesn’t quite hit the heavenly heights" "Knight works tremendously hard as the audience cheers her on, but her…
Sister Act at the Eventim Apollo (2022)
★★★
"Beverley Knight, voice like a jumbo jet, plays a Philadelphia nightclub singer, Deloris, who takes sanctuary in a convent after…
101 Dalmatians at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Wild woofs of approval" "Kate Fleetwood makes a full-throated villain, and in Timothy Sheader’s jaunty production the political subtext (there’s…
Jack Absolute Flies Again at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"The National has a comic hit on its hands" "Kerry Howard is superb as her sharp-tongued maid, Lucy, who indulges…
Jack Absolute Flies Again at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"This loveable show should revive the battered box office at the National Theatre" "... this is an enormously loveable show.…
Much Ado About Nothing at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Bruised lovers charm amid simmering Italian chic" "In John Heffernan and Katherine Parkinson, we get a charming pair of slightly…
Much Ado About Nothing at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"The test of any Much Ado is the moment Beatrice goes icy and asks Benedick to “kill Claudio”. If the…
Crazy For You at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Be dazzled by this infectious Gershwin musical" "With Susan Stroman, who created the original choreography, at the helm as director,…
Crazy For You at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"When it comes to song and dance and liquid watchability, Stemp is the works. He plays our rich kid, Bobby…
Billy Elliot The Musical at the Curve Theatre Leicester (2022)
★★★★★
"This revival will have you dancing for joy" "It’s a flat-out masterpiece. And if you had any worries that a…
Cynthia Erivo: Legendary Voices at the Royal Albert Hall (2022)
★★★★
"A Hollywood star from London conquers the Proms" "Starring in her own BBC Prom was a useful way to remind…
Peaky Blinders: The Rise at the Camden Garrison (2022)
★★★
"Throw yourself into a turf war with Tommy Shelby" "As far as period details go, it’s the effing sardine’s whiskers.…
Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"No question about it: this remains the best show in town." "If there’s one production I’d prescribe to a person…
Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Fear not, little flock. The Cole Porter musical Anything Goes is back at the Barbican after last summer’s triumphant run.…
Millennials at the The Other Palace (2022)
★★★
"Angsty songs, rainbow bubbles and a giant avocado" "this plotless collection of numbers feels rather aimless and generalised, and although…
Patriots at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Playwright Peter Morgan‘s slick horror show captures the early days of the despot but makes him sound like Rodney from…
Patriots at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★
"Tom Hollander does turn in a commanding performance" "A play that is an unwieldy combination of docudrama and thriller with…
The Tempest at the Theatre Royal Bath (2022)
★★★★
"A touch of opera gives Deborah Warner’s Shakespeare real magic" "Nicholas Woodeson’s Prospero .. doesn’t hit a false note" "In…
The Seagull at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★
"Emilia Clarke can’t rescue this airless Chekhov" "Emilia Clarke ...turns in a perfectly fine performance. Indira Varma is even more…
The Seagull at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★
"Emilia Clarke can’t save The Seagull" "The stage is a bare, doorless, three-sided chipboard box. The actors are barefoot and…
Richard III reviews - RSC Stratford at the Stratford Upon Avon (2022)
★★★
"The RSC’s first disabled king breaks another barrier" "There are some powerful supporting performances as well, especially from Minnie Gale…
Disney's Beauty and the Beast at the London Palladium (2022)
★★★
"An all-singing, all-dancing piece of the Disney brand" "Spectacle wins out over storytelling in this extravagant, exuberantly played revival of…
Mad House at the The Ambassadors Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Bill Pullman and David Harbour excel in a twisty family drama" "The first hour or so delivers an absorbing blend…
That Is Not Who I Am at the Royal Court Theatre (2022)
★
