UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

Gary Naylor sees a wonderfully funny farce blessed with strong performances and a script that packs a punch along with the punchlines....

Premiering in 2013 at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and following a revival in 2016, Simon Reade's production of Jane Austen's beloved novel directed by Deborah Bruce has headed out on a UK tour....

Opening Southwark Playhouse's 2017 season, following a seasonal run of Kiki's Delivery Service in The Large, is a revival of Neil Simon's musical Promises, Promises. Based on the Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond film The Apartment, it incorporates the music of Bacharach and David, including hits such...

Gary Naylor enjoys a treat for eyes and ears with music and singing and love and hate coming together in opera's unique alchemy....

Gary Naylor sees a play with a tricksy structure and a vagueness in its script that leaves the actors with few places to go....

Gary Naylor sees a funny, contemporary comedy blessed with an Ayckbournesque script and some very fine acting....

Gary Naylor sees La La Land, a film that hits you as hard in the heart as it does in the head. He doubts if he'll see a better movie in 2017....

Although Christmas may be over, the last of decorations swept away and life returning to normality, Birmingham holds onto the festive spirit for a little while longer. The Birmingham Repertory Theatre's beloved production of The Snowman delights audiences for a nineteenth successive year. ...

English National Ballet are undoubtedly a company in need or a decent break. Having thrilled audiences with a new take on Giselle from Akram Khan back in November, a full run of Nutcracker over the festive period, they now embark on over a dozen performances of Mary Skeaping's Giselle before they ca...

The New Alexandra's 2017 season kicks off with Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton. A psychological thriller, in the tradition of the famous Victorian melodramas, Gaslight follows Bella Manningham, who believes she is becoming mentally unstable until she receives a visit from Inspector Rough. The inspector...

Gary Naylor sees a show that generates laughs and shows potential, but doesn't make the most of the setup before the punchline arrives too soon....

Gary Naylor sees an adaptation of the celebrated novel, The Kite Runner, that loses some of its epic quality in transition to stage and ends up just a bit too generic for his tastes....

The hauntingly intimate Jermyn Street Theatre sees the British premiere of Tom Jacobson's The Twentieth Century Way....

Gary Naylor sees a play that rewards repeated viewing, as relevant today as ever and, in this version, performed with subtlety and grace by an excellent cast....

Despite being a decade-long tradition in New York, Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens' musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol had never previously been staged in London. Based on Charles Dickens' classic novella, the story we all know and love is brought to life with a thrilling score. This week LMTO brou...

Opening the Old Vic's 2016-17 season, and following on from the Glenda Jackson-led King Lear, 'Art' is a new translation of Yasmina Reza's French play that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. It is a comedy of friendship that brings Rufus Sewell, Tim Key and Paul Ritter back to the London sta...

George Bernard Shaw's 1923 play about the rise and fall of Joan of Arc closes the Donmar's autumn season, following One Night In Miami. Its main focus is female emancipation, highlighting the struggles that Joan faced to make her way through a man's world - as well as doing her best to stay true to ...

The classic Charles Dickens' fable, A Christmas Carol, can be seen in many guises over the festive period, but Simon Callow's one-man presentation of the epic saga at the Arts Theatre, is an excellent illustration of how a well-written traditional tale needs no frills and can stand alone when told w...

Annie Get Your Gun is another crowd-pleasing musical from Sheffield Theatres, featuring a winning performance from Anna-Jane Casey and showcasing many of Irving Berlin's finest songs....

The beautiful story of Nutcracker is as festive as Father Christmas and mince pies. Clara and her Christmas Eve battle with the evil Mouse King to rescue her beloved Nutcracker leads to a magical trip to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. When Tamara Rojo took over as Artistic Director of the En...

Lucky Londoners are now treated to a Matthew Bourne extravaganza every festive season and in comparison to recent year's revivals of previously seen Bourne works, the excitement is palpable at Sadler's Wells as audiences prepare for the world premiere of Bourne's take on the 1948 film, The Red Shoes...

After an almost 30-year absence, a star-studded pantomime, mounted by Qdos, returned to the London Palladium last night with well-known names including Julian Clary as Dandini, Paul O'Grady as Baroness Hardup, and Amanda Holden as The Fairy Godmother on the bill. A big set with even bigger productio...

Gary Naylor sees a show sure to enchant all the family, a theatrical production every bit as good as its celebrated animated predecessor....

Love takes place in the communal area of a council run hostel for the homeless in the run-up to Christmas. However, rather than the drunks, junkies and down and outs that one typically pictures in such properties, the inhabitants on show are a broad cross-section of today's underclass....

Buckland Theatre Co. return to Park 90, following their critically acclaimed production Some Girl(s), with their revival of 1960s Broadway hit LUV, a comical look at the enduring struggle to get to grips with the meaning of love. It provides some welcome variety from the more festive offerings over ...