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Review: THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, @sohoplace
This is a tale exhilaratingly told, and if it fails it fails for being too inventive, rather than not inventive enough....
Review: DOUGHNUT DRIVE, Drayton Arms Theatre
What do grief, crime films and doughnuts have in common? Upon first glance very little; however, in Finella Waddilove’s Doughnut Drive they are thrown together in the most unlikely way to create an undeniably hilarious, if dark, comedy. ...
Review: LOVERS ACTUALLY, The Other Palace
Lovers Actually takes the mick out of everyone's love-hate Christmas film, Love Actually, in a show written by Neil Hurst and Jodie Prenger. Following on the heels of last year's Homo Alone, this show seasons the festive fun with a side of sauce.
The musical aspect is fully embraced with lively ...
Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Starring Paul Hilton
For many, Christmas cannot begin until The Old Vic is staging Jack Thorne's A Christmas Carol. This year's iteration shows yet again why it is a festive must-see. Brimming with emotion, but never tipping into mawkishness, it will make you laugh, cry and gasp with child-like wonder, no matter what yo...
Review: DAVID COPPERFIELD, Jermyn Street Theatre
This David Copperfield is far more than a cheap facsimile of its source material. There is room here for all the observational humour of Dickens’ writing, but also for all the pains and lessons of growing up....
Review: JOE KENT-WALTERS IS FRANKIE MONROE: DEAD!!! (GOOD FUN TIME), Soho Theatre
After the show that won him the Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer last year, comedian Joe Kent-Walters is back as the Working Men’s Club owner, Frankie Monroe, entertaining audiences with jokes, songs and plenty of interaction. But, there’s a twist - in last year’s show, Frankie was dragge...
Review: BALLET SHOES, National Theatre
The National Theatre offers a truly enchanting festive treat with Ballet Shoes which returns to the Olivier under the confident and imaginative direction of Katy Rudd. Kendall Feaver’s new version of Noel Streatfeild’s beloved novel feels both timeless and refreshingly alive, delivered with inte...
Review: MURDER SHE DIDN'T WRITE: THE IMPROVISED MURDER MYSTERY, Duchess Theatre
Murder She Didn't Write returns to the Duchess Theatre with another round of improvised mischief. This long running show continues to charm audiences on its tour across the UK, with its origins being an Edinburgh Fringe favourite....
Review: THE ENIGMATIST, Wilton's Music Hall
David Kwong loves words the way chefs love food: obsessively, indulgently and with a eagerness to serve ever more and more of their treasured discoveries. In The Enigmatist, his puzzle-box of a show, that affection becomes both the engine and the anchor....
Review: PETTY MEN, Arcola Theatre
Few Shakespeare plays have received the ‘updated for the current political moment’ treatment more than Julius Caesar. In Petty Men, though, our Roman dictator-for-life is not a Trumpian autocrat, but a BAFTA-winning actor....
Review: ME.... A LITTLE ANGEL THEATRE PRODUCTION, Little Angel Theatre
Little Angel Theatre once again excel as a leader in early years storytelling with its gentle and beautifully crafted production of Me..., adapted from the much loved book by Emma Dodd and directed by Samantha Lane. Aimed at children aged two to five, the 35 minute show offers an inviting first expe...
Review: HAL CRUTTENDEN: CAN DISH IT OUT BUT CAN’T TAKE IT, Leicester Square Theatre
Hal Cruttenden is at truly at the top of his game, in his skilled and polished new show Hal Cruttenden: Can Dish It Out But Can’t Take It. The comedy is focused on schadenfreude, in terms of rawness and pain, by being brutally honest about the effects of heartbreak. ...
Review: THE NUTCRACKER, Royal Ballet And Opera
Ballet lovers will all have their own relationship with Sir Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker....
Review: THE NUTCRACKER, Birmingham Hippodrome
Falling snow, a rapidly-growing Christmas tree and an army of sword-fighting rats: it can only be Sir Peter Wright's The Nutcracker. Birmingham Royal Ballet's opulent, charming and whimsical production returns to Birmingham Hippodrome - where Wright's version received its premier in 1990 - and bring...
Review: JOBSWORTH, Park Theatre
If you’ve ever worked a remote job, and been strapped for cash, you’ll recognise the temptation to take on additional casual work on the side. Isley Lynn and Libby Rodliffe take this concept to its extreme in their one-woman show, Jobsworth....
Review: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, Birmingham Rep
Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas, written by Humphrey Ker and David Reed with original songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Price, has the iconic duo of Sherlock Holmes (Ker) and John Watson (Reed) solving a string of mysterious murders on the West End in Victorian England....
Review: HUMBUG, The Vaults
Santa has lost his Christmas spirit, and it’s up to you to save it! That’s the main theme of Humbug - a three-hour long experience inside of The Vaults, which has been transformed into a holiday-themed wonderland. But that’s not the only thing audience members have to save - After a long wait ...
Review: MARKING TIME - NICO MUHLY, Sadler’s Wells
When a night is all about the music, and the music isn't for you, things aren't going to go smoothly. A case in point is Marking Time at Sadler’s Wells. The triple bill uses and celebrates the work of composer Nico Muhly, and features choreography by Jules Cunningham, Maud Le Pladec and Michael K...
Review: SOPHIE'S SURPRISE PARTY, Underbelly Boulevard
If you only see one circus show this year, you should try and get out more but Sophie's Surprise Party at Underbelly Boulevard is an excellent choice for people who don't mind having their jaws occasionally scrape the ground....
Review: END, National Theatre
With End, David Eldridge completes his triptych of modern relationships. Beginning saw Bleary-eyed flirtation in the early hours, to the introspection of mid-life melancholy in Middle. Now the final chapter. In that sense, End feels destined to sag with sentimentality, and despite admirable moment...
Review: PARTENOPE, London Coliseum
Here are all the hallmarks of any good Shakespearean comedy: love polygons, gender trouble and a shipwreck to get things going. However, in Handel’s Partenope there is one crucial difference: everyone here is self-aware....
Review: LONDON CITY BALLET - REBIRTH, Linbury Theatre
London City Ballet have been winning fans across the country since their reforming under the direction of Christopher Marney in 2023, and in their current eclectic programme, Rebirth, it’s easy to see why....
Review: ALL MY SONS, starring Bryan Cranston and Marianne Jean-Baptiste
This is Ivo van Hove’s triumphant return to the West End. He reunites with Bryan Cranston (whom he worked with on Network at the National theatre in 2017) for Arthur Miller’s All My Sons – famously, the playwright’s last attempt at writing a commercial success. Van Hove assembles a tremendou...
Review: DRIFTING, Southwark Playhouse
Ardent Theatre Company focuses on Britain's forgotten twentysomethings - and not just for the plot...
Review: RIDE THE CYCLONE, Southwark Playhouse Elephant
Six teenagers are killed in a freak rollercoaster accident and find themselves in a competition in which they must sing a song to prove that they are the person that should be brought back to life by a mysterious fortune-telling machine. Quite the wild tale, no? But that’s only the beginning of Ri...
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