UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

The Norwegian Ibsen Company return to London with Ibsen’s swansong. After bringing us a mesmerising The Lady From The Sea in 2019, When We Dead Awaken fits well in the emotional panorama of the world with the regretful and melancholic atmosphere of its story. At a time when we might have lost hope...

After a couple of years of staying at home and catching up on all the boxsets and films you never got round to watching, it appears the West End has had a similar idea; Saturday Night Fever is the latest movie-based musical to hit the stage, joining the likes of Dirty Dancing, Back to the Future, Pr...

When it comes to a topic as over-saturated in theatre as the Second World War, there is something to be said for productions that take a new approach. New musical Mimma puts Italian resistance members who came to London before the war front and centre in its depiction of people caught between allegi...

Retirement concerns and empty-nest syndrome will be familiar issues to many and are ripe for both exploration and satire. Despite these juicy subjects, Belinda Lang’s adaptation of Gérald Sibleyras and Jean Dell’s comedy An Hour And A Half Late, has amusing moments, but fails to make a lasting ...

A complicated family of four and their therapist struggle to find a common ground, as they sit, talk, debate and argue throughout the course of six messy group sessions. United in pain and their desire to heal from it, Ruby Thomas’ play attempts to investigate how miscommunication can lead to blam...

A boutique Shakespeare, some of the religious aspects of the play are sacrificed for a version that proves to be an accessible, psychological political thriller....

Public fascination with unexpected celebrity pairings is not a new thing; before 50 Cent and Bette Midler buddied up, two very different artists were thrown together in the hope that some extraordinary work would be produced - what resulted was a genuine connection and a friendship that would endure...

We’ve been saying it for decades, robots are going to take over the world. While it’s obvious now that there are many jobs that can be undertaken by more efficient metal arms and the lot, for a while we latched on to the reassurance that there are some things that they simply cannot do - being e...

We never go too long without learning new details of the heinous crimes committed by the Catholic Church. Just earlier this year, Pope Emeritus Joseph Ratzinger apologised for turning a blind eye to clerical pedophelia back when he was Archbishop of the dioceses of Munich and Freising. He’s not th...

But I’m A Cheerleader: The Musical has a long history; based on the 1999 cult film, the musical was first workshopped at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2005, where it picked up the Audience Award for Best New Musical. London got its first glimpse in 2019 at MTFestUK in a showcase for new...

For those searching for some mid-winter glam to lift the gloom, look no further than @TheRSC’s latest take on Much Ado About Nothing....

After opening night was postponed due to Storm Eunice, the ENO's new production of Leoš Janáček's opera is a welcome slice of brightness in the current gloom. One thing we have all seen in the last few years is nature's incredible ability to renew and refresh, whatever mankind may throw her way. ...

Being seventeen is hard enough without having to shoulder a climate emergency. At school, Zoe (Mei Henri in her first stage appearance) is a paladin of justice and Rain (Jordan Benjamin) is the new boy who just moved to the neighbourhood. While protestors gather on the east coast to rally against th...

Improvisation team revive the spirit of Whose Line Is It Anyway? with plenty of charm but not quite enough laughs...

I’m not sure I was prepared for what I witnessed as I sat in the round of the Charing Cross Theatre, awaiting the overture for Broken Wings which I’d heard so much buzz about. An adaptation of a poetic novel by Gibran Khalil Gibran, Broken Wings is pitched by Director Bronagh Lagan as being a �...

Showered with awards from across runs at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019, Vault Festival in 2020, Splintered promises a night of cabaret, verbatim theatre, comedy, and much more, all converging to create a kaleidoscopic exploration of the intersection between queer and Caribbean identity, but bites off...

Tell Me Straight is a hilarious exploration of the world of modern dating: Grindr, miscommunication and awkward romps at the back of a cinema. Led by Paul Bradshaw, the play is a semi-autobiographical glimpse into one man's search for love in London....

A family renowned for their celebration of the macabre, a night with the Addams, in theory, doesn’t scream bright and sunny - but that’s exactly what this production is....

The theatre formerly known as Tristan Bates, located just across the road from the Palace in the West End, has undergone a refurbishment and come out of the pandemic with a brand new name and snazzy facelift. Now called the Seven Dials Playhouse, it’s finally opened its doors again with a camp, c...

How might Florian Zeller return to the theatre following his Oscar triumph for The Father? London's Hampstead Theatre hosts the world premiere of his latest play, The Forest....

First recorded in March 2021 and broadcast on BBC Radio 4, (still available on BBC Sounds) Sian Carter’s new play Running With Lions is a raw and honest look at attitudes towards grief, faith and the stigma of mental health problems in a multi-generational British-Caribbean family....

Hannah is the youngest of three siblings. There’s Joshua, Ben, and then herself. From the day she was born, she was taught to behave differently with them because Joshua is autistic. We meet Hannah (Rachel Hammond) when she is seven years old and follow her through her uncharacteristic adolescence...

Eleanor (Meaghan Martin) is the daughter of Allison (Flora Montgomery) and Nadine (Amanda Bright). Conceived by Allison on a night-one-stand before meeting her future life partner, the gifted college girl drives back home with her boyfriend Rob to find out who her real father is. With the help of Ro...

Normal Heart recently enjoyed critical acclaim at The National Theatre. It therefore feels timely that David Drake’s play, which deals with similar themes, finds its way back to the London stage for the first time since 1994. The one man shows marks the stage debut for Outlander’s John Bell....