"A thriller that utterly fails to generate any tension" "The blurb describes the piece as a “slippery thriller”, yet Kirkwood…
The Southbury Child at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Our thespian prayers answered" "There are some plays that keep you talking well into the night. Stephen Beresford’s study of…
A Dolls House, Part 2 at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★★
"Sympathies shift in this dark thought experiment" "Nora herself doesn’t emerge as an entirely likeable figure. Having built a new…
A Dolls House, Part 2 at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★★
"A radical feminist wrestling match" "Patricia Allison impresses as Emmy, but she and Dumezweni are given little ammunition to make…
Jitney at the Old Vic Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A funny, fractious dive into the lives of 1970s American taxi drivers" "Tinuke Craig’s fluid and absorbing revival oozes an…
The Car Man at the Royal Albert Hall (2022)
★★★
"Matthew Bourne’s hot-blooded version of Carmen purrs along and then stalls" "The first act was especially terrific. Shame, then, about…
The Gunpowder Plot at the Tower Vaults London (2022)
★★★★★
"A stunning virtual-reality experience" "An experience to ignite the imagination" "This is an immersive experience in which virtual reality and…
Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] at the Park Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Harry Hill’s manic humour demolishes the former PM" "To call Harry Hill and Steve Brown’s portrait of the former prime…
Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] at the Park Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Tony Blair lives on in song" "No one is spared in Harry Hill’s New Labour rock opera" "After the self-polishing…
Britannicus at the Lyric Hammersmith (2022)
★★★
"Power politics in ancient Rome around the water cooler" "This modern-dress interpretation — dominated by the majestic figure of Agrippina,…
The Unfriend at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★
"Creaky sitcom jokes make Steven Moffat’s play a trial" "The Unfriend starts promisingly enough as a study in middle-class embarrassment."…
The Glass Menagerie at the Duke of York's Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Hollywood star pulls off a touching turnaround" "All praise to Adams .. for taking on a role that has tested…
ABBA Voyage at the ABBA Arena (2022)
★★★★
"Captivating.. Out of this world" "This was captivating, and celebratory in a rather innocent fashion. Who doesn’t love dancing along…
Legally Blonde The Musical at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Go with an open mind and you’ll be blown away" "Moss has repackaged the show in a way that brings…
Murder On The Orient Express at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Henry Goodman is outstanding" "Goodman has entirely cracked the mystery of how to put a new spin on the world’s…
My Fair Lady (2022)
★★★
"A bit more power and it would be really lovely" "a very decent, very stylish, eventually quite audacious My Fair…
My Fair Lady (2022)
★★★★
"My Fair Lady reminded me why we go to West End shows" "From the moment the overture starts swirling around…
Grease at the Dominion Theatre (2022)
★★★
"It’s highly professional." "Arlene Phillips’s choreography offers some thrills" "[When] Olivia Moore takes centre stage.. to sing good-girl Sandy’s impassioned…
Passion at the Hope Mill Theatre (2022)
★★★
"a Sondheim revival for completists only" "There’s nothing wrong with Michael Strassen’s gossamer production: Ruthie Henshall does herself justice in…
Oklahoma! at the Young Vic Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Stirring singing in a reworked classic" "In the final moments, Arthur Darvill’s Curly, decked out in a white suit and…
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends at the Sondheim Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"A star-spangled, unforgettable tribute to Stephen Sondheim" "Excuse me if I gush, but this was one of those nights where…
Much Ado About Nothing at the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Shakespeare’s sparring lovers start the Globe’s new season in style" "Something about Much Ado’s sprawling mix of the cheering (flirtation,…
Macbeth at the Longacre Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Daniel Craig swaps Bond for the Bard" "The director Sam Gold gives us an irrepressibly imaginative modern-dress production that is…
Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Mark Rylance mesmerises in one of the best plays you will ever see" "A thousand playwrights try to write the…
Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Shapeshifter Jodie Comer takes the stage by storm" "If you’ve seen Jodie Comer play the murderous Villanelle in Killing Eve…
Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Jodie Comer’s brilliant West End debut is like a punch to the guts" "This solo piece at the Harold Pinter,…
Funny Girl at the August Wilson Theatre (2022)
★★
"it looks and sounds merely average" "Watching Feldstein trying to get to grips with the larger-than-life personality of the vaudeville…
The Corn is Green at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Escaping the valleys in a tale of its time that can still seduce" "Nicola Walker impresses as Miss Moffat, a…
Marys Seacole at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★★
"An ambitious tribute to the pioneering nurse of Crimea" "This kaleidoscopic play is by turns abstruse, amusing, irked, forgiving. Mother-daughter…
Punchdrunk: The Burnt City at the One Cartridge Place (2022)
★★
"The fall of Troy has never been so neon — or bewildering" "In their new London home — factory buildings…
Scandaltown at the Lyric Hammersmith (2022)
★★
"Anti-woke jokes fall flat in modern Restoration comedy" "Panto season seems to have arrived earlier than usual. Mike Bartlett’s new…
The 47th at the The Old Vic (2022)
★★★
"Echoes of Shakespeare as Trump makes comeback" "It’s an entertaining but uneven pageant held together by a barnstorming performance by…
The 47th at the The Old Vic (2022)
★★★★★
"At last, a five-star Trump we can love" "Bertie Carvel is remarkable as the former president in this outrageous, must-see…
Anyone Can Whistle at the Southwark Playhouse (2022)
★★★
"A peppy revival of Sondheim’s cult early flop" "Sondheim and Laurents’s lively relic is a celebration of difference, a philosophical…
To Kill A Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Rafe Spall is stunning in new take on classic" "Hats off to Aaron Sorkin. While the official title may be…
To Kill A Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Aaron Sorkin supercharges To Kill a Mockingbird" "At last, here’s a play with serious oomph — pity about Rafe Spall’s…
Straight Line Crazy at the Bridge Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Uneven tale of all-powerful planner fails to reach heights" "Much like Hare’s 1980s press satire, Pravda, Straight Line Crazy is…
Straight Line Crazy at the Bridge Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Ralph Fiennes takes on middle-class women" "David Hare’s play makes town planning exciting" "Danny Webb does a strong turn as…
The Human Voice at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★
"Modest monodrama is crying out for a splash of colour" "Ruth Wilson is on stage for all of 70 minutes,…
The Human Voice at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★
"Jean Cocteau wrote this bottom-numbing play in 1928, when it must at least have had shock value and when the…
Cock at the Ambassadors Theatre (2022)
★★
"Sexual identity study is about as plausible as Bridgerton" "...the central conceit is about as plausible as the average episode…
Maria Friedman & Friends - Legacy at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2022)
★★★★
"Musical theatre’s most insightful star pays homage to the greats" "Now that Barbara Cook is no longer with us it’s…
The Collaboration at the The Young Vic (2022)
★★★★
"Day-glo portrait of two pop art titans packs a real punch" "If there are comic moments, the play — soon…
Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Crackerjack hits coated in several tons of rhinestones" "As a spectacle, Moulin Rouge! has a lot going for it. Derek…
Bring It On: The Musical at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (2021)
★★★★
"Cheerleading musical will put smiles on faces" "Inspired by the film series of the same name, Bring It On here…
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theatre) (2021)
★★★★
"Sinister Redmayne and sumptuous set are a seductive combination" "Eddie Redmayne may be the star — and he’s mesmerisingly good…
Best of Enemies at the The Young Vic (2021)
★★★★★
