UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

It’s unfortunate how numb and aimless this piece is. Described as a “tar-black dramedy”, it sadly lacks humour and the quality of the narrative is the only tragedy in it. It’s a first play and definitely not a death sentence, so onwards and upwards....

Whether you’re bored by the Bard or a dedicated groundling, taking children to see Shakespeare is a daunting prospect. But be not afeard; for this summer the Globe premieres its first full-scale production for families. And it’s an absolute dream....

The show is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Tales of the South Pacific and made its Broadway debut in 1949; it is surprisingly progressive, despite its age, making it a relatively unproblematic revival. It also helps that it contains some of musical theatre’s most recognisable songs, incl...

A play that reminds us of theatre's power to entertain us, to affect us and, one hopes, to stir us to action...

As the audience step through the doors at The Hen & Chickens Theatre, they're no longer in a theatre - they're in 9-year-old Maisie's bedroom. But don't worry, she's been expecting guests -after all, why else would she have her 3 best pairs of sunglasses lined up for show and tell?...

Phantom Peak, a Wild West-themed town with robots and no shortage of mysteries, may sound a tad like Westworld – but that’s where the comparison ends....

Mike Dixon is undoubtedly one of the British music industry's giants. He has brushed shoulders with some of the elite artists of the 20th (and 21st) centuries, including Dame Shirley Bassey, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, and Queen (to name but a few). Despite this roaring success, Dixon's biography, 'Turn Ar...

What could be more charming than watching a Shakespearean comedy in the heart of Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew as the sun sets? Peter Hamilton Dyer’s Twelfth Night is a light-hearted romp through one of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies....

Grimeborn delivers another little gem with this pared back version of a somewhat obscure Spanish zarzuela...

The Sun, the Mountain, and Me is an equally dark and vibrant look at men's mental health, tactfully showing the path to recovery for those who need it....

If you grow up and go to school in England, you will definitely know about the Tudors – and yet we seem to have a completely insatiable appetite for this set of monarchs that merely spanned three generations....

Nick Winston stages less of a concert and more of an almost-fully-formed production with clear-cut vision....

Just like some meetings should have been emails, some musicals should have been plays. It wouldn’t save Charlie Ryall and Richard Baker’s new production right away, but it would be a start. The concept and structure of Tasting Notes is compelling and original, but the final result is a bit of a ...

Love Island meets Below Deck in Benidorm in this OTT aestival pastiche. Prospero dons a speedo. Questionable tattoos cover a few of the cast. The most unpredictable of twists stretches the limits of copyright infringement. It’s absolutely bonkers, but it works! Holmes delivers a modern, refreshing...

Amid a summer season positively snowed under with escapist fare, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe fits right in. Admittedly, dipping into the wintery landscape of Narnia just after a British heatwave is a bit of an ask for the imagination but, if any production could do it, this is it....

Whether we need another wartime tale of very decent Allied blokes escaping not at all decent Nazi blokes, isn't really answered in this new take on The Great Escape's inspiration....

Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea, revived here by Ensemble OrQuesta as part of the Arcola Theatre’s Grimeborn season, is a highly controversial and disputed work of baroque opera which flips the script on contemporary morality....

Crazy show that might become a cultish success, but currently just looks misconceived and misplaced...

Strong performances carry this cringe-inducing family feud....

“I’m not political. Not at all.” Prab and his wife Kajol are struggling to make ends meet in early 21st century Kolkata. Since the local factory closed indefinitely, they’ve had to take on any jobs going ito be able to support themselves and their baby daughter, Amba. After treating themselv...

It’s taken three years but the Briefs cabaret crew have finally returned from Down Under with not just a new show but, with Sahara Beck and her band, a new direction too....

Bold programming pays off with an opera that has its demands but offers rewards in equal measure...

What did our critic think of MARGOT LA ROUGE/LE VILLI at Opera Holland Park? You have to applaud Opera Holland Park for not only focusing on money-spinning blockbusters, but for giving rarely performed works an airing. In a double bill of short operas (think bite-sized short story rather than weight...

In theory, Dodie Smith’s well-loved story of 101 Dalmatians is the perfect material for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. In practise the production lacks bite....

An inorganic melodrama that stuffs too many themes together....