London theatre reviews from UK newspaper i and its website i News.
Check out our collection of London theatre reviews from i-news.
Alice Jones is the Arts Editor of i, with theatre critics including arts journalist Fiona Mountford.
This page features a selection of star ratings and theatre reviews for West End shows in London from i News.
Vanya at the Duke of York's Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Andrew Scott’s one-man Chekhov is the performance of the year" "Is solo Chekhov a vanity project? Quite possibly – but…
Pygmalion at the The Old Vic Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Patsy Ferran and Bertie Carvel’s version feels magnificently modern" 'There is a deliberately extravagant quality to both performances to start,…
A Mirror at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A slippery interrogation of free speech" "Jonny Lee Miller and Tanya Reynolds star in two hours of uneasy blurring of…
Next to Normal at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★★
"A blistering musical portrayal of mental illness" "The Pulitzer Prize winning musical finally arrives in London – and it’s worth…
The Effect at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Lucy Prebble’s play says less about mental health than it thinks it does" "Paapa Essiedu and Taylor Russell’s characters fall…
The SpongeBob Musical at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London (2023)
★★★
"To adults this is a noisy neon nightmare" (Queen Elizabeth Hall, London) "The stage iteration of the unstoppable children’s TV…
Macbeth at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★★
"Turning the witches into men is a gimmick that doesn’t work" "Abigail Graham’s modern-dress production needed to be left in…
The Crown Jewels at the Garrick Theatre (2023)
★
"Despite Mel Giedroyc and Al Murray, this is a vulgar, tragic mess" "A cast stuffed with British comedy talent is…
The Sound of Music at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Proves the musical is as indestructible as the Alps" "Gina Beck’s Maria has a voice that is as clear and…
Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Breathes fresh injustice into the horrors" "This devastating verbatim play reminds us: simply remembering the dead is not enough" "Gillian…
Cuckoo at the Royal Court Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"The dark, relatable comedy the theatre has been missing" "Four women from a single Birkenhead family navigate a widening generation…
Dr Semmelweis at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2023)
★★★
"What on earth is Mark Rylance doing in this dull drama?" "Fans of the actor will find their minds drifting…
Beneatha’s Place at the The Young Vic (2023)
★★★
"This Raisin in the Sun-inspired satire is frustrating" "Kwame Kwei-Armah has done much better work than this" "What is unwaveringly…
Crazy For You at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Everything in this spellbinding show is joyous" "Call this Gershwin-style confection trivial if you want, but you’ll not find show…
A Strange Loop at the Barbican Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"A dazzling look at dating as a gay, black man. Don’t miss it" "The Pulitzer Prize-winning show has finally transferred…
Robin Hood The Legend. Re-Written at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Playful family fun" "An enjoyable spin on the legend presents a familiar-but-different story – with no time for stereotypes" "Where…
Mrs Doubtfire The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Gabriel Vick quickly banishes thoughts of Robin Williams" "The star is nothing less than phenomenal in an energetic show that…
The Pillowman at the Duke of York's Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Lily Allen or not, will people pay West End prices for something this unpleasant?" "This Martin McDonagh revival at The…
Dear England at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Joseph Fiennes is a phenomenal Gareth Southgate" "Graham offers us the England men’s team as both entirely itself and, by…
The Third Man - A Musical Thriller at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2023)
★★★★
"A slick, wistful new musical" "Trevor Nunn directs an effective production of this ‘musical thriller'" "... so was it a…
Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical at the Phoenix Theatre (2023)
★★
"A cringey ‘PC-gone-mad’ flop" "This stage outing feels like it’s squarely aimed at the show’s original fanbase" "Are you feeling…
Frank and Percy at the Theatre Royal Windsor (2023)
★★
"Ian McKellen and Roger Allam lack sexual chemistry" "Sweet as it is to watch two national treasures fall in love,…
