UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Hector Hugh Munro, better known as Saki, a writer of delightfully improper short stories with all the wit of Oscar Wilde. His life and death are commemorated in a new play written by Katherine Rundell and brought to the Fringe by Atticist Produc...

Gary Naylor sees an adaptation of the classic tale that never quite finds its tone, but provides thrills and spills in its outdoor setting....

Australian theatre's 'enfant terrible' Simon Stone, whose 2014 version of Ibsen's The Wild Duck at the Barbican memorably starred a live duck, has returned to take on Lorca's 1934 'tragic poem'. If some of the elemental lyricism has been lost in this updating, which trades rural Spain for contempo...

Exposure the Musical has been 12 years in the making and Mike Dyer's production has finally arrived at the St James Theatre. Written after the death of his father and while he was recovering from a serious motorcycle accident, the musical takes inspiration from Marlowe's Faustus, although this time ...

Gary Naylor sees young people perform an adaptation of the Tony Award show that's aimed at young people but can be enjoyed by all....

Following a six month tour, Richard Greenberg's version of Breakfast at Tiffany's marks the second time an adaptation of Truman Capote's novella has been shown at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in seven years. Anna Friel starred in the 2009 adaptation by Samuel Adamson, but in 2016 it's pop star Pixie ...

As a new year approaches, Alice is attempting to come out to her parents. Her partner of seven years, Fi, has a revelation of her own; she wants to become a man....

During the recent Ghostbusters furore, enraged opponents claimed the movie would ruin their childhood. As someone who grew up with the Harry Potter book series - preparing for GCSEs while the characters stressed over O.W.L.s - I can happily declare that this affectionate, spellbinding work only enha...

The latest cast recording release from Auburn Jam Records, Prodigy, was only released yesterday and has already placed in the top 100 albums on iTunes. This new musical, by the immensely talented Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, has been commissioned by the National Youth Music Theatre and received it...

The award-winning new play from Charlene James is a vibrant and engaging piece that shines a light on the horrors of FGM as experienced through the eyes of two teenagers....

Gunshots! Flames! Shirtless dancing hunks! And that's just the first five minutes. This eye-wateringly bombastic musical has all subtlety, production values and narrative logic of a Donald Trump rally. Thoughtful, incisive drama? Er, no. Winningly OTT kitsch with killer song delivery? Hell yes. Com...

Has it really been two decades since that definitive Lyceum production of Jesus Christ Superstar? Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's collaboration is in residence at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre this summer, and it is a production the like of which I have never seen before. ...

The Australian Ballet return to the London Coliseum this summer with the UK debut of Alexei Ratmansky's Cinderella, created on the company in 2013. Sleek, surreal and contemporary, there is no trace of a pumpkin or any talking mice in this new adaptation of the classic fairy tale....

Commissioned by the Finborough Theatre in its search for exciting new works from Canada, Proud is the European premiere of a satirical political play written by multi-award winning, Canadian playwright Michael Healey. It is the third in a trilogy of his plays centred around exploring Canadian values...

Sheffield People's Theatre present a fantastical fun take on Shakespeare... set in a hospital!...

Green Day and musicals. Not two things that normally sound right together, but with this surprisingly electrifying and energetic show, you are left with a sense you have just witnessed something pretty special....

There's something rather nostalgic about watching a magic show in the heart of London, where the prestigious Magic Circle was first established in 1905. Playing at the Noel Coward Theatre until 27 August, Impossible, presented by Jamie Hendry and Gavin Kalin Productions, celebrates an old-fashioned,...

Gary Naylor sees an unblinking, fearless adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's often censored story, delivered with panache and menace by Greg Hicks....

Anyone who ever played 'shop' as a child, trading real or imaginary objects over a table, will experience a thrill of recognition at Fiasco Theater's stripped-back take on Sondheim and James Lapine's ode to and deconstruction of storytelling. That's what we get for the swiftly evoked bakery, and the...

Gary Naylor sees an adaptation of a classic play that packs plenty of punch despite some less than satisfactory casting....

Richard O Brien and Richard Hartley reunite to pen a murder mystery musical set in 'Club Extravaganza'....

Gary Naylor sees a powerful, important play that speaks to a 2016 audience explicitly about the defining issue of our times....

Set primarily in Los Angeles, where Judy Garland is filming a new CBS television series, The Judy Garland Show - one of many comebacks the ill-fated star made in her later life, Ray Rackham's play Through the Mill reveals a snapshot of Garland's tumultuous story, honing in on three key periods in he...

Last night's Stuff Happens revival was concerned with warmongering men chasing glory from afar. Now we meet the women who suffer most from such conflict: 13 Syrian refugees, driven from their homeland. Their voices are seldom heard amidst the din, but thanks to Georgina Paget, Charlotte Eagar and W...

Mike Bartlett's taught and darkly-black workplace satire is an assured directorial debut for Lisa Blair, with two commanding lead performances....