UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

For Pride Month, Razed and Confuzed has moved from its live stages to a new digital platform run by Something to Aim For. Bringing together early career artists across cabaret and theatre, Raze Collective continue their series nurturing queer artists in a special livestream....

Commissioned as part of the events marking the centenary of the First World War, Sound&Fury's Charlie Ward is now available as a standalone online experience. Originally created as an immersive installation for ten people at a time in a makeshift hospital tent, the production places the public in th...

Hytner has capitalised on the success of his Julius Caesar the year before by placing his audience at the centre of the action. By creating a magical mosh pit in the heart of the Bridge, his production, along with Bunny Christie's beautiful design, brings out some of the very best of Shakespeare's h...

Recorded entirely in isolation with the actors using only what's available to them for props and staging and cleverly edited together, Brown's intimate, touching show about love, life, career and independence feels revitalised and re-energised...

Muriel plays the perfect hostess. Even at her husband's funeral, she oils the wheels of that deathless discourse of upper middle class, rural sociability - the Massey Ferguson set are introduced to the charity stalwarts, the City suits to ex-military men, the WI to the cruise ship regulars....

As part of Alan Bennett's iconic series of monologues Talking Heads, An Ordinary Woman is one of two brand new creations, written by Bennett for the revival. It shows that Bennett remains unafraid to tackle the most taboo of subjects, found in the most everyday of circumstances....

Even for those not around for the first TV broadcast in 1988, Alan Bennett's Talking Heads has had a long-lasting resonance. Winning two BAFTAs and an RTS award, the monologues have also been on the school curriculum for many. As monologues, they are much easier to film during these restricted times...

Last night certainly was a theatrical experience like no other as we celebrated the musical production of From Here To Eternity on the only platform we are currently able to do these things - online. The show played in the West End for six months across 2013-2014 where it gained a huge fan following...

It's clear that taking time out of his schedule was a big deal for Sir Cliff. Sadly, this fan wishes they'd just waited for the tour....

When EV Crowe wrote Shoe Lady for the Royal Court, little did she know that a pandemic would force Vicky Featherstone's production to close early. It's also probable that she didn't predict a mid-run meltdown would transform so seamlessly into a brilliantly dystopian, Alice in Wonderland-esque rad...

It could not have been better timing for the National Theatre to screen Small Island, Andrea Levy's epic and incredible story. This sellout 2019 production was due to return this autumn, but is now screened as part of the National Theatre At Home series. Levy never got to see how her novel translate...

There will be no outdoor theatre experiences this summer, but that hasn't stopped Shakespeare's Globe from revisiting one of the stalwarts of the summer season; Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Dominic Dromgoole's 2013 production is a classic Elizabethan romp, full of silliness and fun....

The Royal Opera House continues to treat us to a fortnightly fix of ballet and what relief this latest edition is. After some rather sombre, heavier narrative works, the froth and joy of Frederick Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardée is balm for the soul. Balletomanes will want to pour over this 2005 recor...

In an effort to create a cultural snapshot of these strange times, actor Bertie Carvel has created the BBC's Lockdown Theatre Festival; a radio broadcast of four plays that had their runs cut short by the shutdown. Josh Azouz's beautifully written The Mikvah Project was well-received when it first a...

Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling is the vivid dramatisation of the life of Crown Prince Rudolph and his death alongside his young mistress Mary Vetsera in 1889. A staple of the Royal Ballet's repertoire since its premiere in 1978, it is known for the rigorous demands on the central male dancer, but is ...

The present pandemic has moved everything online, so in Exit Productions's Jury Duty the Ministry of Justice have been required to relocate their trials out of the courts and into the ether. Under the Justice Act (2020) jurors are being asked to review evidence and come to an agreement from the comf...

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a must-see that will instantly transport you to a warm and sunny summer's day. A gleeful delight that will leave a smile on your face, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is the ideal film for those moments when you want to tap into your inner dancing queen. ...

Every theatre has a 'ghost light'. A light that is left on when the theatre is empty for the resident ghost, but mainly to make sure that those who are first in or last out do not fall off the edge of the stage. It's reassuring to think that no theatre ever goes dark, but you could not help but be m...

In Hamilton, George III has become a more well-known King, albeit portrayed as a comedic figure; the monarch who lost Britain America. In Alan Bennett's thoughtful play, The Madness of King George III, he is depicted as a man who struggles with mental illness, familial betrayal and attempts to usurp...

Theatre is a powerful being, so much so that when a pandemic closes one door, the creative team behind BBC Radio 3's Adventures With The Painted People blasts open another one with a world premiere that will fill the heart of anyone within hearing distance....

An archive recording of a powerful and inspirational family show, filmed on the stage of The Old Vic in 2018. Brought to life by Sally Cookson's direction and...

BWW has reviewed the BBC's epic adaptation of Shakespeare's history plays, The Hollow Crown, available for streaming on Britbox (free 30 days trial)....

Joan has big plans: she's going to go to Oxford, become a lawyer, and change the world. While she's too aware of the insignificance of her own life and wants to avoid being a mere drop in the ocean, her mum is holding down three jobs and a multitude of other responsibilities. A diagnosis and the sud...

To take a play as epic in scale as Coriolanus and find a natural home within the intimacy of London's Donmar Warehouse take a skill and lightness of touch that is not only rare but all so often missed. Director Josie Rouke has sliced through a lot of the sound and most of the fury to get to the very...

As part of the BBC Arts' Culture in Quarantine initiative, Unprecedented is a series of 14 plays written by a diverse group of playwrights; conceived, produced and performed during lockdown. Episodes one to four were broadcast on BBC Four, with the final episode released exclusively on iPlayer...