Romeo and Juliet at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Rebecca Frecknall’s tragedy casts an exquisite magic spell" "Five stars simply isn’t enough for the urgent, vibrant glory of this"…
42nd Street at the Sadler's Wells Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Ruthie Henshall is full of sass in a shimmering revival" "Expect routine after routine of exquisitely expressive tap dancing" "Tastes,…
When Winston Went To War With The Wireless at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★
"Unsubtle government vs the BBC drama" "Stephen Campbell Moore and Adrian Scarborough are terrific in Jack Thorne’s clever but heavy-handed…
Assassins at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A triumphant reframing of Stephen Sondheim’s musical" "Polly Findlay’s timely production draws parallels with right wing politics in today’s America"…
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant (2023)
★★★★
"Should be the next must-see musical" "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’s Jamie Parker is an ideal fit in this…
Groundhog Day at the The Old Vic (2023)
★★★★
"Tim Minchin’s musical is warm and spiky – but it’s no Matilda" "There is much to savour in this sharp,…
We Will Rock You at the London Coliseum (2023)
★
"This show must not go on! Queen musical is utter bohemian crapsody" "What a grim, joyless, deafening thud of an…
Great Expectations at the Garrick Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Eddie Izzard does herself and Dickens proud" "Izzard plays every single character in this beguiling one-woman show" "Those looking for…
Rose at the Ambassadors Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Maureen Lipman’s one-woman show is an extraordinary epic of Jewish history" "Lipman’s trademark dry sense of humour is a perfect…
Aspects of Love at the Lyric Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"It’s cool to mock Andrew Lloyd Webber, but this is a stylish update" "Michael Ball is among the stars of…
A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★★★
"The theatre’s best show in ages" "Accessible, witty and meaningful: this is exactly what the Globe should be doing" "...…
Brokeback Mountain at the Soho Place Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Lucas Hedges and Mike Faist are splendid as secret lovers" "The in-the-round intimacy of @sohoplace is perfect for the understated…
Once On This Island at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A confident Caribbean spin on The Little Mermaid" "This is a vibrant if uneven opening production for a summer that…
4000 Miles at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★
"A dangerously flat and underpowered trudge" "Aside from one moment, 4000 Miles is hard trudge" "Let’s start with the good…
Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A joyously homegrown new comedy musical" "The show is witty, mocking, camp and joyous, not to mention immensely tuneful" "It’s…
August in England at the Bush Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Lenny Henry makes a blazing playwriting debut" "The comedian’s one-man show tackles the Windrush Scandal with surprising levity" "It’s a…
The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Mark Gatiss is mesmerising in Jack Thorne’s gossipy new play" "This gossipy new play is a teasing memorial to the…
Richard III at the Liverpool Playhouse / Rose Theatre Kingston (2023)
★★★★
"Adjoa Andoh’s bloodthirsty king is a villain for our times" (Liverpool Playhouse) "This humane, distinctive Richard III reaffirms the Bridgerton…
Retrograde at the Kiln Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Sharply skewers race and power in Hollywood’s Golden Age" "This witty drama about Sidney Poitier’s rise to stardom confirms Ryan…
Ain't Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations at the Prince Edward Theatre (2023)
★★
"Plodding musical squanders the joy of The Temptations" "There is nothing here to tempt punters who are not already fans…
The Secret Life of Bees at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A vibrant new musical" "Sue Monk Kidd’s bestselling novel has been given a potent musical makeover" "... Duncan Sheik, the…
Dancing at Lughnasa at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A glorious modern classic" "Derry Girls’ Siobhán McSweeney and Louisa Harland chat, laugh and bicker their way through this wistful…
Private Lives at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★
"Dark, uptight Coward revival isn’t as revelatory as it thinks" "Rachael Stirling and Stephen Mangan play the sparring ex-lovers in…
Hamnet at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (2023)
★★★
"This adaptation lacks the boldness and riches of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel" "The Women’s Prize-winning bestseller about Shakespeare’s family life –…
