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.
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 (to 23 April 2023) 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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