London theatre and West End reviews from London publication Time Out.
Here’s a selection of reviews of London shows from the theatre and arts critics at Time Out.
The lead theatre critic at Time Out is Andrzej Lukowski.
Alice Saville also writes reviews for TimeOut.
See below for a full run-down of star ratings and theatre opinions about West End shows in London from Time Out.
Cloud 9 at the National Theatre Lyttelton (2026)
★★★★
"An immaculate revival." "Dominic Cooke's revival follows recent Churchill productions in taking a play originally done on a modest budget…
Girls at the Young Vic (2026)
★★★★
"Funny, frightening and very hard to shake off." "You’re laughing one minute and holding your breath the next." "It’s set…
High School Musical at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre (2026)
★★★★
“You can’t watch and not be wowed.” “As cheesy exercises in nostalgia bait go, the Manchester Hope Mill production of…
Martin Guerre at the Old Vic (2026)
★★★
“This radical revamp of the famously troubled ’90s musical is enjoyable but still not that great.” “Every time Martin Guerre…
Rent at the Tom Stoppard Theatre (Formerly Duke of York's) (2026)
★★★
“A formidable vehicle for Larson’s songs, but a less impressive one for his story.” "The concert-like production is based around…
Into the Woods at the Noël Coward Theatre (2026)
★★★★
"Jordan Fein’s lavish revival of Sondheim’s subversive fairytale musical Into the Woods spent last year packing out the Bridge and…
Hay Fever at the Wyndham's Theatre (2026)
★★★
"Glossy comfort theatre. " "Guesting American Christine Baranski brings a pleasingly doleful turn to reluctantly retired actress matriarch Judith Bliss"…
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the @sohoplace (2026)
★★★★★
"If Anderson is good, Crudup is phenomenal." "I don't think @sohoplace is the perfect venue. Nowhere with that name could…
The Standard of Living at the Theatre Royal Haymarket (2026)
★★★
"It is still pretty damn good: nobody brings the past to life with the verve of Graham. It is, to…
Tru at Menier Chocolate Factory at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2026)
★★★
"The stunning immersive set slightly upstages star Jesse Tyler Ferguson." "The level of detail is astounding." "Ferguson brings Capote to…
The Last Ship at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane (2026)
★★★
"The Last Ship is an awesome spectacle and a heartfelt one too." "it has a truly awesome start. The hulking…
Fences at the Leeds Playhouse and Lyric Hammersmith (2026)
★★★★
"So good is how intimately devastating it is." "Lily Arnold’s gorgeous set – a two-story house façade, with peeling paint…
Thelma & Louise: The Musical at the The Old Vic (2026)
★★★
“This musical version of Thelma & Louise has many things going for it, notably some genuinely thrilling songs from alt-country…
Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy at the Stratford East (2026)
★★★★
“TOWIE meets Blasted by way of the Iliad in this breezily provocative fourth play from rising star playwright Ava Pickett.”…
for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf at the The Yard Theatre (2026)
★★★★
“Violent, visceral and stylish, For Colored Girls is still a necessary piece of theatre.” “Fifty years on, For Colored Girls…
The Children at the Lyric Hammersmith (2026)
★★★
“As the world around us has burned or flooded this summer, the environmental themes of Lucy Kirkwood’s pointedly allegorical drama…
Kimberly Akimbo at the Hampstead Theatre (2026)
★★★★★
"The beauty of Kimberly Akimbo is what a rich texture it is: existential questions rubbing up against quirky John Hughes-isms,…
The Story at the National Theatre (2026)
★★★
"Tracey Scott Wilson’s US newspaper drama The Story is definitely more red top than broadsheet in tone. But there’s always…
Electra/Persona at the National Theatre (2026)
★★★★
"From the POV of an audience member who will (probably) only ever see it one way around, let’s call it…
As You Like It at the Shakespeare's Globe (2026)
★★★★
“By making every character as vivid as possible, visually and personality-wise, it’s just a great, boisterous production where you don’t…
CATS at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2026)
★★★
"a very decent production of a tuneful and idiosyncratic musical" "a lot of it is really quite good, especially in…
Now You See Me Live at the London Coliseum (2026)
★★★★
“At best, the magic on display here is jaw-dropping.” “There are three tricks that are astonishing, none of which I…
Tao of Glass at the @sohoplace (2026)
★★★★
"A cheeky show, and a fun show, and a deeply profound show." "There isn't a single moment of it that…
Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Shakespeare's Globe (2026)
★★★
" it’s rare that I’ve seen a Globe audience having so much fun" "The dance here is very much a…
The Oresteia at the Bridge Theatre (2026)
★★★★
“It has to be said that The Oresteia is in many ways the apotheosis of Stone’s style, an expansive adaption…
Jesus Christ Superstar - London Palladium at the London Palladium (2026)
★★★
"A broodingly sexy take on the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic." "Sheader's cast look like sexy apocalypse survivors as they lock…
PRIDE The Musical at the National Theatre (2026)
★★★★★
“Pride succeeds in packing a wallop of an emotional punch while never neglecting to find the very human humour in…
Cyrano de Bergerac at the Noël Coward Theatre (2026)
★★★★★
“It’s very much the romantic tragicomedy Rostand wrote, but despite its period setting, it feels wholly current.” “It’s a clever…
High Society at the Barbican Theatre (2026)
★★★
"It’s a very nice evening at the theatre - but it’s overshadowed by a production that was a proper event"…
War Horse at the National Theatre - Olivier Theatre (2026)
★★★★★
"Twenty years on and the National Theatre’s First World War-set megahit is still shockingly good." "The puppets are astonishing. Made…
Beetlejuice at the Prince Edward Theatre (2026)
★★★
"This theatre kid-tastic Broadway adaptation definitely isn’t for Tim Burton purists." “I loved Burton’s surreal vision of a preposterously bureaucratic…
Equus at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2026)
★★★★
"Old-school director Lindsay Postner plays a blinder by using the Menier’s core strength of intimacy." “Superbly choreographed by James Cousins,…
Mother Courage and Her Children at the Shakespeare's Globe (2026)
★★★★
Quotes: “Brecht wrote Mother Courage in 1939, as fascism overtook Europe, but deliberately set it several hundred years earlier, during…
An Ideal Husband at the Lyric Hammersmith (2026)
★★★
"This enjoyable new all-Black cast take on the Wilde classic is a little style over substance." "There are some exquisitely…
1536 at the Ambassadors Theatre (2026)
★★★★★
“Could it really live up to all that the hype? The answer, thankfully, is: yes, and then some.” “Director Lyndsey…
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