UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

Offstage drama infamously hijacked the 1995 premiere of Simon Gray's play, with star Stephen Fry walking out mid-run - hastening the production's early closing. Here, then, is a chance to put the focus back on the work itself in Edward Hall's revival....

Project Polunin is a mixed bag of dance and music, a showcase for the bad boy of ballet, Sergei Polunin, that succeeds intermittently....

In January 1970, Led Zeppelin played the Royal Albert Hall, widely lauded as one of their most famous gigs. Robert Plant has returned once again, this time as part of a tour with the Sensational Space Shifters that has visited the length and breadth of the UK, and will soon head to America, Canada a...

Victorian music hall Wilton's takes a trip back to the 1930s this Christmas, as it brings a new version of John Masefield's fantasy story The Box of Delights to the stage. Justin Audibert directs Piers Torday's adaptation that stars Matthew Kelly, offering up alternative festive entertainment....

My first ever Christmas theatre experience was in the Royal Theatre in Northampton - back when they had a celebrity panto in the Derngate and a traditional panto in the Royal....

The Menier has a superb track record with breathing new life into classic musicals, but falls short with their latest revival: Cy Coleman's 1980 portrait of P.T. Barnum, creator of The Greatest Show on Earth . In stripping back some of the spectacle for this smaller space, Gordon Greenberg's produc...

The Woman In White has its flaws, but Thom Southerland's production of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's 2004 show delivers plenty to fans of musical theatre....

It is chilling to think that The Melting Pot, a play that revolves around anti-Semitism in America and Europe, was first performed in 1908, decades before the atrocity of the Holocaust. The Finborough Theatre production marks the first time in almost 80 years that it has been staged in the UK, with ...

In a quaint little 1917 English village, a weird old man invites eight strangers to say at his house. The choice of guests is anything but casual, as they all have something in common, even though they don't know what it is. When a mysterious wood appears on Midsummer Night, their lives take an unex...

Marisha Wallace delivered a concert just like her new album, Soul Holiday: honest, jazzy, and vocally stunning. Early in the night, she confided to the crowd, I'm obsessed with Christmas and it certainly shows. Singing a combination of songs from the album and extra Christmas carols along with a f...

One day Kat gets out of bed, says goodbye to her sleeping family and gets on the train to London, to commit an act that will change her world forever. This decision will also alter the lives of the people surrounding her more so than anyone realises....

If you're on the hunt for some unorthodox entertainment this Christmas, you could do much worse than a trip to see La Soir e. This 'dysfunctional family' of cabaret and variety acts have trundled into London again, this time pitching their show in the West End's Aldwych Theatre....

Fascinated by war's absurdity, playwright and documentary filmmaker Liwaa Yazji started journaling into her notebook all that she saw around her. Armed combat, civil war and terror it's these painful details that form a part of everyday life for people in Syria....

Embarking on its first UK tour, 'Beautiful' examines Carole King's remarkable transformation from schoolgirl to superstar, her relationship with husband and song-writing partner Gerry Goffin, and their close friendship and playful rivalry with fellow song-writing duo Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann....

Mrs. Sharpe's (Anna Mottram) run-down boarding house is the home of a bizarre group of people. Harry's (Benjamin Chandler) music career is going down the drain, Vivian (Claire Redcliffe) is being forced to marry a man she doesn't love, Alick (Richard Stirling) is planning another deception, Stasia (...

Frederick Ashton's Sylvia was last seen as part of the Royal Ballet's repertoire back in 2010. And how this glittering, mythical tale of silliness has been missed! One cannot deny that the subject matter is hardly the most hard hitting, but this decorative ballet is full of delightful touches and ro...

The stage adaptation of the hit 2001 comedy film 'Legally Blonde' embarks on a second UK tour and doesn't disappoint, with excellent lead performances from Lucie Jones, Rita Simons and Bill Ward....

It's that time of year again... panto season. Oh no it isn't. Oh yes it is. Sleeping Beauty at Theatr Clwyd begins with the cast in the audience dressed as fairies, with bubbles blowing everywhere, much to the delight of the audience....

The Charles Court Opera Company's eleventh panto continues their tradition of bold re-interpretations and bad jokes....

As usual, come the festive season, there is a plethora of shows on offer to begin the merriment - and if a pantomime or version of A Christmas Carol isn't for you, there is still plenty of choice. A popular venue in London is Penge's Bridge House Theatre, and this year their Christmas treat is a sta...

There are many reasons why Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been adapted endlessly. A cautionary tale of debt, ghosts, meanness of spirit and salvation set in a snowy Victorian Christmas is irresistible to directors and theatregoers alike. This year the Old Vic has taken up the baton with Matt...

Riding high from its huge success at Edinburgh, Good Girl returns to the Old Red Lion, before transferring to the VAULT Festival in 2018. Examining the comparative nature of body image, Naomi Sheldon takes the audience on an exploration of womanhood. There's talk of ABBA, masturbation and Henry VIII...

The latest production from New. Theatre Company is a song cycle from Alex James Ellison and Tom Lees; as with last month's The Dysfunctional Guide to Being a Third Wheel it is playing in the cabaret space Live at Zedel. Directed once again by Jordan Murphy, it boasts a talented cast of four: Sabrina...

Privates on Parade is often amusing, but time has not treated its approach to issues kindly, even for those unoffended by the casual racism and misogyny typical of its era....

Cinderella must be the most performed of all the pantomimes in the UK, and is probably the most well-loved. Experienced writer for Imagine Theatre, Iain Lauchlan returns once again to write, direct and star in the show; this year as Ugly Sister Dyspepsia. Also in similar fashion to previous years, M...