UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

A raucous take on the play-within-a-play is a real highlight of this new take on Shakespeare's tale of love and magic....

Another scaled down opera, retaining full force singing and emotional clout, from the King's Head, Violetta now a pole dancer in a sleazy Bristol nightclub....

It's Cork, 1998. Brenda sits contemplating a messy night out, which quickly escalates into a reflection on her entire adult experience. Nursing a disgusting hangover, she investigates the actions of her past, and attempts to regain control of her downward spiralling life. Fresh from a celebrated run...

Katori Hall's The Mountaintop invites us to step into the private life of Martin Luther King for one night; one that hangs suspended in time, between his achievements and his final breath....

Hugh Whitemore's slow-burning dramedy Pack of Lies, is based on the real life events that surrounded a family living in Ruislip who discover that their best friends and neighbours may not be who they think they are....

Musicals about young people embracing their truest selves are often delightfully engaging, and Broadway Records release of EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE (Original West End Cast Recording) is no exception to that rule. The altogether charming album presents listeners with catchy pop musical theatre...

Over 30 years since The Art of Success was first performed, beginning in Stratford-upon-Avon and running in both New York and London (where it picked up an Olivier Award nomination), and Nick Dear's play has been revived alongside the world premiere of his new work The Taste of the Town. William Hog...

The Royal Albert Hall celebrates the 25th anniversary of the release of Jurassic Park presenting the cult classic with a full symphonic orchestra, creating a magical and hair-raising experience. The Czech National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ben Palmer delivers the overwhelming fascination that'...

New English Ballet Theatre, founded by artistic director Karen Pilkington-Miksa, has been on a mission to nurture and showcase young dancers and emerging choreographers since it launched seven years ago. In the intervening time, it has become synonymous with a visionary and thoroughly modern approac...

The pupil comes prepared for her lesson: pens, notepad, ruler. The professor apologises for being late. The lesson begins. And then, the lesson really begins. In Matthew Parker's clever new production of Ionesco's play, everything is in order but nothing makes sense....

Jamie Lloyd is marking the 10th anniversary of Harold Pinter's death in remarkable style with his Pinter at the Pinter season, staging all the great man's 20 short plays, plus some sketches and poetry – grouped into seven productions – at the theatre which now bears his name....

Alice Oswald's epic re-imagining of The Iliad developed into an extraordinary theatrical event that provides intellectual nourishment, but makes great demands on its audience....

How does a scarecrow learn to talk? How does one become a tin man? What made the lion so cowardly? In an age where prequels are being released left, right and centre in cinemas, it's no wonder that Wicked, which tells the story of what happened before Dorothy landed in Oz, is celebrating its 12th an...

Hampstead Theatre's Downstairs space has been transformed into a small classroom. Four teens have failed their GCSE English. They're being made to resit to keep their places at the school, and we're privy to their progress during the autumn term......

Most people will associate Samuel Pepys with the Great Fire of London, but there were more to his extensive diaries than that. In fact, he would note down pretty much anything that happened during his day - even if it only resulted in an entry about his bowel movements! Annie-B Parson and Big Dance ...

Lifeboat tells the story of two survivors of the wartime sinking of the SS City of Benares, torpedoed en route to Canada, evacuating children from the UK....

Many years ago a young girl was given an album that would go on to change her life. It would form the foundations of the woman she'd grow up to be. It'd take her from being a dyslexic struggling to write, to an absolute powerhouse spitting words on the main stage of the Royal Court. poet in da corne...

Not to be confused with the misunderstood silverback gorilla soon to be playing on Broadway, the Original London Cast Recording of South African musical King Kong is being released by Stage Door Records on CD this week....

A pair of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers make their return to the National Theatre for Simon Godwin's much-anticipated production of Antony and Cleopatra, that sees Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo follow in the footsteps of the likes of Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench. For those who can't make it...

If you have never heard of Jacques Brel, this show serves as a useful introduction to his life and work, but it lacks the confident execution his songs demand....

If you go to see Alan Fieldan with JAMS' (which presumably stands for the names of the four actors, Jemima, Alan, Malachy and Sophie), Marathon at the Barbican, you'd do you well to remember an illuminating part of the blurb about the show:...

Following a successful off-Broadway and Broadway run in 2011 and 2013 respectively, and Tony Award nominations, Sharr White's The Other Place has transferred to London's Park Theatre for its UK Premiere....

The highlights of Gary Naylor's last 12 months and his nominations for the BroadwayWorld UK Awards 2018...

Dirty Dancing was a box office hit in 1987, a coming-of-age summer romance between dance partners-cum-lovers Frances/'Baby' (Kira Malou) and Johnny (Michael O'Reilly). The film was first adapted for stage in 2004 and has enjoyed worldwide touring success over the years as well as two stints in Londo...

Eyam, a place located in Derbyshire that has a law to its own. Isolated from the rest of the country, it has become a microcosm of anarchy, upheaval and deprivation. The villagers play by their own rules, shown quite clearly in the opening scenes with the hanging of their Reverend. Rallying together...