UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

This is no ordinary play. Though it begins in a fairly conventional manner, setting up for a hearty family drama, there are little things to pick up on which tell you that something's not quite right a?' it's unsettling and you can't quite put your finger on it, but you know that the play has someth...

This production pares back Chekhov's original text and foregrounds key themes with just a hint that Vanya even has something to say about the key political issue of the day....

Things haven't been easy for Dan after his split with his ex-wife Mandy. His best days now all have their daughter Maisie in them, and she's all he talks about. She's six and they're spending the day in London before she's due to go to her friend's birthday party. The unimaginable happens, and the c...

Panto might be the stalwart annual theatre trip at Christmas (yes, I know, 'oh no it isn't'...), but The Old Vic's production of A Christmas Carol, now in its third year, is fast catching up as one of the most joyous experiences of the festive season....

How ripping! A saucy French maid doing the Charleston with a handsome chap in tennis whites sets the scene for the most delightful escapism in town: Matthew White's gossamer-light revival of Sandy Wilson's 1953 love letter to the Roaring Twenties. It was once the third-longest-running stage musical,...

The third offering of the newly opened Immersive LDN has become a festive classic over the years. Alexander Wright's adaptation of A Christmas Carol is known to appear at a different location every year; Scrooge's Parlour has relocated to the lower ground floor of the venue (which is also hosting t...

a?oeTimes are hard for dreamersa?? but that won't stop Amélie Poulain. Falsely diagnosed with a heart condition as a child, she was home-schooled by her mother and kept at a distance by her germophobe father, forcing her to retreat into her imagination for amusement and company. Fast forward to Aug...

Following last year's hyper-successful To Jesus, Thanks For Everything, BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon are back with their new extravaganza: All I Want For Christmas Is Attention. The show is a drag-tastic alternative Christmas treat....

With a title such as The Exceptional Case of Whizz and Drex it's almost a dead cert we're in for something unique and original. This is writer and director Fred Kelly's debut play and it doesn't disappoint....

Comedy trio Sleeping Trees bring Christmas to Battersea Arts Centre with their latest fairy-tale mash-up. After Cinderella and the Beanstalk and Scrooge and the Seven Dwarves, James Dunnell-Smith, Joshua George Smith, and John Woodburn venture into Wonderland in classic Sleeping Trees style. Goldilo...

Not Too Tame's Christmas Panto arrives underneath Waterloo station after its celebrated UK Tour earlier this year. A modern-day take on the classic fairytale a?" set in a pub a?" Luke Barnes' story is a hoot from start to finish. The moment you step into the space it's full of charisma and spark. Pe...

There's a lot riding on this revival of Ninette de Valois' production of Coppélia. Not only is it being performed by an (almost) entirely new crop of dancers since it was last seen here in 2006, it replaces Sir Peter Wright's long loved production of Nutcracker as this year's festive treat. ...

During a fortuitous meeting at the edge of an abyss, two strangers contemplate the existential decisions that have lead them there. A Bench at the Edge is a sharp and uncompromising dark comedy that examines mental health and free will. Luigi Jannuzzi's distinctively Beckettian piece of theatre deli...

After being on Broadway twice, God has finally arrived to London. And She's a woman! A lesbian, specifically comedian Zoe Lyons. Displeased with how people have been taking Her Ten Commandments too literally, She's decided to descend onto Earth to give a new, updated, and more modern list first-hand...

Alcohol is widely considered a socially acceptable norm. Most people think nothing of sinking a few pints in the pub or enjoying a glass or two of red with dinner. Perhaps if it was invented now though, there would be arguments for it to be made illegal. The amount of money spent by the NHS on treat...

Magnificent Bastard Productions reveal the latest Christmas ace up their sleeve, presenting A Pissedmas Carol. In true Shit-faced Showtime fashion, they grab a beloved story and transform it into a jolly ol' drunken time by having a member of the cast highly inebriated before the curtain goes up....

West Side Story is probably one of the most iconic of all musicals. Inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the story is set against a backdrop of 1950's Upper West State New York and centres on rival gangs, the Jets and Sharks, and two young lovers who are drawn together from opposite sides of ...

Pure magic are the two words I would use to describe The Boy in the Dress. Appearing for the first time on stage, David Walliams' book has sold over 32 million copies worldwide. Most recently the BBC adapted it for screen, which went down very well and ensured that the story reached even more people...

Sam Ra's updating of Anthony Shaffer's much produced and adapted Sleuth takes it into the 21st century without really adding much save some difficulties that are not fully resolved....

Scrooge, the ghosts and a very Tiny Tim just an arm's length away in a fine adaptation of Dickens' timeless tale....

Dora Maar and Pablo Picasso met in Paris in 1935. She was a young photographer who was establishing herself in a world dominated by men, and he was one of the most revered painters of the time. She was drawn to him for his artistic flair, he was known for chasing a new muse every other day....

a??a??a??a??a??a??a??Tom and Samad have spent their entire lives separated. When one was given up for adoption, the other was raised with their biological parents. But despite their distance apart, when the pair finally meet, they realise they aren't so different at all. Award-winning director Bija...

Among the new writing and nurturing of talent during a season at Richmond's Orange Tree Theatre, there is always a revival of a more classic piece. Artistic Director Paul Miller has an historical weakness for Bernard Shaw, with a new version of Candida being the fourth Shaw play he has directed at t...

At the beginning of My Brilliant Friend, all there is on stage is a desk, a chair and a laptop. For the Olivier stage (and the for the National Theatre in general), it's noticeably, surprisingly bare, but one thing is clear: a story is about to be told....

It has been a rocky start to The Wolf Of Wall Street immersive theatre experience. Numerous problems have delayed the opening several times. Unfortunately, it would be better if we were still waiting. Spanning four floors, the experience is supposed to follow the now infamous story of Wall Stree...