UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

Many of us fondly remember East is East as the film that was released in 1999 - a superb comedy that also tackles the conflict of interest within a multi-cultural family. However, a lot of people are unaware that it was a play beforehand, debuting in Birmingham in October 1996, also featuring Linda ...

WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN arrives in the West End - re-tooled and featuring Tamsin Greig's musical debut. Verity Wilde was there for BWW:UK......

See the first pics of Tam Mutu and Kelli Barrett performing songs from Doctor Zhivago, hitting Broadway very soon!...

Gary Naylor sees a new play that examines life in present day Moscow through the eyes of three generations of a family as dysfunctional as the Russian state....

While perhaps not a vintage year, 2014 brought with it several theatrical delights and at least one colossal stinker. And as always, there was a handful of shows I wish I'd seen but never quite managed to....

One of my earliest memories is sitting on my grandfather's lap watching Morecambe and Wise on one of his VHS tapes and quickly his favourite comedians became my favourite comedians, and they still are to this day. I'm a fan of modern comics such as Lee Evans and Michael McIntyre, but not even these ...

The new musical VALLEY OF SONG opened to positive notices from critics. Left incomplete at Ivor Novello's death, Christopher Hassall finished the piece. The recording captures the spirit of classical musicals as the score abounds with the whimsy of Rodgers + Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe. Despite...

Some of our favourite West End stars reflect on what's gone on in the West End this year......

Verity Wilde reviews Andrew Lloyd Webber's 80s super musical as it returns to the West End for a Christmas run at the Palladium with Nicole Scherzinger as Grizabella....

Gary Naylor sees two supercharged shows united by their format and their willingness to explore the darker side of the man who invented the modern Christmas....

Gary Naylor sees a beautifully judged show that revisits some of the most famous Christmas songs and poems and delivers them with panache and charm....

The festive period is usually a time when we're told to look towards the future and forget about all of our troubles. The title Hope may be misleading for many, but the latest play by Jack Thorne to be staged at the Royal Court is a political production set around a group of Labour councillors strug...

The BFG is one of Roald Dahl's much loved children's books. Recent times have seen Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach plus several other of his successful tales being adapted for stage to massive acclaim. Therefore, how would The BFG fare onstage?...

Gary Naylor sees a production that delivers much for the eye but maybe not quite enough for the ear - but there's no such thing as a dull Mikado, so he comes away smiling....

Barney Norris' debut full-length play Visitors has transferred from the Everyman Theatre in Chichester to the Arcola earlier this year and is now starting its run at Bush Theatre, where all of the original cast members have reprised their roles. Set in a remote farm in north Wiltshire, Edie (Linda B...

Gary Naylor enjoys one of his treats of the year, the boutique panto that's short on space but long on laughs, invention and music....

Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Assassins is the kind of show that, with its precise historical reference points and barely pronounceable surnames, makes you feel smarter just for looking at it....

BWW reviewer Natalie O'Donoghue picks her best and worst theatre of 2014....

Gary Naylor sees a revival of a play controversial in its time and somewhat unsatisfactory today. Nevertheless, it is beautiful to look at....

Gary Naylor sees a panto that breaks the fourth wall, breaks taboos and breaks wind - not one for the faint-hearted, but a good laugh for everyone who buys in!...

Gary Naylor enjoys an Awards Show that seeks out new talent in musical theatre and provides them with a step on the rung to the West End with a West End Gala showcase....

Gary Naylor sees a screening of a wonderful production of As You Like It that loses little over 20 odd years and on slightly grainy video - the magic of theatre prevails!...

Man to Man by Manfred Karge was first performed in 1982 and catapulted Tilda Swinton to fame when she starred in the 1987 production. Written before the destruction of the Berlin Wall, it is apt that it should be performed now given that it is the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. Set in Ger...

Worzel Gummidge was a very successful television series in the late 1970's based on Barbara Euphan Todd's children's novel. Following this, a stage adaptation was created - featuring original TV cast members Jon Pertwee, Una Stubbs and Geoffrey Bayldon - at Birmingham Repertory Theatre over the Chri...

Gary Naylor sees a spectacular musical that has its heart, if not always its sense of humour, in the right place as the Essex Girls of 1968 come out on top....