Our UK / West End Critics
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Aliya Al-Hassan
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Amber-Rae Stobbs
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Caroline Cronin
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Cheryl Markosky
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Cindy Marcolina
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Debbie Gilpin
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Franco Milazzo
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Gary Naylor
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Guest Author
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Kat Mokrynski
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Matthew Paluch
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Mica Blackwell
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Michael Higgs
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Vikki Jane Vile
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Review: KINKY BOOTS, Starring Johannes Radebe & Matt Cardle
Last seen in the West End in 2019, Cyndi Lauper and Matt Fierstein's uplifting musical Kinky Boots finally struts its way back to London after a national tour. Originating at the Curve Leicester and directed by its artistic director Nikolai Foster, it brings starry sparkle to the stage with the cast...
BOOK REVIEW: THE PLAYS OF HENRICK IBSEN, by David Irvin
What did our critic think of BOOK REVIEW: THE PLAYS OF HENRICK IBSEN, BY DAVID IRVIN at Bookshops?...
Review: CHAOS: III, The Pleasance Theatre
There aren’t many times in your life where you can safely say you’ve watched a lip-sync routine to a song about being on Jobseeker’s Allowance, all the while having just watched a clown piece seemingly about how Year 7’s always have backpacks larger than them. However, Long Night Produc...
Review: JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING, Lyric Hammersmith
**** 'It would be hard to not fall for the charm of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. A celebration of femalehood, Black culture and community, it’s filled with a vibrant joy and celebration in part thanks to a cast who share a wonderful chemistry. As client Jennifer says, it’s like being at home ...
Review: HENRY V, Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Henry V of England is one of those big roles for an actor. Alfie Enoch follows in the footsteps of Laurence Olivier and Tom Hiddleston as the king who led a battalion of tired and outnumbered soldiers to victory. Excellent performances may save it, but co-artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare C...
Review: THE OLD LADIES, Finborough Theatre
Revival of 1935 play could have much relevance to today, but cannot find a route out of slow and dated writing...
Review: The Turn of the Screw, Royal Ballet And Opera
A new production by Natalie Abrahami and Michael Levine, The Turn of the Screw at the Royal Opera House haunts with eerie staging, finely judged performances, and Benjamin Britten’s still-chilling score....
Review: RIGOLETTO, Royal Ballet And Opera
When this Rigoletto first opened the Royal Opera House’s first full season after the long pandemic silence, it felt less like a return to normality and more like a statement of intent. To relaunch with Rigoletto, arguably Giuseppe Verdi’s bleakest work, was a bold, almost confrontational choice....
Review: JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN, Royal Court Theatre
When John Proctor is the Villain opened on Broadway last year, it lit a fire. Kimberly Belflower’s response to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is more than play, it’s a movement. After shaking things up overseas, the piece is taking on London now (in the same venue that saw the U.K. premiere of M...
Review: TEETH 'N' SMILES, Starring Rebecca Lucy Taylor
The high-water mark of 60s culture has been and gone, leaving a trail of detritus in which capricious rocker Maggie Frisby finds herself....
Review: THE LAST STRONGHOLD, Excurio
Set in the bustling medieval castle of Carcassone, Excurio’s The Last Stronghold drops us into the midst of political intrigue, a budding romance and a nightmarish encounter...
Review: ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET, BODY AND SOUL, Sadler's Wells
English National Ballet’s new Sadler’s Wells programme includes just two works. One, a UK premiere from the much admired Crystal Pite, responsible for Flight Pattern and Light of Passage....
Review: VINCENT IN BRIXTON, Starring Niamh Cusack, Orange Tree Theatre
Last seen in London at the National Theatre nearly 25 years ago, Nicholas Wright's thoughtful and thought-provoking play, Vincent In Brixton, now has a well-deserved revival at the Orange Tree in a beautifully performed, intimate and multi-layered production, showcasing some formidable acting tale...
Review: RUTH, Wilton's Music Hall
In a staging device that feels made for the cavernous Wilton’s Music Hall, Bibi Simpson as convicted murderer Ruth Ellis addresses the audience with aristocratic authority, a tiny figure within an isolated prison cell. We are instantly drawn into her world, witnesses and voyeurs to her version of ...
Review: WHERE THERE IS NO TIME, Seven Dials Playhouse
Politically involved art is crucial to the healthy functioning of a nation. Even when it’s of subpar quality, this type of outlet is vital. Mohammedally Hashemi’s play is most probably not ready to be staged quite yet. It means well and it has lots of big ideas, but it requires a complete overha...
Review: ALEXANDER WHITLEY DANCE COMPANY - THE RITE OF SPRING / MIRROR, Sadler’s Wells East
What makes work interesting? What it is? How it makes you feel? That's the million dollar question I suppose…and one that Alexander Whitley's work continues to ask. Whitley has just opened a double bill of new work at Sadler’s Wells East called The Rite of Spring / Mirror, with both pieces looki...
Review: ROSIE, Adelphi Theatre
Rosie arrives at the Adelphi Theatre for a one-off staged concert with great promise. Described as a ‘thrilling tale of passion, scandal and courageous determination’, the soundtrack has already received multiple international awards. Yet, while many of the songs are pleasant and the cast deliv...
Review Roundup: SUMMERFOLK at the National Theatre
It’s a hot, beautiful summer in 1905, and Russia’s elite retreat to the countryside to swim, sip champagne and start affairs. When they’re having this much fun, why care about anything else? But Varvara just can’t shake the feeling that their holiday idyll is built on borrowed time. As the p...
Review: SUMMERFOLK starring Sophie Rundle, National Theatre
Splendid new adaptation of a play that can be seen as a respectful response to The Cherry Orchard...
Review: AETHER, Jermyn Street Theatre
Aether is, above all else, strikingly original. It’s hard to draw comparisons for a show so unapologetically strange and ambitious. It combines very technical and theoretical scientific language with dance sequences and multi-roling, in a piece of theatre that feels akin to an oxymoron....
Review: R.O.I. (RETURN ON INVESTMENT), Hampstead Theatre
Loeb certainly offers a list of thought-provoking provocations but doesn’t delve into anything that’s not already obvious if you’re a cynical mind. Predictably, money is the source of all evil, and what begins as a legitimate project to help heal the illnesses of the world becomes a profitable...
Review: ANCIENT GREASE, The Vaults
At The Vaults, Ancient Grease arrives with impeccable comic timing. The leather-jacketed mythology of Grease has rarely been far from London’s cultural bloodstream. Indeed, the city has been particularly well supplied with it of late thanks to Secret Cinema, which mounted Grease: The Immersive Mov...
Review: VIKINGS: THE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE, Dock X
After the recent avalanche of historical exhibitions which have stretched the “immersive” beyond the point of plausibility, is Vikings worth the trek to Dock X? ...
Review: 5:45, Theatreship
Routine is Maya’s religion. She lives by her schedule, even factoring in the unforeseen circumstances that might lead her to needing more time to rest on a Saturday. She manages the accounts of a food packaging company and lives in London with her boyfriend. Maya is as normal as it gets. She is ou...
Review: TURN IT OUT WITH TILER PECK AND FRIENDS, Sadler's Wells
Perhaps New York City Ballet Principal, Tiler Peck should rename her self curated programme Turn it On...
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