UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

J.M. Barrie’s 1911 novel about the boy who never grew up is often staged around this time of year. However, a show about a rabble of “lost boys” would prove challenging to produce in the current circumstances. The Barn Theatre has found a way around this....

An all-drag murder mystery thriller live in the West End feels like the most 2020 thing ever. When actually, it's a perfectly fitting show that’s guaranteed to send you out into the world feeling great....

Moving into the Sondheim Theatre for a limited run, Les Misérables – The Staged Concert brings the barricades back to the West End....

​If you’re looking for a festive theatrical feast, this December then look no further than the Turbine Theatre’s rather wonderful production of Cinderella: A Socially Distanced Ball. Think of it as your usual Christmas pantomime with… well adult jokes, adults jokes and a few more adults joke...

When Rosie is confined and cornered into a flooding toilet cubicle, she is determined to rescue herself from the situation for once. Confronted by a lurking danger outside, she finds solace and tranquillity within the four walls of a space she has frequented many times. This particular bathroom may ...

It is refreshing to see the Almeida come back with something a little different: a play with songs about loss and connection. Co-created by Chris Bush, Rebecca Frecknall, and the six-strong cast, Nine Lessons and Carols is far from your cosy festive treat, instead opting to address situations w...

Pitlochry Festival Theatre and The Macrobert Arts Centre have collaborated to bring audiences a fun Christmas show to enjoy at home called The Magic of Christmas....

Hampstead Theatre are reopening their doors after an exceptionally difficult year with their long-delayed production of Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter. The show features a cast that’s been reshuffled from the conception of Alice Hamilton’s project, with Alec Newman and Shane Zaza taking over ...

Can a controversial production that was staged nearly 30 years ago still feel relevant today? The answer is a resounding yes....

Unlimited: The Songs of Stephen Schwartz is the first in a series of Reunited concert performances developed by Aimie Atkinson, Creative Producer of Thespie, an online platform specialising in theatre and live performance....

As theatre companies across the world struggle to survive this uniquely-challenging year, opera-ballet company Constella recognised both the isolation in care homes and artists’ own struggles to survive. In response, they launched the wonderful initiative ‘Connecting Stars’, which provides fr...

Former Blue Peter presenter, writer, director and regular pantomime dame, Peter Duncan, decided to film a pantomime in his back garden to entertain audiences at home and in cinemas this Christmas....

Even though we entered the last month of 202 and we saw the end of a second lockdown in England, the unfortunate theatres around the country that happen to find themselves in Tier 3 are still closed to the public. Like many others, Bristol Old Vic has managed to make lemonade out of lemons and start...

BWW reviewer Gary Naylor highlights his favourite theatre productions and performances of 2020....

Just in time for festive season, SimG Records will be releasing the Studio Cast Recording of Gabriel, a new two-act Christmas musical that tells the Nativity story from ambitious angel Gabriel’s perspective....

The team behind Belgrade Theatre Coventry’s panto has shown that it is still possible to spread Christmas cheer via the means of modern technology, with their 2020 production of Jack and the Beanstalk....

Not even a pandemic could stop brilliant comedy trio Sleeping Trees to spread their customary Christmas cheer. In a year ridden with uncertainty and the subversion of habitual theatre conventions, the company have created a joyous, hilarious, heartwarming, and absolutely ingenious panto for the whol...

The Theatre Channel is back with a third episode with rock numbers from the musicals. It features Shan Ako, Alex Gaumond, Rob Houchen, Francesca Jackson, Aisha Jawando and John Owen-Jones....

Following the limited release of the filmed production earlier on this year, the 2018 Chichester Festival Theatre company of Flowers for Mrs Harris have reunited to bring us an eagerly awaited cast album, which acts as the perfect companion to a stunning show....

For Hope Mill Theatre, their highly anticipated revival of Jonathan Larson’s seminal rock musical of the nineties was disrupted not once, but twice due to COVID. Rent originally ran for 12 years on Broadway and, famously, its composer tragically died hours before its first readthrough.  ...

Playwright Philip Ridley is known for his menace, his verbal gymnastics and the bleak lens through which he observes the world his characters inhabit. There can be no better set of tools or writer to implement them when it comes to a painfully uncomfortable family birthday that unearths childhood st...

Today marks the release of Les Miserables – The Staged Concert: The Sensational 2020 Live Recording. In its 35th year, the musical remains as electric as ever....

Marry Me A Little, starring Celinde Schoenmaker and Rob Houchen, opened at The Barn Theatre in Cirencester on 16 October during that golden window of opportunity for socially-distanced indoor theatre performances. Unfortunately, their run was cut short by a few days due to a second national lockdow...

The latest interview between acclaimed director Ian Rickson and members of the arts community has just dropped. Russell Brand has been a frequently controversial public figure; a comedian, presenter, actor and now a podcast host and advocate for awareness about mental health....

Seeing so accomplished and engaging a production as this (VOPERA's first to boot), a genuine question arises - is the socially-distanced, digitally distributed show no longer merely a stopgap, an ersatz simulacrum, but a new art form in itself?...