UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

Hot off the stage of the Donmar Warehouse where she starred opposite Kit Harrington in Henry V, Melissa Johns is a disabled actress whose iCloud account was hacked in 2018, leading to the release of intimate photos. Her play, Snatched, is autobiographical, documenting her struggle as a disabled woma...

If there's such a thing as the perfect recipe for a musical, then Waitress has surely found it. Like each of Jenna's delicious freshly-baked pies, the show achieves the ideal balance of sweet and sour. By turns hilariously funny, heart-wrenchingly sad and achingly sweet, Waitress knows how to take t...

“According to my mum, I’m always doing something wrong and giving the wrong impression” we meet a quiet, lonely young woman. Except when she drinks and Maggie comes out. Her circumstantial friendship with Trixie has become co-dependency, and she’s been seeking refuge in the alcoholic numbnes...

Chicago is a piece of musical theatre that feels as though it has been around forever. Premiering in 1975, directed and choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse, it quickly gained an iconic status and an exhausting number of revivals followed. Currently running on Broadway, starring Pamela Anderson,...

Save for COVID, German Cornejo and his company of Tango dancers have thrilled audiences with their sultry, authentic displays of the much loved Ballroom dance for countless seasons in London. It may have been predictable but it was enjoyable and well executed. Now for their return post-pandemic, the...

Seven years in the making, this eye-popping show is the brainchild of International Space Station astronaut Tim Peake and Layer Cake composer Ilan Eshkeri in collaboration with the European Space Agency....

Those who know Simon Amstell’s comedy, know that he often focuses on shame, the concept of the ego, general anxiety and internal conflict. His new show, Spirit Hole, is certainly not a departure from these subjects, but is used as an opportunity for Amstell to focus on analysing his over-thinking ...

A new all-star cast establish a solid dynamic, but all their effort is undermined by the play's mind-boggling, twist ending....

Brilliant acted play captures the London experience at that tipping point between the pursuit of youthful follies and the assumption of adult responsibilities. Let's see what BWW's critic had to say......

Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black turned 20 last year and to mark this milestone they celebrated with a double bill of two works seen at the Barbican earlier this year and now touring; one an out and proud affirmation on their journey as a company and the second a tribute to their ancestry and heritage....

Naomi Wallace’s The Breach is the first in a trilogy of plays about different communities in Kentucky. Receiving its UK premiere at the Hampstead Theatre, Wallace’s play focuses on four teenagers who live in Louisville, Kentucky – siblings Jude (Shannon Tarbet) and Acton (Stanley Morgan) and A...

Playwright Iman Qureshi said she wanted to make the show “a lesbian mecca”, and she has done exactly that. As her play The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs unfolds, the theatre echoes with raucous laughter, murmurs of agreement, and gasps of outrage. The show is a true celebration of lesbian identity...

Rakes never go out of style. They are especially in fashion these days, with the likes of “capital R rake” Anthony Bridgerton being the latest gateway fantasy of millions across the world. Now, one of the most famous libertines has taken up debauched shop at The Vaults...

Five years since its premiere, Kenneth Tindall’s Casanova remains a distinctive and highly engaging addition to Northern Ballet’s repertoire. It’s danced with confident storytelling by its cast and Christopher Oram’s set design is glossy and slick and of course, it’s pretty hot, this is al...

You're guaranteed a lot of fun when the Handlebards ride into town...

Safaa Benson Effiom's debut play promises much for the future, with a script that balances drama with an important message...

Read our critic's review. George Orwell’s allegory of the Russian revolution and the Soviet descent into authoritarianism has something to say to every generation. Indeed, watching it today, in the era of war in Europe, fake news and failing trust in our leaders, it feels more resonant than ever....

Dexter Flanders' new play is a powerful statement from a community whose stories are too often marginalised by contemporary theatre...

Based loosely on the story of The Supremes, Dreamgirls originated on Broadway back in 1981 and went on to impress the West End a few years ago. Now on a UK tour, the show continues to sparkle. Read our critic's review. ...

Mark Ravenhill directs a new version of La bohème with an LGBT spin that does not do enough to engage in its themes....

Sadlers Wells presents a double bill consisting of work touching on social movement and cultural heritage. Brought to the stage by some of the next generation of leading UK choreographers, Warrior Queens and Shades of Blue are both ambitious pieces of work that really make you pay attention....

Revenge is a dish best served old seems to be the message in Age Of Rage, the latest of Ivo van Hove’s latest extreme theatre productions as he serves up seven Greek stories, all in gloriously guttural Dutch. Read our critic's review. ...

Forget the butter-churner and the lasso. This Oklahoma! has no need of them. Following a Broadway run and a U.S. tour, Daniel Fish and Jordan Fein’s Tony-winning production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical comes to London’s Young Vic like a hipster cowboy riding into town. In their audacio...

Anton Chekhov strips humanity down to its component parts again in his searing play beautifully brought to life by Candid Broads. Read our BWW critic's review. ...

It must have been said at some point in history that the course of lesbian love never did run smooth. Jules is vivacious and unconventional, whereas Juniper is thoughtful and quiet. Lustful glances across a noisy bar leads the pair to embark on a fiery relationship, learning to love and trust each o...