UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

Normally all we see are signs confirming no photography or filming at the theatre, but Elena Antoniou wants you to do the exact opposite during her work LANDSCAPE. The piece was part of the Dance Umbrella festival and was performed for two nights in the Assembly Hall at Shoreditch Town Hall. ...

Even from the title of Bloody Mary and the Nine Day Queen, one can tell whose side writer Gareth Hides is on. The new musical, directed by Adam Stone, tells the story of Mary I of England (Cezarah Bonner) and Lady Jane Grey (Anna Unwin), cousins who were caught up in a battle for the Queendom after ...

Ever wondered what it would be like to walk off a high street and into Ancient Rome?  Eclipso’s latest VR adventure plunges its audience into the roaring atmosphere of Rome’s Colosseum and explores a world of gladiators and gods. ...

Bleak, yet hopeful, drama/dance hybrid gives food for thought...

Something wicked this way comes: it’s another exciting high-concept Shakespeare. Director Daniel Raggett moves the action of the Scottish Play to a safe-house pub in the midst of a racketeering war. Succession meets Sons of Anarchy with a hint of The Sopranos in this daring, new production. With a...

For her debut, playwright Jessica Norman leans into the singular speculation that “the people in power” keep us humble citizens from the truth. It’s fascinating stuff. Long-listed for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting and directed by Imy Wyatt Corner, This Little Earth is a thin exploration ...

During the interval at Crocodile Fever’s London premiere, we’re all rushed out of the Arcola auditorium a little quicker than we would be normally. This is because the set needs to be doused in blood in preparation for the Tarantino-esque revenge fantasy in the second act, where two sisters deal...

A delightful 'first ballet' aimed at children, Northern Ballet's Little Red Riding Hood offers a twist on the old tale of the hungry wolf and the sweet little grandmother. The importance of kindness and friendship is more important than the shock value in this version, which displays more sweetness ...

Despite the enticing cultural dissonance of its title, Black Sabbath – The Ballet is, by definition, a terrible idea. It is the conceptual equivalent of putting a tuxedo on a pit bull, or hiring Prince Andrew as your PR manager. This is what happens when the civic-minded folk at a major arts compa...

Godfrey and Coote's sophomore offering far from lives up to its name. With a music and book of charm and wit carried by two West End heavyweights, Hot Mess proves you can portray serious issues with a touch of fun. Earth and Humanity's relationship may be messy and complicated, but I see this musica...

Many a recent headline has luxuriated in Gen Z becoming one of the largest demographics at church services in the UK – we’re the ones who made the papal conclave go viral, after all. Fitting then, that the latest voice-of-a-generation one-hander to transfer from the Edinburgh Fringe is about a y...

If you’re anything like me — a man of taste, decency, and a healthy suspicion of anything that smells of group therapy — you approach a one-person play about depression with the same enthusiasm you’d reserve for an unexpected colonoscopy. The title, Every Brilliant Thing, only amplified my w...

It’s an extensive rumination on family, Jewishness, marriage, and the boundaries of emotional infidelity, but it neglects the nuances and peculiarities of the characters, who ultimately remain two-dimensional figurines with very little identity. The narrative is severely self-indulgent, without as...

An exhilarating new satire on social media, class and how we live in unreal worlds bursts onto the Donmar stage in a frenzy of must-see vigour. Writer/director Kip Williams – who made his West End debut with Olivier and Tony award-winning The Picture of Dorian Gray, starring Succession's Sarah Sno...

“If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?” This RuPaul quote may seem like a lofty topic for an hour-long comedy show, but Helen Bauer is ready to tackle it. Even though the audience might only see one person on the stage, Helen Bauer: Bless Her is a two-wo...

Directed by Jon Brittain, Janine Harouni: This Is What You Waited For has had Harouni travelling around the world, landing in London with her longest stint at Soho Theatre...

Miriam’s 15-year-old son is nowhere to be found. How does a mother cope? This life-altering event buries in the cracks of their family dynamic and blows it up. Years on, with his case remaining an unsolved mystery, Miriam firmly believes he is still alive. Nick Payne returns to writing for the sta...

Song, dance and colours light up the grim USSR...

Sir Peter Hall's iconic production of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream has achieved legendary status since its premiere in 1981. In 2025, it has lost none of its magic, with the Glyndebourne audience still wide-eyed at the visual feast on stage....

Marianela Núñez said of La Fille mal gardée during a rehearsal that it was just what the world needed right now. This much loved Frederick Ashton classic has not been seen on the Covent Garden stage since 2016, we needed it back then and we certainly need it now more than ever....

Looking for a New England? Here's Dondonia...

To begin with a warning - if you’re not into audience participation, this might not be the show for you. Daisy Doris May: Big Night Out has the comedian bringing several of her iconic characters into the same show, with all of them going to the same club. The audience members are waiting in the qu...

In Calum Finlay’s Fanny, sibling rivalry and musical history occasionally seem barely more than mere pretexts for a superlative slice of Mischief-adjacent tomfoolery. When Fanny Mendelssohn finds out that not only is one of her works a favourite of Queen Victoria but her brother Felix is taking cr...

Hofesh Shechter — the Israeli choreographer who loves to make dance and music “because I believe those things make the world a better place” — is a dreamer, but he’s not the only one. With a raft of co-producer credits reaching from London to Shanghai, Theatre of Dreams is a heartpounding ...

Jessica Fostekew’s Iconic Breath is a rich, raucous and deeply human exploration of emotion, irritation and endurance, told with warmth and wit. Across a fast-paced hour, she dissects the chaos of contemporary existence with an honesty which is as refreshing as it is uproarious. Fostekew greets t...