London theatre reviews from the UK newspaper The Financial Times.
A round-up of West End theatre reviews from the FT newspaper.
The Arts Editor of the Financial Times is Jan Dalley, and the FT’s chief theatre critic is Sarah Hemming.
Alice Saville also writes reviews for the FT.
See below for a selection of star ratings and theatre reviews about West End shows in London from the Financial Times.
Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Five stars for a high-energy, finger-snapping Guys & Dolls" "... Nicholas Hytner’s sensational revival of Guys & Dolls. This is…
The Merchant of Venice 1936 at the Watford Palace (2023)
★★★★
"Shakespeare confronted and reassessed in The Merchant of Venice 1936" "... it’s sometimes in the new plays and the most…
Shirley Valentine at the Duke of York's Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Sheridan Smith is a transcendent one-woman Shirley Valentine" "... it’s Willy Russell’s original 1986 one-woman play we’re dealing with here,…
Women, Beware The Devil at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A drama of witchcraft and desire in ‘Women, Beware the Devil’" "The drama that ensues is an unclassifiable one: part…
Romeo and Julie at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"A radical, funny modern tragedy at the National Theatre" "Owen sets the story of two teenage lovers in contemporary Cardiff,…
Standing at the Sky's Edge at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Five stars for Standing at the Sky’s Edge, an exhilarating, big-hearted musical" "... Chris Bush’s Standing at the Sky’s Edge…
Phaedra at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"This is Phaedra in a blistering new version of Seneca’s tragedy by writer and director Simon Stone." "This world of…
The Lehman Trilogy at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Sam Mendes’s magnificent 2018 staging of The Lehman Trilogy returns to London’s West End with a terrific new cast as…
Linck & Mülhahn at the Hampstead Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A true story of gender noncomforming makes rich, playful drama" "... Thomas has crafted a drama that’s rich and witty…
Carmen at the London Coliseum (2023)
★★★★
"Red-hot revival with fiery singing" "Calixto Bieito’s production of Carmen first graced ENO’s stage more than a decade ago and…
2:22 A Ghost Story at the Lyric Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Now it is former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl’s turn to get spooked. She does a good job: she’s convincingly scared…
The Unfriend at the Criterion Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Social awkwardness is a staple of British comedy and there is much about The Unfriend that is very amusing, although…
Alex Edelman: Just for Us at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2023)
★★★★
"... as a Jewish New York comedian, he once spent an evening at a meeting of white supremacists. The specifics…
George Takei's Allegiance at the Charing Cross Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A gripping musical about Japanese internment — review" "It is a joy to see the Star Trek icon George Takei…
A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Paul Mescal is brilliantly brutal in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre" "Led by three outstanding performances —…
Watch on the Rhine at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★★
"This 1941 drama might feel creakily of its period in places, but the frustration that drives it comes spilling off…
As You Like It at the @sohoplace (2022)
★★★★
"Wintry enchantment with besotted lovers" "... a gorgeous staging of As You Like It at the Soho Place theatre" "Josie…
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre (2022)
★★★
"It is, unsurprisingly, the songs that drive the story, many of which are gorgeous." "This is not a version that…
Mother Goose at the Duke of York's Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Irresistible" "Harvey’s script is wreathed with the obligatory double-entendres and political jokes" "At the centre of it all is the…
Mandela at the The Young Vic (2022)
★★★
"Mandela at the Young Vic has exhilarating choreography but insufficient depth" "... it’s a musical with huge political import and…
Disney's Newsies at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Paperboy walkout makes for a striking musical in Newsies " "... its depiction of what is essentially an exploitative gig…
Hex at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Complicated and macabre fairytale ‘Hex’ at the Olivier" "Fairy tales are often macabre, testing out our deepest fears, and this…
