The latest reviews and critic recommendations from UK / West End.
Aliya Al-Hassan
Amber-Rae Stobbs
Caroline Cronin
Cheryl Markosky
Cindy Marcolina
Debbie Gilpin
Donald Hutera
Franco Milazzo
Gary Naylor
Guest Author
Kat Mokrynski
Matthew Paluch
Mica Blackwell
Michael Higgs
Vikki Jane Vile
In true balletomane style, my first thought when I knew I would be in London over the Christmas and New Year period was that I would finally be able to catch Birmingham Royal Ballet's (BRB) Nutcracker which runs for just seven performances.
Shakespeare's Globe has opened its doors during the winter season for the first time to host Sandi Toksvig's Christmas at the (Snow) Globe which she created with her sister Jenifer.
For those on stage, an opening night can be the stuff of nightmares.
Richard Eyre's production gets yet another run out 25 years on, but it's so beautiful and brilliantly sung, no further justification is required.
'Messiah' is probably Handel's best-known piece; written in 1741, the oratorio was originally composed for Easter time, but you don't have to travel far to find a performance of it at this time of year.
It's Christmas Eve and Andy (Elliot Levey) is waiting for his daughter Maya (Ellen Robertson) to come back to him.
It's fitting that Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes returns to London to finish up another year of reviewing dance.
Following a critically acclaimed run at the Old Vic, with a subsequent West End transfer, Conor McPherson's Girl From The North Country has been remounted with an almost completely new cast.
This is by far the most outrageous pantomime I have ever seen.
Two towering Christmas trees dominate the stage of the Royal Albert Hall.
Fascinating Aïda's new show offers irreverent looks to growing old, politics, the environment, dogging, and everything in between.
A family start their day like any other.
Following on from their phenomenal debut HOTTER, dynamic duo Mary Higgins and Ell Potter this time return with a show all about men.
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
The Park Theatre are doing Christmas a little differently on their smaller stage this year, presenting an adult play that's seasonal only in its wintery setting.
The Crucible takes us to New York's bustling backstreets in this joyous revival.
Few English reigns have been quite as theatrical as that of Elizabeth I; from her fine gowns and jewellery to the youthful (or so she thought) wigs and makeup, she preserved her position as monarch by creating the characters of Gloriana and the Virgin Queen.
Cinderella delivers a true family pantomime that mixes spectacular sets and costumes with plenty of laughs in a show that doesn't push back any boundaries, but delivers what its audience wants at Christmas.
Kingston's Rose Theatre always goes all-out for their Christmas production.
It's a case of rather ironic programming that the press night for Mike Lew's Teenage Dick at the Donmar Warehouse was on the 12 December, the day of the General Election in the UK.
The latest Sheffield Theatres panto hits all the traditional panto beats.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane offers a spectacular theatrical experience, but may leave some viewers cold with its whimsy and unwillingness to explore human relationships in depth.
The annual pantomime at Richmond is always an entertaining affair.
Sasha Regan revisits her 2015 production of the 1996 musical to deliver a splendid show for Christmas, with a relevance and harder edge that was missing a little four long years ago.
Videos
.jpg?format=auto&width=365)