A Little Life at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"James Norton is astonishing in the most gruelling play I’ve seen" "Ivo van Hove’s adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s novel is…
Black Superhero at the Royal Court Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Fierce, frank exploration of black masculinity" "Danny Lee Wynter’s uneven but snappy debut play revolves around a struggling actor who…
Marjorie Prime at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2023)
★★★★
"Anne Reid skewers the cruelty of mother-daughter bonds" "The Last Tango in Halifax star plays a woman who gets an…
Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Reinforces the thrill of live theatre like nothing else" "The initial booking period for Nicholas Hytner’s exuberant Guys and Dolls…
The Great British Bake Off Musical at the Noel Coward Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Sugary but no showstopper" "All but the most die-hard fans will need richer sustenance" "If you’re looking for camp, London’s…
Shirley Valentine at the Duke of York's Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Sheridan Smith is a dazzling triumph" "The star was surely born to play Willy Russell’s chirpy yet downtrodden Liverpudlian wife…
Oklahoma! at the Wyndham's Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Swaggering revamp thrums with sexual tension" "Daniel Fish’s Tony-winning version of frontier country is stark: an uncompromising place of rough…
Women, Beware The Devil at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Alison Oliver beguiles as a woman accused of witchcraft" " A wild and unwieldly new work from Lulu Raczka" "The…
Romeo and Julie at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Callum Scott Howells is magnificent as a skint Cardiff single dad" "Playwright Gary Owen and director Rachel O’Riordan have produced…
Trouble in Butetown at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★
"An underpowered portrait of wartime life in Cardiff" "The standout performance in Diana Nneka Atuona’s new play comes from 10-year-old…
The Rhinegold at the London Coliseum (2023)
★★★★
"So damn good, it might just save the ENO" "Richard Jones doesn’t do in-between productions: either it works or it…
Medea at the @sohoplace (2023)
★★★★
"Sophie Okonedo is blisteringly brilliant in this revenge tragedy" "The in-the-round auditorium of the West End’s newest theatre proves the…
Sylvia at the The Old Vic Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Beverley Knight lets rip in this fast, fearsome suffragette musical" "Kate Prince blends hip hop, dance and funk in her…
Standing at the Sky's Edge at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Richard Hawley’s perfect love letter to Sheffield" "This stylish production set on the iconic Park Hill estate is a terrific…
Phaedra at the National Theatre (2023)
★★
"Frenetic and ridiculous" "Janet McTeer is never less than commanding in Simon Stone’s Greek myth retelling, but this divisive play…
The Lehman Trilogy at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Pure theatre magic" "Starring Hadley Fraser, Michael Balogun and Nigel Lindsay, Ben Power’s play is nothing less than an astonishing…
The Tempest at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (2023)
★★
"Alex Kingston is an uneven Prospero in a lethargic production" "Elizabeth Freestone’s climate change spin on the play contains many…
Carmen at the London Coliseum (2023)
★★★
"English National Opera’s revival is sleek but underpowered" "Conductor Kerem Hasan’s Carmen is slow and careful – Bizet’s score straining…
2:22 A Ghost Story at the Lyric Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Cheryl nails the laughs but not the terror in her West End debut" "Can she act? Sort of. The former…
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Jenna Coleman and Aidan Turner bring bags of zest" "The performers are on superlative form in Sam Steiner’s sometimes bewildering…
Noises Off at the Phoenix Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Michael Frayn’s farce is as sublimely funny as ever" "The play following a rackety company of actors from final dress…
The Unfriend at the Criterion Theatre (2023)
★★
"Steven Moffat’s house guest comedy is lazy and unfunny" "Mark Gatiss’s production starring Amanda Abbington and Reece Shearsmith pummels ideas…
A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Paul Mescal boils with raw animal power in a mesmerising revival" "It says something about the quality of a production…
Watch on the Rhine at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★
"Lillian Hellman’s call to arms is stirring but stodgy" "The writer’s 1941 play – here starring Patricia Hodge – follows…
As You Like It at the @sohoplace (2022)
★★★