"James Graham’s captivating drama is raw and timely" "Here come the gladiators. We’re used to seeing partisan talking heads tear…
West Side Story (2021)
★★★★
"Spielberg buoyantly reboots Bernstein’s classic" "Typical Spielberg. Only he could manage to remake arguably the greatest musical of all without…
A Chorus Line at the Curve Leicester (2021)
★★★★
"The classic musical about Broadway hoofers still packs a punch" "Although its cultural references are dated, A Chorus Line remains…
The Book of Dust at the Bridge Theatre (2021)
★★★
"Cosmic epichas strings attached" "Neutrals will be scratching their heads over the plot twists but can at least enjoy Samuel…
The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the Duke of York's Theatre (2021)
★★★★
"Only for the brave - screams galore await" "The ghoulery is done well, a team of anonymous, black-clad performers carrying…
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) at the Criterion Theatre (2021)
★★★
"An irreverent but overlong look at Jane Austen" "McArthur’s script, mixing bawdy anachronisms with a sprinkling of karaoke-ish pop songs,…
A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story at the Nottingham Playhouse (2021)
★★★
"Mark Gatiss’s new Dickens adaptation puts a smile on your face" "This is how to make Dickens’s greatest hit feel…
Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical at the Lyric Theatre (2021)
★★★
"A little off the beat" "... the flaws in this celebration of Jamaica’s greatest musical export may not prove fatal.…
Back to the Future at the Adelphi Theatre (2021)
★★
"Classic stalls like an old DeLorean" "In the end, though, it’s like sitting in a musty, 40-year-old DeLorean and discovering…
Frozen The Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane (2021)
★★★★
"A visual feast to warm even the coldest of hearts" "The first thing to say about Michael Grandage’s elegant production,…
Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2021)
★★★★
"Cinderella is a triumph" "Cinderella is a triumph of catchy songs and fabulous wigs — it shouldn’t be denied to…
Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2021)
★★★★
"Fairytale ending for show that must go on" "With a book by Emerald Fennell, who won an Oscar for the…
Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre (2021)
★★★★
"It’s been a while, but this nanny goes down a storm" "There are plenty of reasons to go for a…
Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre (2021)
★★★★★
"Bubbly wit and stylish fun: it’s just the ticket" "It’s the musical equivalent of sipping one glass of champagne after…
Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre (2020)
★★★
"Overlong and clunky, but there was much to admire in the performances" "The old revolving stage has been jettisoned. Instead,…
Cirque Du Soleil - Luzia at the Royal Albert Hall (2020)
★★★
"Luzia is a typical example of the Canadian franchise that has assumed multiplex movie proportions" "Production values remain grandiose, colourful…
Magic Goes Wrong at the Vaudeville Theatre (2020)
★★★★
"Revelling in the art of the complex cock‑up" "It’s a magic show. It starts going wrong. It keeps going wrong,…
Cyrano de Bergerac at the Playhouse Theatre (2019)
★★★★★
"Martin Crimp’s glittering, rap-style version" “The loner that James McAcoy reveals in this mesmerising West End production of Edmond Rostand’s…
& Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre (2019)
★★
"Shakespeare on steroids is not for the sober" "This musical inspired by Shakespeare’s tale of star-cross’d lovers is, you see,…
DEAR EVAN HANSEN at the Noel Coward Theatre (2019)
★★★★
"Witty songs light up tale of teenage trauma" "if the prospect of spending an evening contemplating the perils of peer…
Groan Ups at the Vaudeville Theatre (2019)
★★
"Bigger in scope, smaller in impact" "I’d love to say that it’s another smash. It has some lovely moments, especially…
The Girl Who Fell at the Trafalgar Theatre (2019)
★★★
"Lurching through a mothers grief " "The lurches from idea to idea that stop The Girl Who Fell from being…
Vassa at the Almeida Theatre (2019)
★
"Like a tone-deaf pre-Soviet Succession." “Redmond is a terrific actress, but struggles to suggest any inner life for a woman…
Solaris at the Lyric Hammersmith (2019)
★★★
"There's a touch of Blake's 7 to the Lyric's Solaris - and it's all the better for it" "it might…
