UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

There’s a number of compelling sides to Carrick’s script, but it ultimately feels over-written, under-directed, and over-performed. The writer-director opts for a rather naturalistic vision and the narrative is ostensibly imbued with detailed historical research; the factual study sets the scene...

A personal show with plenty of 'Wow!' and a nice counterpoint to the gods of magic who deliver miracles from on high. ...

Guided by the vision of five female, international choreographers, Luna narrates the complexities of womanhood-its beauty, struggles, and power. While Luna has some notably powerful moments, and the music is beautiful, it ultimately falls short in its current form. ...

Ever wanted to captain a spaceship on a mission to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilisations and perhaps shoot up some enemy ships along the way? With the aid of a shiny new £3.5m set, Parabolic Theatre’s Bridge Command realises every sci-fi geek’s dream....

Now this is how you do historical theatre. Eccentrically re-imagined yet alarmingly real, James Fritz's The Flea is masterfully made. The show is a quirky retelling of a forgotten piece of queer British history: in an unlikely chain of events, the secrets of a gay brothel threaten to bring down some...

The Royal Ballet season continues with its first modern bill - Encounters: Four contemporary ballets. For some, like me, the four works presented are all new, but in actuality only two of the four are premières. And one of those is in fact a development of an existing (2022) pas de deux into a bigg...

Tarot: Shuffle begins a bit differently than your average sketch show. Walking into the theatre, audience members are greeted by three performers, all wearing white nighties. Everyone is given a piece of paper with a personality test on it, with questions ranging from your ability to recognise patte...

The Sound of Philadelphia, a celebration of “50 years of Philly Soul,” hosted by Sir Lenny Henry, celebrated the Philly soul genre, which is 'characterised by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements,' so it only makes sense that the music of the night would be performed by the BBC ...

With tickets costing £400 each and a storyline stretching over 24 hours, is Lemon Difficult’s The Key Of Dreams the ultimate in immersive theatre? ...

Based on Ali Smith’s novel, Autumn is a curious blur of images and ideas, which weave in and out of each other with varying success. At the centre of it all, however, is an unlikely friendship, originally formed between an eight-year-old girl and the elderly man next door. ...

It's one of the most unlikely moments in the history of entertainment. Two bespectacled 50-something English historians, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, bound onto the stage of the Royal Albert Hall, like rock stars, to tumultuous applause. Eat your heart out, Mick and Keith! ...

Dance Umbrella continues in London with Radioactive Practice by Abby Z (Abby Zbikowski) and the New Utility. Sadler’s Wells is transformed for the work with three banks of seats placed on the stage and the upper two circles of the auditorium closed. Some audience members still sit in the stalls, b...

Watching this reboot of Immersive 1984, a thought comes to mind: if, as we’re constantly being informed, we’re all living in the post-privacy, post-truth and post-politics world foretold in 1984, aren't we already inside an immersive version of George Orwell’s seminal book? ...

Incomprehensible drama fails to breach the cultural gap between Japan and England. ...

The world premiere of The Forsyte Saga Parts 1 'Irene' and Part 2 'Fleur' has been devised by Ashley Cook for Troupe Theatre, in association with Park Theatre, featuring a superbly talented cast of nine in a genuinely epic and stylish period production. Read our review! ...

Based on the 2017 hit film about PT Barnum, Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular is an immersive mishmash of circus, story and song that somehow manages to do a disservice to all three. ...

Zinnie Harris’s 2019 incarnation of The Duchess of Malfi, matter-of-factly titled The Duchess (of Malfi), desperately yearns to conjure the sexy metatheatrical cunning of Van Hove, Mitchell, Ostermeier. It stumbles toe-curlingly at every hurdle. ...

Cheese and pineapple on a stick, anyone? The latest musical from Birmingham Rep takes us back to 1970s Britain, where trousers were flared, birthday parties required Iced Gems, and boys definitely didn't play girls in school musicals without everyone having something to say about it. BWW's critic we...

Starring the internationally renowned, multi award-winning Mark Strong and Lesley Manville, Sophocles’ epic tragedy is transformed into an essential, explosive human thriller....

Land of the Free might be considered a success. Yes, its structure stumbles and feels a bit misguided at times, but it got a room full of people discussing some truly important issues. In a world facing such uncertainty, that’s exactly the kind of conversation theatre should be encouraging! ...

It can be a mistake to get overexcited. If then disappointed, the reality is tough to take. Case in point: Four by the Young Associates at Sadler’s Wells. Read our review... ...

Flashback to a dreary Thursday evening in mid-January. Not exactly prime time for prestigious announcements. We were at a show, relaxing on our sofa, or having one last drink before heading home when phones started vibrating left and right. Out of the blue, apparently randomly, two different product...

Ahmed deftly weaves humour and tragedy through an entertaining and deeply touching story about a son discovering more about his recently deceased father when he uncovers secrets while packing up his council flat in South Kilburn. See what our critic had to say. ...

As Halloween creeps closer, things are starting to get spooky. And, following a sell-out tour in 2023, Ghost Stories by Candlelight is back for More. ...

Isabella Bywater ratchets up the tension, as Ailish Tynan and Jerry Louth shine as the governess and her male charge. ...