UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

David Hare's updating of Ibsen's Peer Gynt has plenty to say about the world in 2019 - perhaps a little too much - but James McArdle's central performance and the sheer chutzpah of the concept and direction pulls it through....

It was the 2016 Regent's Park production that landed Jesus its first Olivier Award, for Best Theatre Revival. It's this version that has now made its way to the Barbican and (sorry, not sorry): THANK HEAVENS....

The best thing about the day was that it was Barbra Streisand. She's a legend and she knows it. Her presence is very impressive and she thrives on the love that radiates from the crowd. The 65,000-strong audience were all there to see her and the other artists were a bonus....

This stunning new adaptation of Yann Martel's much loved novel is a must-see....

Lighter than a macaron and every bit as deliciously Gallic, Donizetti's La fille du regiment swaps the composer's signature brand of robust, Italian comedy for something frothier, more melt-in-the-mouth. Add to that director Laurent Pelly - go-to Frenchman for whimsy and colour - and you have a clas...

Kylie Jenner, member of the American royal family of the Kardashian-Jenners and princess of lip-kits, was named the youngest self-made billionaire ever by Forbes magazine. Being born into clan, the publication was much criticised for overlooking the simple fact that her net worth is undeniably linke...

Based on Alice Walker's 1982 novel and successive film in 1985, The Color Purple has enjoyed award-winning success, both for its original Broadway production in 2005 and then its revival in 2015. The show's first international production opened for a limited season in London in 2013 and in a co-prod...

Did you know that songs by Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse sound great when performed in a French accent and with an accordion? I certainly didn't, and so imagine my surprise when I walked into the theatre at the Mill at Sonning to find Celia Cruwys-Finnigan doing just that. To say it was an unexpe...

2019 marks the 25th anniversary of London Children's Ballet. Chances are, if you're familiar with the work of LCB, then you already know of their unique and impactful mission and the difference they have made to thousands of young dancers across the UK. ...

The Southwark Playhouse has made a name for itself in featuring new musicals and inventive revivals. It's a venue that provides a platform for productions that are lesser-known, but have the potential to go further and I suspect with Fiver, they have an uncontested hit on their hands....

Bristol Comedy Garden has truly blossomed. Its little shoots have grown and grown to the point that the garden is now hosting almost an embarrassment of riches. Each line up feels carefully curated, giving newer or lesser known comics a spot alongside household names. The packed tent makes it clear ...

Celine Dion is one of the most celebrated recording artists of all time. After finishing her triumphant run at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, she arrives in London to headline the Friday slot at British Summertime in Hyde Park. 70,000 adoring fans wait patiently to see their idol; there is a massive bu...

The celebrations for the marriage between Theseus of Athens and his new slave bride Hippolyta are in full swing with techno music, dances, and lots of straight vodka. Lysander and Hermia are in love but her father Egeus wants her married to Demetrius, the focus of Helena's desire. Fairy royal couple...

Remarkably, it's been 40 years since legendary rock band The Who performed at Wembley Stadium, back then sharing the stage with the likes of The Stranglers and ACDC. This weekend's return - featuring a line-up of four support acts - felt like something of a homecoming festival for the band, made all...

Adam Kay, doctor-turned-comedian and bestselling author, brings his irresistible combination of gross-out hospital tales, humorous songs and passionate advocacy back to the West End, delighting an audience of both medical professionals and keen fans....

'Bring it down, bring it all down' is the anarchic cry from Macheath in Kneehigh's take on The Beggar's Opera. John Gray's original is given the full Kneehigh treatment- the original is not a constraint but a jumping off point. Perhaps the slide in the middle of Michael Vale's set is the physical ma...

One Giant Leap takes a good set up - a failing sci-fi show asked to fake the moon landings - but loses its way amongst predictable stereotypes and laughs that come few and far between....

Staging a production in an open-air Elizabethan-style theatre such as Shakespeare's Rose is a feat rife with both challenges and potential. Joyce Branagh's jubilant adaptation of Twelfth Night fulfils that potential and then some, in a triumphant production that pulses with brightness and energy fro...

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child's creative dream team are reunited for another new venture - although this drama's family doesn't come with an in-built, wand-waving fanbase. Instead, this is a personal work from writer Jack Thorne, who based the play's ideologically committed Sal and David on his ...

The phenomenon of Adrian Mole and his diaries has just rolled into the West End in musical form. It's a show full of 1980s vibes, with at its hear the core themes of growing up: lovelorn teens, acne, and stealing lunch money....

Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream seems to be this season's go-to comedy and, from Nicholas Hytner's lightly immersive offering at the Bridge Theatre to the smaller productions dotted around London, it's delighting audiences young and old....

Philip Franks' take on The Tempest is one of four productions playing in rep at the theatre over the summer (the others being Hamlet, Twelfth Night and Henry V). Franks builds on the magic and mystery at the heart of The Tempest in a production which takes a while to find its groove but is not witho...

'Measure still for measure': justice is still a tricky concept. Gregory Doran's insightful realisation of Shakespeare's notorious 'problem play' highlights Measure for Measure's enduring, perhaps even increasing, relevance....

Do not anger the theatre gods, for their vengeance is swift and mighty. On press night of Michael Frayn's peerless portrait of backstage disasters, the Lyric suffered its own "technical difficulties", adding a distinctly meta frisson to this already gloriously layered comedy....

BWW was impressed with the work of the young playwrights selected as winners of the National Theatre's annual New Views competition....