Jean Paul Gaultier Fashion Freak Show at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (2019)
★★★★
"Jean Paul Gaultier’s life story is fabulously tongue-in-cheek" "Landing in London after a run at the Folies Bergère in Paris,…
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium (2019)
★★★★
"Jac Yarrow is a great Joseph" "Is this a show or a cult? As I left, the entire audience was…
Wife at the Kiln Theatre (2019)
★★
"A curious beast in which Ibsen’s Nora is used as a way of examining unsatisfactory marriages, gay and straight, over…
The Starry Messenger at the Wyndham's Theatre (2019)
★★★★
"Star quality shows in this entertaining life lesson" "There are laughs, real ones that you remember, but you have to…
Sergei Polunin at the London Palladium (2019)
★
"Sergei Polunin stumbles like a drunkard through insipid and ludicrous choreography, over-emoting to compensate for his loss of dignity as…
Sergei Polunin at the London Palladium (2019)
"A muddle of ideas" "One out of three isn’t bad, but the rest of the ballet star’s triple bill is…
Betrayal at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2019)
★★★★
"The stripped-back stage leaves the exquisitely cast Zawe Ashton, Charlie Cox and Tom Hiddleston with nowhere to hide" "The casting…
Waitress at the Adelphi Theatre, (2019)
★★★★★
"Treat yourself to a slice of five-star pie" "This musical took me by surprise: I expected something much less touching,…
Come From Away - UK Tour at the Phoenix Theatre (2019)
★★★★★
"9/11 musical has a heart the size of Canada" "A feelgood 9/11 musical? Can that really be a good idea,…
9 to 5 The Musical at the Savoy Theatre (2019)
★★★
"Feelgood feminist classic shows who’s boss" "Jeff Calhoun’s West End production rarely takes you by surprise, but it never really…
All About Eve at the Noel Coward Theatre (2019)
★★
"Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a boring night... the multimedia staging knocks the wit out of this drama"…
True West at the Vaudeville Theatre (2018)
"This slight story of sibling rivalry has performances to savour from the two leads" "It is, supremely, an actors’ play.…
Hole at the Royal Court Theatre (2018)
★★
‘This hour-long explosion of the deeply felt meets the intellectually playful meets performance-art spectacle starts and ends with the same…
Billionaire Boy at the NST City, Southampton (2018)
★★★★
“An imaginative, irreverent adaptation of David Walliams’s book captures the story’s fun and its heart” “Good news for Robbie Williams:…
Hadestown at the National Theatre (2018)
★★★
"This Trump-tinged reworking of Orpheus has its moments — but burn some of the songs" "some good things, some terrific…
Hadestown at the National Theatre (2018)
★★
"Not nearly as interesting as it should be" "It’s a Greek myth, of course, so everyone already knows the ending…
Red at the Wyndham's Theatre (2018)
★★★★★
"This powerful revival just hits the sweet spot and Alfred Molina is a force of nature as Rothko." "Michael Grandage…
The Girl On The Train (2018)
★
"This is a train wreck" “Menace and tension are obliterated in a teeth-grindingly slow production that is about as exciting…
Tina - The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre (2018)
★★★★★
"Simply the best way to tell the story of Tina Turner" "This is a great show that is going to…
Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre (2017)
★★★★★
"This musical is history in the remaking and I mean that quite literally. It arrives as if astride a runaway…
Sister Act The Musical at the London Palladium (2009)
★★★
"With its lashings of glitter, such is its assault on reticence (and our retinas), the show occasionally has you longing…
Sister Act The Musical at the London Palladium (2009)
★★★
"Patina Miller display the first of her star qualities, a terrific voice. Add warmth, humour, vivacity - and you've a…
Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre (2009)
★★★★
"There are wisecracks galore ("we'll be nothing but skin and silicone", moans Tick after that desert breakdown) and songs you'll…
Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane (2009)
"His [Bart's] Oliver! remains as good and revivable as anything he wrote."
Thriller Live at the Lyric Theatre (2009)
"There's no fictional conceit stitching the songs together in Adrian Grant's "celebration" of Michael Jackson's music. Instead, a barrage of…
📷 Main photo: The Times
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