UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

Nadia and Daniel are beginning a life together. They have lives with their own families, too, but this relationship is different: meeting in the evening at their new studio flat, they follow the 11 commandments, 'one better than God', which have been printed, are in bold and underlined in Times New ...

Joe Stilgoe is back with his new album, The Heat is On, breathing new big band life and swinging verve into some surprising 1980s hits. He launched the album with a short residency at the legendary Ronnie Scott's in Soho, backed by an exceptional 16-piece big band....

Tony Award-winning actress Laura Benanti took a quick hiatus from starring in My Fair Lady on Broadway to make her London debut - and those missing out on the former needn't have worried, as she opened with a bravura 15-minute precis of the production, complete with musical highlights....

The British Theatre Academy gives aspiring young performers the chance to perform for free in top venues. Dozens of them have been preparing to perform in Cadogan Hall alongside Max Bowden, Luke Bayer, Laura Baldwin and Ramin Karimloo in a colourful semi-staged concert version of Stephen Schwartz's ...

The second production housed at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester's 2019 line-up is Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea. Written after the writer lost his lover Kenny Morgan to suicide, the play details the day that follows Hester Collyer's attempted one. When her nosy neighbours find her unconscio...

A slick delivery of operatic satires by students of the Royal College of Music challenges contemporary, outmoded conceptions about 'amateur' vs. 'professional'....

At about half an hour into Michael Dennis' debut play Dark Sublime, the uncomfortable thought occurred to me that there was still two hours left to go. The piece had opened strongly with numerous jokes directed at the arts industry, but already it felt as if it had played its hand. Sadly, my fears w...

Michael Longhurst's inaugural production as Artistic Director at the Donmar Warehouse is David Greig's Europe, 25 years after it was first staged at the Traverse in Edinburgh. Written during the break-up of Yugoslavia, Longhurst's production is still just as relevant, with differing views on Europe ...

Summer Rolls takes us into the heart of a British Vietnamese family that is struggling to deal with the present, a consequence of the long shadow cast by the past....

The Hunt (based on the 2012 Danish film by Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm) is a tense, uncomfortable watch, due both to the subject matter and the production. A false accusation against a teacher quickly spirals out of control, making for an uneasy but affecting evening at the theatre....

There are many different accounts of Medea's tale, all told by men or in relation to their presence in her life. Therese Ramstedt and Zandile Darko reclaim her narrative and aim the spotlight on the actual pivot of the myth, Glauce and Medea themselves. They deliver a compelling piece that fuses com...

On Your Feet! weaves the songs Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine into the 'coming up' story of the Cuban-American artist....

Crooked Dances takes us deep into the French forest and deep into the mysteries of the occult, as go-getting journalist, Katy, learns more than she would like about reclusive pianist Silvia and her obsession with the music of Erik Satie....

In a Catholic boarding school in the United States, a group of teenagers try to find their place in the world. They grapple with accepting their sexual orientation and identity, trying to reconcile their self-discovery with the religious education they've been subjected to....

More than a decade after Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel was published, the same much-adored story has taken to the stage....

Once again, West End Live drew huge crowds to Trafalgar Square at the weekend to enjoy free performances from London's biggest musicals. The stage was set up at the foot of Nelson's Column, with stands in front of the National Gallery and stalls all around the Square....

After wowing audiences at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Trevor Nunn's production of Fiddler on the Roof is going from strength to strength in its stint at the West End's Playhouse Theatre; not only has it extended its run until November, but it has now welcomed two new stars to Anatevka. Maria Fried...

Great Scott! His recent turn as Fleabag's Hot Priest made him a global sex symbol. Now, Andrew Scott reminds audiences that he's just as irresistible on stage, leading Matthew Warchus's absolute romp of Noel Coward revival with the kind of panache that makes this the comic performance of the year so...

Iris Theatre's summer season at St Paul's Church kicks off with an innovative Hamlet in which not all the bells and whistles work, but which boasts a fine central performance from Jenet Le Lacheur....

It's 1964 and Cassius Clay has just beaten the odds to become Heavyweight Champion of the World. But, instead of celebrating on the town, he's in a hotel room star NFL running back Jim Brown, soul icon Sam Cooke and Muslim minister and activist Malcolm X....

Since 2016, Shakespeare in the Squares have brought delightful takes of Shakespeare's works to gardens all around London. This year, they mark their annual summer celebrations with a charming and quaint production of A Midsummer Night's Dream....

Adam Gillen is utterly compelling in Al Smith's tender tale of astronomy, discovery and space travel. Holding our attention for 85 minutes, he speaks with delicacy and is a delight to watch. Josh Roche directs with expert precision and the pieces simplicity is its greatest strength. This really is s...

Ade (Jonathan Livingstone) and Nina (Phoebe Pryce) enroll their daughter in cheap tennis lessons. All of a sudden, she starts to get noticed and shows all the potential to become a prodigy of the sport. But what it take to build a champion? Oli Forsyth's Cash Cow explores parental ambition and emoti...

Barrie Kosky's Carmen returns to the Royal Opera House for a second revival and still chalks up as many misses as hits....

Space Spectacular is a musical celebration of music associated with space and beyond. Featuring well-known classical pieces, along with iconic film soundtracks set to an impressive laser show, it is clear why the show has been revived for a fifth season at London's Royal Albert Hall....