UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

It's January 1979 and Britain is getting closer to the brink of collapse. It's time for some of the most trusted government advisers to gather together and take the reins of the nation to try to save it from itself. Parabolic Theatre take their audiences back to a moment that's far too similar to to...

Though the Bunker will be closing early 2020, it has rightly garnered a reputation for providing a platform for new voices. The same is true for the two new pieces being performed there currently: not only are i will still be whole (when you rip me in half) and Before I Was A Bearthe respective debu...

Mary Poppins has descended once again into our midst, and she is as amiably mischievous as ever. Based on the stories of P. L. Travers and the iconic 1964 Disney film, the Sherman Brothers' 2004 musical (with a book by Julian Fellowes) is back in the West End with several new songs, a buzzing cast, ...

How can you possibly put Joe Simpson's account of his hellish mountaineering accident on stage? Curiosity alone might well draw in viewers for this new adaptation, which premiered last year at Bristol Old Vic a?' swiftly followed by awe as they see just how inventively writer David Greig and directo...

La Clique is a fast-paced spectacle that astonishes and entertains in equal measure, making for a good night out on the town....

The final installment of the Royal Shakespeare Company's season in London sees Artistic Director Gregory Doran's Measure for Measure coming into town. The choice of play is momentous, as it's historically the Bard's only active denunciation of men's unfair treatment of women. Doran sets the piece in...

Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory have a lot of fun with their London transfer of Shakespeare's battle of the sexes, but not every decision pays off and they need to be more sympathetic to the unique pros and cons of this remarkable venue....

Hampstead Theatre sees the world premiere of Chinonyerem Odimba's Unknown Rivers, directed by Daniel Bailey with profound trajectory. A new play about friendship, mental health, and motherly love, it follows 19-year-old Nene (Nneka Okoye) as she struggles after a horrifying incident....

Sheffield Theatres and Fingersmiths reinvent Charlotte Keatley's classic play about the lives of four women in one family....

The theatrical phenomenon that is The Woman In Black began in 1987, when Stephen Mallatratt adapted Susan Hill's spine-chilling work of gothic fiction for the stage. Over thirty years and countless terrified audiences later the production is still going strong....

In August 2017 a journalist named Kim Wall went to interview inventor Peter Madsen on his private submarine. She never came back. Most people seemed baffled as to why someone, especially a woman, would risk entering such an environment with a perfect stranger.  If it had been another man, would we ...

When you think of country music icon Dolly Parton, passion, storytelling and female empowerment spring to mind. Her musical 9 to 5 ticks all those boxes. Following the plot of the 1980 film of the same name, Dolly Parton again teamed up with the film's writers Patricia Resnick and Colin Higgins to b...

Sarah Brightman returned to the UK for her first performance in nearly 15 years. It had been more than two decades since she headlined the Albert Hall, and you could tell she was excited to return....

Music royalty arrives in full force, as international superstar Christina Aguilera brings her X Tour to the UK. Featuring all of her classic hits, as well as some less commonly known tracks, the night is a blast from start to finish....

Set in 1933 New York, Annie is the well-known and well-loved story of Annie, an orphan living under the guardianship of the hideous Miss Hannigan. She dreams of being reunited with her parents who promised they would return for her when they left her as a baby. During her efforts to find them, she i...

As we enter the intimate studio space of Theatre503 we're greeted by our own reflections in a mirror at the back of the stage. This generates some discomfort whilst making it clear that we're about to witness a character study....

High Fidelity was first a book by Nick Hornby, then a film starring John Cusack and Jack Black, then a rather unfortunate Broadway musical with a score by Tony Award winner Tom Kitt. The action was set in London, then Chicago, then Brooklyn. The music in it has also varied according to dubious reaso...

Kelli O'Hara was briefly back to London on Sunday the 10th for a two-show day at Cadogan Hall. The last time the city embraced her was in the guise of Anna in The King and I at the Palladium, which marked her West End debut and the chance for audiences over the pond to appreciate a performer who's b...

Two sisters are struggling to survive past their traumatic childhoods. From the moment social services take them away, their bond becomes the only important thing in their lives. Kathryn O'Reilly writes the story of a disintegrating relationship where the culprit is the same love that once united. D...

A stalwart of the classical repertoire, there's much to admire in The Sleeping Beauty; glittering, colourful costumes, enchanting storytelling and opportunities for the whole company to shine. Petipa's production was first seen in 1946 to reopen the Opera House after World War II, alternative versio...

Intrigue, passion, rejection, deception, and incurable illnesses populate Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well. One of his most famous problem plays, it essentialy sees Helena chasing after her beloved Bertram in pursuit of love. Director Tom Littler scales down the narrative and assembles a cast...

Sydney and the Old Girl is the second of Eugene O'Hare's productions to play at the Park Theatre this year, following a run of The Weatherman in the summer....

The modern world has always seen a fascination surrounding F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby and the licentious partying, wealth, obsessive passion, and excess he painted have seeped into the 21st Century cultural landscape as a beacon of intellectual decadence. This hedonistic view ...

It's very much that time of year again; high street shops are already tormenting staff and shoppers alike with 'festive' songs, mince pies have been on sale for months and pantomimes are starting to surface. The Vaults is not the place to see a conventional pantomime and expectations of an 'alte...

As you enter the Barbican's auditorium to watch the RSC's The Taming of the Shrew, you can't miss the sound of fireworks in the background. It's implied a celebration is coming. As part of this RSC season alongside As You Like It and Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew is directed by Justin...