Orlando at the Garrick Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Emma Corrin is luminous in gender-switching fantasy Orlando" "Bartlett’s affectionate, witty stage adaptation of Woolf’s groundbreaking 1928 novel is in…
Othello at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A searing staging of ‘Othello’ at the Lyttelton" "Giles Terera’s Othello is the only black actor in a white cast,…
It's A Wonderful Life at the London Coliseum (2022)
★★★★
"an enchanting Christmas show" "Jake Heggie’s opera takes the beloved film and lightens some of its darker moments" "Whether the…
Best of Enemies at the Noel Coward Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Five stars for Best of Enemies, a scintillating, perfectly-timed play" "James Graham’s show is a hit" "James Graham’s brilliant play…
Henry V at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (2022)
★★★★
"More national soul-searching is on the agenda for Holly Race Roughan’s intense, stripped-down version of Henry V. Productions of Shakespeare’s…
The Sex Party at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2022)
★★
"‘The Sex Party’ disappoints" "A sex party, it turns out, is just like any other party in that no matter…
Blackout Songs at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Witty and toxic show at Hampstead Theatre" "... this drama about addiction is witty, warm and unpredictable, combining classic romcom…
Elephant at the Bush Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"This clever, subtle piece draws on Lucas’s own experience as a young female musician of mixed heritage: endlessly told to…
Tammy Faye – A New Musical at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Elton John’s delirious glitz-bomb of a musical" "With book by James Graham and lyrics from Jake Shears, the show about…
A Single Man at the Park Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Reade’s adaptation, directed by Philip Wilson, skilfully catches the strange dislocation of grief" "Fraser Steele’s excellent, angular, awkward performance precisely…
@sohoplace at the @sohoplace (2022)
"Risk pays off as new West End theatre opens" "[Marvellous] is a perfect fit for @sohoplace’s softly lit auditorium, an…
Marvellous at the @sohoplace (2022)
★★★★
"Risk pays off as new West End theatre opens" "To name a play Marvellous might seem like a risk. To…
My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Magical staging of a much-loved film at the Barbican" "The stage responds with its number-one asset: the audience’s imagination. The…
Good at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"David Tennant grips in 1930s-set ethical drama Good" "'We probably are good,' says David Tennant’s Halder, meditatively, towards the end…
The Doctor at the Duke of York's Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Easy answers come under scrutiny again in Robert Icke’s The Doctor. The pandemic delayed its transfer to the West End…
The Band's Visit at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★★
"“Welcome to nowhere,” sing the locals, as they warn their unexpected visitors that this is a place where nothing happens.…
The Boy with Two Hearts at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Amit Sharma’s production has a fable-like quality, with the cast of five narrating the tale and acting out all the…
Tosca at the London Coliseum (2022)
★★★★
"English National Opera’s Tosca has scale and passion" "There is powerful singing in this upbeat, confident staging of Puccini" "Anybody…
Blues For An Alabama Sky at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A wonderful, bittersweet staging at the National Theatre" "The skill of Cleage’s writing and of Linton’s warm, beautifully paced production…
Iphigenia in Splott at the Lyric Hammersmith (2022)
★★★★
"This revival arrives amid a political storm about possible cuts in public spending by Liz Truss’s government. That the play…
John Gabriel Borkman at the Bridge Theatre (2022)
★★★
"This is kind of distilled Ibsen: a combination of bitter black humour, detailed psychological acuity and wild symbolism. Rather than…
The Crucible at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A curtain of rain teems down around three sides of the stage, creating a shimmering blue veil between the residents…
Eureka Day at the The Old Vic (2022)
★★★
"Culture wars go ballistic in Eureka Day at the Old Vic" "With Eureka Day, Spector is wading into the hornets’…
Handbagged at the Kiln Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Comedy about the Queen and Thatcher has new layer of poignancy" "Some plays have topicality thrust upon them." "... while…
The Snail House at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★
