UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

Tamara Rojo doesn't go far enough in re-inventing Raymonda, its new story lacking the boldness of its new setting in the Crimean War....

“I know who I am”, Fidel’s mantra echoes throughout Paul Anthony Morris’s play. But he doesn’t. Nor does the play itself. Conundrum is crowded with glaring themes. It’s about memories, identity, and racism. But it’s also about unlearning societal dogmas and healing your inner child, if...

Theatre Royal Drury Lane has allowed its show-stopping hit Frozen to take a short break, making way for an explosive and dynamic concert production of Bonnie & Clyde....

In Chicago, 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb each receive life, plus 99 years, for the despicable murder and kidnapping of 14-year-old Bobby Franks....

The songs of Meat Loaf and J.M Barrie’s story of Peter Pan are not an immediately obvious combination, but Bat Out Of Hell attempts to fuse these elements with hints of West Side Story, Rock Of Ages and Wagner-esque unrestrained theatricality....

Irish politics is, usually, abundant with stereotypes according to British theatre. From gun-toting IRA members to peasants desperately fighting for the right to retain their mother tongue, it’s easy to get carried away with whiskey and a jolly dance. But there won’t be any leprechauns or Riverd...

The opening night for MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, a production much loved by the audiences of Covent Garden, saw another dubious opportunity for Artistic Director Kevin O’Hare to take to the Opera House stage and announce “significant changes” to the billed cast. Cue much sighing from the ...

Skiing on stage? That's not the only slippery slope in this clever adaptation of the 2014 Swedish movie about failing fathers and the, gulp, crisis of masculinity....

Another theatrical knight has been making his way around the country’s theatres over the past few weeks, in a bid to encourage audiences out of their homes for an evening’s entertainment; Sir David Suchet follows in Sir Ian McKellen’s footsteps with this show, which now enjoys a run in the Wes...

Playwright Nell Leyshon has crafted a delicate narrative that quietly unpicks our ideas of music, class, and family. ...

Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand lead Joel Coen's cinematic tour de force...

Frozen star, Samantha Barks, recently released her latest album, Into the Unknown, under new record label, Westway. The album features selections from a number of contemporary musicals, including Six, Dear Evan Hansen, Jagged Little Pill, Ghost, Mean Girls, Moana, The Greatest Showman, and more....

Gary Naylor finds some magnificent productions in a difficult year for theatre...

Even those as lucky as regular reviewers do not take theatres' unique pleasures for granted - here are a few of our favourite things...

So many musicals wish they were as cool, progressive, provocative as Spring Awakening still is since its premiere Off-Broadway in 2006. More than 15 years later and a bunch of awards garnered across the world, it’s still as fresh and stunning in Rupert Goold’s monumental production at the Almeid...

Every once in a while, we fall prey to the glitz and glam of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age. In the smaller space at Southwark Playhouse, it’s 1929. Daisy Buchanan - who now wants to be referred to with her maiden name, Fay - was in a sanatorium for seven years before escaping, still seemingly d...

Last year's festive period didn’t feel like Christmas in so many ways, especially for those who return year after year to see the English National Ballet’s production of Nutcracker. The charming adventures of Clara and her beloved Nutcracker follow their journey through fantasy lands to defeat t...

The smash hit Broadway musical back flips into London’s Southbank Centre, before heading out on a 2022 tour. Inspired by the film of the same name, this is a story of fierce friendships being forged in the most unlikely of places. When challenges push you to your edge, you really realise who is on...

A collage of scenes set largely in Latin America examine when, or if, individuals can find a place in fracturing communities....

In the best-case scenario, by the end of the 21st century, the Earth will “only” become warmer by 1.5 degrees Celsius. Realistically, it will be much hotter. Severe heat waves and rising water levels are only two of the main symptoms of this; coral reefs will disappear almost entirely and animal...

What links Boy George, botflies, black holes and basking sharks? No, this isn’t a question from Only Connect, it’s a snapshot of the line-up for this year’s Christmas Compendium show hosted by Professor Brian Cox and Robin Ince. This is a variety show like no other, combining pop sensibilities...

It's good to hear collective laughter again in a theatre, but the dated characters grate rather than charm, and fewer jokes land in 2020s than in the 1970s....

It's the party at the end of the world - and it's the show of the year. Rebecca Frecknall's astonishing revival of John Kander and Fred Ebb's 1966 musical, starring Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley, is truly a revelation, as is the extensive revamp of the Playhouse Theatre....

“Leave comedy to the bears, Ebenezer!” Back in 1992, the idea that the Muppets could do a passable version of Charles Dickens’ classic novella may have been a stretch of the imagination for some, but fast forward to 2021 and it’s a tradition for many; “I didn’t realise this many people l...

When the air gets chillier and talks of Christmas plans begin to pop up in conversation, London starts swarming with every variation of A Christmas Carol known to man. From the Old Vic’s now iconic and classy version to Sh!tfaced Shakespeare’s bawdy and boozy one at Leicester Square Theatre, the...