"Rose Ayling-Ellis is charming in her West End debut" "The Strictly darling stars in As You Like It – the…
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre (2022)
★★★
"The country music legend’s take on Dickens will well and truly warm your heart, even if there aren’t enough rhinestone"…
Sons of the Prophet at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★★
"A humane but underpowered story of family and loss" "Stephen Karam’s play has some lovely performances but is markedly inferior…
Mandela at the The Young Vic (2022)
★★★
"Musical fails to bring us closer to the political great" "There are heartfelt moments, but should this be a musical?…
Hex at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
" It’s a delight" "Rufus Norris and Katrina Lindsay’s ingenious idea of putting a new spin on the fairy behind…
It's A Wonderful Life at the London Coliseum (2022)
★★★★
"The Christmas miracle that should save the ENO" "Let’s hope the Arts Council, which recently announced the bizarre defunding of…
Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial at the Wyndham's Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Your brain will implode" "Liv Hennessy has whittled seven days’ worth of court transcripts down into two hours that bounce…
Matilda The Musical (2022)
★★★
"Emma Thompson is terrifying in this fun family romp" "The starry adaptation of the hit West End stage musical is…
The Sex Party at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2022)
★
"Inept and embarrassing – like a rant from your weird uncle" "Terry Johnson’s play has the air of a formerly…
Super High Resolution at the Soho Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A captivating performance from Blackborow, who has a radiantly expressive face, demonstrates how Anna is so professionally composed but personally…
Mary at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★
"What is going on at Hampstead? Urgent questions need to be asked – and soon – about the selection of…
Tammy Faye – A New Musical at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Hallelujah! Elton John’s new musical is a riot" "The pop legend joins forces with the Scissor Sisters’s Jake Shears and…
Good at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"David Tennant is magnetic as a Nazi professor" "In this reimagining of the 1980s modern classic, Tennant gives a compelling…
Tosca at the London Coliseum (2022)
★★★★
"... this production’s originality lies in Campbell-Wallace’s portrayal of Tosca as clinically mad, in the wake of her crime." "It’s…
Blues For An Alabama Sky at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Pearl Cleage’s 1995 drama gives our critic the best evening she’s had at the National Theatre in a long time"…
Iphigenia in Splott at the Lyric Hammersmith (2022)
★★★★
"Gary Owen’s furious monodrama, written in 2015 as a response to the austerity policies of the Cameron government, has lost…
Jews. In Their Own Words at the Royal Court (2022)
★★
"The theatre’s response to anti-Semitism claims doesn’t work" "This play, where actors voice the views of 12 Jewish interviewees, is…
The Crucible at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Erin Doherty shines in an immensely powerful revival" "Director Lyndsey Turner offers a still and foreboding production of immense gravity,…
Eureka Day at the The Old Vic (2022)
★★★★★
"Eureka! Here’s the first copper-bottomed hit of the autumn season – and the fact that it stars the Oscar-winning actress…
The Mousetrap (2022)
★★
"Saoirse Ronan’s flair for deadpan can’t save this inane whodunit" "This jaunty comedy thriller is the closest we are likely…
All's Well That Ends Well at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon (2022)
★★
"Director Blanche McIntyre has had the beginnings of a bright idea in updating the setting to our contemporary world of…
The Trials at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★★★
"... this new play by Dawn King – whose 2011 debut Foxfinder offered a similarly unsettling vision of authoritarianism and…
Identical at the Nottingham Playhouse (2022)
★★★
"This new family musical dishes up a double helping of charm. " "The ambitious production has its sights set on…
The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2022)
★★★
"It feels a little curious, in the middle of summer, to be watching a wintry tale that comes complete with…
Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"A gloriously frothy and terrifically tuneful tap-dancing confection" "The extended sections of dance are dazzling " "In the words of…
Patriots at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Tom Hollander is magnetic in Peter Morgan’s slick Russian oligarch drama" "...his [Peter Morgan's] latest theatrical outing is predictably pacey…
