UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

Walking into the dimly lit room in a black suit and glittery top, David Rhodes somewhat resembles a funereal mirrorball. ...

“Fasten your seatbelts!” cries Salty Brine at the top of the show, “it’s going to be a bumpy ride!” He’s not wrong: watching him at work is like standing in the middle of a four-way road junction and being smashed over and over by cars from every direction. In a good way....

Caroline Reece leads the company as the wicked Queen, but every moving part is in perfect sync...

Richard Burton acquires a new name, a new voice and a new authority under the guidance of a loving teacher...

** 'One for the Simone de Beauvoir fans'...

Writer El Blackwood's Tending, produced by Another Theatre, is a three-hander based on more than 700 verbatim interviews with NHS nurses over a two-year period. She boils everything down into three characters: a paediatric ICU nurse played by Blackwood, palliative care nurse (Anjelica Serra) and A&E...

Gary Owen’s new play, a contemporary reimagining of Ibsen’s classic, is directed by Artistic Director Rachel O’Riordan, reuniting the team behind the critically acclaimed Iphigenia in Splott, Romeo and Julie and Killology....

Written and performed by Dan Wye and directed by Lee Griffith, Dan Wye Am I Sam Smith? is Wye’s debut hour, exploring how their life has been changed by being a doppelgänger of singer Sam Smith, which leads them to experience a life full of the negative aspects of being famous without being able ...

Libbi Moss's drama of a fractured family hits hard but could do with a larger canvas to explore well-crafted characters...

Victoria Smurfit and Callum Scott Howells are the tragic mother-son duo in an exciting, tense, suspenseful adaptation. Owen shifts the script and makes this classic all about domestic abuse and the power of upper-class disdain. Rachel O’Riordan’s production is a masterclass in distilling tensio...

As I'm probably one of only a handful who hasn't read the book or seen the film of The Da Vinci Code, I was looking forward to the play based on Dan Brown's bestselling novel of 2003 described as thriller, mystery and treasure hunt....

Simon Stephens' 26th play, Heisenberg, currently showing at the Arcola Theatre, is a masterful exploration of quantum uncertainty principles translated into human relationships. The production offers a nuanced portrayal of connection between two seemingly incompatible individuals. ...

Would you spend over seven hours with a hundred other people in the same room playing and watching a video game where donkeys attempt to overthrow their employers? Presented as part of London Games Festival‘s side events programme, asses.masses is an unusual experience that could well hold the key...

A recently bereaved young man spars with his hyper-critical dead mother and Death himself in an attempt to accept his grief and move on. One too many vignettes à la Scooby Doo chase and not enough personal reckoning have this black comedy twist and turn but never truly fulfil its potential. ...

And so another stage-to-screen musical rolls into town. Based on the only adult-rated film to win an Oscar for Best Picture, Midnight Cowboy is about the friendship between male prostitute Joe Buck and con man Rico “Ratso” Rizzo in 1960s New York....

Will Owen believes that he was born for the silver screen and tonight, he’s going to prove it to a live studio audience. Written and performed by Owen and directed by Daniel Emery and Molly Stacey, Will Owen: Like, Nobody’s Watching has Owen reflecting on his life through his love of television ...

Back in 2018, English National Ballet premiered Playlist (Track 1, 2) as part of their Voices of America programme. It was William Forsythe’s first new work for a British company in 20 years....

Looking at the rise and fall of two powerful Chinese women through the vague lens of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House probably sounded good on paper. It’s a shame then that Shanghai Dolls fails to deliver on almost every front....

Just three people and a briefcase. No fancy-pants CGI, no video wizardry, no Marvel-like special effects. Just three people and a briefcase is all it takes for Skedaddle Theatre (definitely a company to watch), in association with Shoddy Theatre, to transport you on a riotous and gratifying journey....

Hypnotic show transports even Boomers like me to happier times...

How will the Fringe hit land in London?...

With so much potential material to explore, it is incredible that until now, a play has not been written about speed awareness courses. Following the success of the Olivier-nominated Blue Mist, writer Mohamed-Zain Dada and director Milli Bhatia come to the Bush Theatre with their darkly amusing ne...

As someone who was fascinated by Ancient Egypt as a child and who wrote her dissertation on immersive experiences, Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition seemed like the perfect place for me. The exhibition, which opened 28 March at Immerse LDN at Excel, promising “extraordinary journey through Anc...

The magician formerly known as Dynamo and now more formally as Steven Frayne steps away from his ex-persona to embrace a new start....

Choreography isn't easy, so choreographic platforms like International Draft Works (2025) are of the utmost importance. The movement lab returns to the Royal Ballet and Opera's Linbury Theatre for another insight into where present day choreography, of ballet companies, is going. ...