"Richard Eyre’s debut falls flat" "As a bruising summary of the many problems besetting current Britain and of polarised public…
The Clinic at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Racism tears apart a family in ‘The Clinic’" "You’re expecting a drama about racial inequalities in healthcare — and we…
Gabriel Byrne: Walking with Ghosts at the Apollo Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Gabriel Byrne is captivating in one-man show Walking with Ghosts" "The actor returns to the Dublin stage with stories from…
Antigone at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2022)
★★★
" Love fights the law" "The script bristles with topical references and running through it is a plea for nuance…
Silence at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★★
"A powerful play about partition" "As testimony, it is a moving and immensely powerful piece of theatre. As drama, however,…
Who Killed My Father at the The Young Vic (2022)
★★★★
"Grief and poverty furiously warp a father-son relationship" "... it’s a one-man show. But in Hans Kesting’s superb performance, there…
I, Joan at the Shakespeare's Globe (2022)
★★★
"This is clearly not the definitive Joan — it is a Joan: a dramatic character, a version, an exploration. It’s…
The Narcissist at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★
"It’s that splintered and toxic public arena that Shinn seeks to portray, and this gripping, if fitful, play is at…
All of Us at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"All of Us is a state-of-the-nation play: a frank, often funny, often shocking drama about what it is to be…
The Tempest at the Shakespeare's Glob (2022)
★★★
"The Tempest at the Globe is gaudy, playful and smart" "This is a vibrant production and the ensemble achieve great…
Chasing Hares at the Young Vic (2022)
★★★
"Sonali Bhattacharyya’s new play asks searching questions about the gig economy, workers’ rights and the effectiveness of theatre in addressing…
Sister Act at the Eventim Apollo (2022)
★★★
"At the helm now is Beverley Knight as Deloris and what a fabulous job she does, blasting the heavens with…
101 Dalmatians at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2022)
★★★
"It doesn’t match up to some of this venue’s outstanding musical revivals, but this big-hearted family show is as benign…
Jack Absolute Flies Again at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"A cheerful farce at the National Theatre" "New knockabout comedy updates Sheridan’s The Rivals to a second world war setting"…
Much Ado About Nothing at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A bittersweet summer cocktail with some peachy parts and laugh-out-loud slapstick scenes." "Godwin’s production is sweet, sparky, sexy, sombre and,…
Crazy For You at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Deliriously daft musical is revived in Chichester" "This deliriously daft George and Ira Gershwin musical is just the latest gem…
Patriots at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Putin and Berezovsky play chilling power games in Patriots at the Almeida Theatre" "Tom Hollander and Will Keen excel in…
Richard III reviews - RSC Stratford at the Stratford Upon Avon (2022)
★★★★
"The RSC’s Richard III is a powerful portrait of savagery" "The production features a magnetic central performance from Arthur Hughes."
Jitney at the Old Vic Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Theatre review — a superbly acted revival of August Wilson’s Jitney at the Old Vic"
Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] at the Park Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Tony! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera) — a premier painted in broad strokes" "his lively show at the Park Theatre,…
The Glass Menagerie at the Duke of York's Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Amy Adams stars in a sensitive staging of The Glass Menagerie" "This is a staging that eschews melodrama — but…
The House of Shades at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Anne-Marie Duff is magnificent" "Steel’s play pulses with care and fury for the people left behind by global economic shifts…
Oklahoma! at the Young Vic Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Oklahoma! is stunningly reimagined at the Young Vic — plus more London theatre reviews" "Ending with a rousing, determined delivery…
Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Mark Rylance’s Rooster makes a stunning return in Jerusalem" "Jez Butterworth’s drama is exhilarating, dazzling and darker than ever in…
Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Jodie Comer is a tour de force in Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre"
Punchdrunk: The Burnt City at the One Cartridge Place (2022)