The Seagull at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Emilia Clarke is dazzling in Jamie Lloyd’s brilliant reimagining" "The Game of Thrones actor gives a fragile, almost childlike turn…
The House of Shades at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Anne-Marie Duff glitters with spite in gripping family drama" "Steel’s writing is joltingly powerful, with its jagged confrontations, corrosive wit…
My Fair Lady (2022)
★★★
"Amara Okereke dazzles as Eliza Doolittle" "Bartlett Sher’s production, a 2018 hit at New York’s Lincoln Centre, is pretty to…
Oklahoma! at the Young Vic Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A thrilling reinvention that swaps the twee for sex and danger" "No corn-fed hokey here – this production is tense…
Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Mark Rylance is unforgettable in a triumphant revival" "The actor gives a mesmerising turn as he reprises his role as…
Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Jodie Comer blazes with fury in a patchy sexual assault drama" "Suzie Miller’s play doesn’t offer much fresh perspective –…
Punchdrunk: The Burnt City at the One Cartridge Place (2022)
★★★
"Punchdrunk are back – but have lost a little of their magic" "The company’s latest show drawing on Greek myth…
Scandaltown at the Lyric Hammersmith (2022)
★★
"A biting satire? You can find sharper discourse on Twitter" "In current times, Mike Bartlett’s Restoration-style political romp ought to…
Zorro The Musical at the Charing Cross Theatre (2022)
★★
"Olé? More like oy vey" "Christian Durham’s revival takes the material far too seriously, while lacking the spectacle to conceal…
The 47th at the The Old Vic (2022)
★★★
"Bertie Carvel is magnificently monstrous – but this Trump satire falls flat" "Carvel steals the show with his uncanny turn…
To Kill A Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Rafe Spall plays the hero in a tremendous reimagining" "Aaron Sorkin’s searing adaptation improves on Harper Lee’s novel where it…
Straight Line Crazy at the Bridge Theatre (2022)
★★
"Ralph Fiennes shines – but this lumpen play is, frankly, a bit boring" "David Hare’s New York-set polemic on gentrification…
The Human Voice at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★
"Ruth Wilson and Ivo van Hove fail to connect in a clichéd show" "Ruth Wilson’s acting masterclass can’t save this…
Cock at the Ambassadors Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Jonathan Bailey and Taron Egerton draw blood in a shrewd, savage revival" "Jade Anouka combines assertiveness with longing in Marianne…
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theatre) (2021)
★★★★
"Eddie Redmayne is chilling in this unsettling, stripped-back revival" "Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to the most eagerly anticipated show of the…
Best of Enemies at the The Young Vic (2021)
★★★★★
"James Graham serves up another thrilling, slyly humorous knockout" "David Harewood and Charles Edwards offer a masterclass as intellectual monster…
The Book of Dust at the Bridge Theatre (2021)
★★★
"Disappointing daemons and a surprisingly pedestrian adventure" "Lavery does her best to hack through the dense thicket of plot, but…
The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the Duke of York's Theatre (2021)
"A potent enchantment" "Glittering with dark wonder, this National Theatre staging of Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novel is a bewitching shapeshifter."
A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story at the Nottingham Playhouse (2021)
★★★
"Mark Gatiss’s spooky new take is both horrific and hammy" "Nicholas Farrell’s acerbically funny Scrooge and Gatiss’s ghostly Jacob Marley…
Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical at the Lyric Theatre (2021)
★★★★
"Arinzé Kene mesmerises in an exhilarating tribute to a legend" "Lee Hall’s book grapples with turbulent politics, Marley’s complex personal…
Back to the Future at the Adelphi Theatre (2021)
★★★
"An eye-popping Gen X nostalgia trip... The vibe is determinedly feelgood in this dazzling production full of 80s hits." "The…
& Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre (2019)
★★★
"Max Martin’s musical & Juliet is bright, brash and a gazillion times camper than Christmas" "For all its iconoclastic swagger,…
Jean Paul Gaultier Fashion Freak Show at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (2019)
★★★★★
"Funny, pacy, sexy and fabulously French" "There is no way anyone can leave without thinking that we are all beautiful"…
Betrayal at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2019)
★★★★
"Superb" "Pinter's masterful study in intimate deception then steps backs repeatedly, showing us the arc of a love affair in…
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