UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

Receiving its world premiere at Sadler's Wells, The Thread is acclaimed British choreographer and Sadler's Wells Associate Artist Russell Maliphant's new work. Staged in collaboration with Vangelis, Oscar winning composer of scores for the films Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner, it marks something ...

Giovanni Pernice is now somewhat of a stalwart amongst the professional dancer gang on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. With four seasons under his belt and a fifth to follow, he is one of the show's most recognisable faces, and now returns to local theatres for the third year running with Dance is Life...

Anna (Rosie Sheehy) is a Russian art lover who dreams of being the curator of her own gallery. Ariel (Joshua James) is the CEO of an exclusive dating app. But are they really who they pretend to be? What's the price of keeping up appearances in a world of million-dollar views and ruthless socialites...

Lucy and Jess have just finished their GCSEs. They feel like their lives are about to start between a swig of Chardonnay in Jess' bedroom and the promise of having the best time ever at a party. Except that Lucy's mum is being treated for breast cancer and she's definitely not having a good time....

The Crown Dual piles laughs upon laughs in a madcap parody of the Netflix show that you don't even need to have seen in order to enjoy this hilarious two-hander....

In a derelict house built on the path walked by the dead in the middle of nowhere in Wales, a coven of witches comes together. Written by Katy Schutte, Let's Summon Demons is a semi-participatory piece that takes a look at paganism and revenge, wrapping them up in an amusing and lightly spooky show....

Playwright Lizzie Milton unearths ten stories previously buried deep inside white history and delivers them with forward storytelling and a no-holds-barred attitude....

The Faction's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's dazzling novel, The Talented Mr Ripley, goes back its roots to find a man as complicated, seductive and relevant as ever....

When Betrayal first premiered in 1978 it was received rather coldly by critics and audiences alike, who were perhaps expecting Pinter to deal with more significant themes instead of focusing on his own adulterous escapades. Since then, the piece has become one of the playwright's most known and succ...

Based on August Strindberg's A Dream Play (1901), SAGA is an effective blend of text and physical comedy, investigating what happens when an outsider visits a place that has problems. Presented by Stones Theatre Company, the ensemble consists of four talented bi-lingual actresses, (Frida Storm, Juli...

Diana Vishneva earned a thunderous ovation at Sadler's Wells last night, not only from the audience, but from the beaming assembly of dancers who stood behind her....

The Gershwins' sublime music and lyrics rescue a show hamstrung by a confused and clumsy book and some very familiar characters....

News emerged today that Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were among 50 wealthy people charged in a college cheating scam dumbed 'Varsity Blues', in which they allegedly paid bribes of up to $6 million to secure places for their offspring at top universities. In a strange twist ...

Family ties are complicated things. Those we are connected to through blood are often those we love the most, but who we can also treat the most poorly. Athol Fugard's visceral 1961 play, Blood Knot, is a story about brotherhood and how you view your family, set in the brutal world of apartheid....

The meticulous care of the National Theatre's production is continued in the soundtrack recording, demonstrating the collaborative brilliance of orchestrations from Jonathan Tunick and Josh Clayton, music supervision from Nicholas Skilbeck, and musical direction from Nigel Lilley - the latter conduc...

Before Black Mirror, there was The Twilight Zone. First aired in 1959, the series was presented by Rod Serling who, at the time, had risen to prominence as a writer of television dramas as well as a commentator of the medium....

Presented by National Dance Company Wales (NDCWales), Awakening is a tour that marks the company's entry into a fresh phase of its development under the leadership of new artistic director, Fearghus Ó Conchuir. As part of the opening season of the Royal Opera House's newly designed Linbury Theatre,...

Penelope Skinner's monologue arrives at Soho Theatre, after a successful stint in Edinburgh. It's a piece that packs the subtlest of punches, as it gently reveals what's currently going on in the ever-growing community of unhappy men....

Thrown sees a child psychologist attempt to record her own childhood experiences and traumas in order to try to make sense of her past and who she has become. Written by Jodi Gray, the piece effectively exhibits the marvels of binaural technology but beats around the bush too much to result conclusi...

Presented by physical theatre company Theatre Temoin, Feed takes a look at a world of algorithms, click-bait, targeted ads, and fake news....

It's the 21st century, so we should live in a world where an all-women-of-colour major production of a Shakespeare play like Richard II isn't so remarkable....

There is something very noble about the mission of English Touring Opera to bring the art form to parts of the country that would normally never see it. They often bravely overlook the popular productions and turn to lesser-known ones such as Mozart's Idomeneo and Rossini's Elizabeth I. As part of t...

The Project is set in an in-between space in history, not freedom, but not yet the death camps, but its fails to explore the possibilities that environment suggests, lost in too many words and too little credibility....

Pufferfish marks Nick Bruckman's debut as a playwright. Based on the real-life deeds of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, the play explores the strong link between violence and sexuality that pushed him to take the life of 17 men in the 80s....

A closed casket arrives at the Leake Street Graffiti Tunnel. A couple of merry gravediggers beckon the crowd while they wait for the funeral director, who will lead the congregation to the Church of the Sturdy Virgin. The audience follow, 'somber and dignified', into a surreal universe where uncerta...