★★★★
"Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City is a stunning immersion in the fall of Troy" "... at the core is a moving…
Scandaltown at the Lyric Hammersmith (2022)
★★★
"Restoration comedy romps into the 21st century in Scandaltown" "Leading the fray is Stirling, who is a joy as Lady…
The 47th at the The Old Vic (2022)
★★★★
"Bertie Carvel is a jaw-droppingly good Donald Trump in The 47th at the Old Vic" "Mike Bartlett’s bold new drama…
To Kill A Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"To Kill a Mockingbird — stirring drama celebrates and scrutinises Harper Lee’s novel" "It’s in his exchanges with Calpurnia that…
The Human Voice at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Ruth Wilson shines in a beautiful, flawed revival of The Human Voice" "You start to long for a script that…
Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Moulin Rouge! — jukebox musical is thin on plot but rich in spectacle" "Peppered with good performances (Pennycooke’s Toulouse-Lautrec particularly…
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theatre) (2021)
★★★★★
"Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley thrill and chill in sensational Cabaret" "Finally, the party gives way to the Party and…
Best of Enemies at the The Young Vic (2021)
★★★★★
"Best of Enemies — James Graham’s gripping culture-war drama" "It dramatises the 1968 televised debates between William F Buckley Jr…
The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the Duke of York's Theatre (2021)
★★★★
"The Ocean at the End of the Lane — love, loss and monsters at the Duke of York’s" "The stage…
Frozen The Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane (2021)
★★★★
"Frozen stage musical combines icy spectacle with human warmth" "Drawbacks aside, this is a joyously delivered story of the transformative…
Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2021)
★★★★
"Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella is a gorgeous glitterball of a show" "The songs are memorable and writer Emerald Fennell brings…
Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre (2021)
★★★★★
"Anything Goes offers the delirious delight of a musical in full sail" "Kathleen Marshall’s production of Cole Porter’s effervescent 1934…
Vassa at the Almeida Theatre (2019)
★★
"It somehow falls flat" "Everyone is so grotesque and larger-than-life right from the beginning that it grows wearisome." "There are…
A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg at the Trafalgar Theatre (2019)
"Startling in its frankness" "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg...is still, in Simon Evans’ revival, startling in its…
Solaris at the Lyric Hammersmith (2019)
★★★★
"David Greig’s fascinating, funny and moving stage version of Stanislaw Lem’s 1961 sci-fi novel" “Starts slowly, gathers in intensity as…
Sergei Polunin at the London Palladium (2019)
★★
"Alarming portrait of a talent in meltdown" "The Ukrainian star’s recent projects have been a painful reminder that performers are…
Waitress at the Adelphi Theatre, (2019)
★★★★
"A satisfying mix of whimsy, warmth and sadness" "It’s an admittedly lightweight story of a woman trapped by her circumstances,…
Waitress at the Adelphi Theatre, (2019)
★★★★
"Bareilles’ tunes are for the most part bouncy and propulsive. The musical idiom doesn’t incline in any particular direction: an…
Fiddler On The Roof at the Meniere Chocolate Factory (2018)
★★★★
"Trevor Nunn’s production bursts from the stage — but there’s a chill wind blowing, too" ‘Yes, there is whimsy here…
Billionaire Boy at the NST City, Southampton (2018)
★★★★
"David Walliams’s Billionaire Boy is a warm, witty musical" “This isn’t a glittering blockbuster, it’s a holiday-time cavort. And, as…
Hadestown at the National Theatre (2018)
★★★★
"An enjoyable, engaging Hadestown at the National’s Olivier Theatre" "The journey of the story is both enjoyable and engaging . . . which,…
Translations at the National Theatre (2018)
★★★★
"Brian Friel’s play is a masterpiece, though its delicacies are not well suited to this theatre." "Overall, nowhere else does…
Tina - The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre (2018)
★★★
"Adrienne Warren piles energy and commitment into the role of Tina" "Her singing voice is likewise fiery, and strongly similar…
Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre (2017)
★★★★★
"A playful and dazzling work of art" "Lin-Manuel Miranda’s exhilarating musical holds a mirror up to the world of the…
Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre (2009)
"The book for this stage version (credited to Elliott and Allan Scott) almost seems intent on stomping on every brain…
📷 Main photo: Financial Times
