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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Kat Mokrynski
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Vikki Jane Vile
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Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 35: ELLINGTON, BRAXTON AND MARY LOU WILLIAMS
Two giants of the jazz world and one composer who has had vast influence on modern music made up a mixed, but interesting, evening at the BBC Prom 35 in the ever-majestic Royal Albert Hall....
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 34: 21ST-CENTURY SOUNDTRACKS, Royal Albert Hall
Robert Ames leads a superb performance from the London Contemporary Orchestra....
Review: PEANUT BUTTER AND BLUEBERRIES, Kiln Theatre
Peanut Butter and Blueberries is original, sweet, touching and vibrant. It is extremely refreshing to see a play about the British Muslim experience where trauma and tradition are, of course, acknowledged, but are not the main focus of the drama. As this is Manzoor-Khan's first play, it will be fasc...
Review: ANTONY & CLEOPATRA, Shakespeare's Globe
'Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.' Aside from a couple of Horrible Histories songs, most people probably know Cleopatra for her unique manner of death - almost certainly an apocryphal story (it's far more likely that she simply poisoned herself), but that and her ill-fat...
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 33 – TITANS OF BRITISH MUSIC, Royal Albert Hall
There has always been much conjecture over what it really means to be British – most recently, a group of self-proclaimed “patriots” got together and trashed libraries, independent businesses, and community hubs across the country in the name of supposedly getting their country back. This, of ...
Review: FARM HALL, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Katherine Hoar's debut play makes a seamless and well-deserved transition to a major West End venue to challenge and intrigue a public who have enjoyed Oppenheimer at the cinema...
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 31: ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER PLAYS BRAHMS, Royal Albert Hall
What is there to be said about the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra that hasn’t already been said? For twenty-five years it has united Arab and Israeli musicians under the baton of Jewish co-founder Daniel Barenboim (late Palestinian Critical Theorist Edward Said is the other co-founder); their decl...
Review: EDINBURGH 2024: PENTHESILEA, The Lyceum
Penthesilea is the queen of the Amazons, a race of warrior women who can only sleep with men they’ve defeated in battle. When she falls for the Greek warrior Achilles, an inevitable tragedy is set in motion. Arbo and the ITA Ensemble bring their version of the myth to the Edinburgh International F...
Review: THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, Theatre Royal Bath
If you're after certainty, then you should certainly steer clear of the revival of Harold Pinter's unsettling The Birthday Party at the Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath. However, if you're up for an intriguing evening of comic surrealism mixed with creepy horror – think the Coen brothers meet We...
Review: YEOMEN OF THE GUARD, Opera Holland Park
Opera Holland Park close out another acclaimed season with a rollicking Yeomen Of The Guard....
Review: PERICLES, Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
'‘Tis time to fear when tyrants seems to kiss.” It’s true that most of Shakespeare’s most well-known works remain perpetually relevant, particularly in the difficult times that continue to afflict populations worldwide, but sometimes it’s worth shuffling the pack and pulling out a lesser p...
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 24: PURCELL'S THE FAIRY QUEEN, Royal Albert Hall
During the Restoration and beyond, there were numerous attempts at rewriting Shakespeare - one famous example being Romeo and Juliet changing to a happy ending. His work has also been adapted for slightly different kinds of staging, which is evident in Henry Purcell’s operatic composition; The Fai...
Review Roundup: What Did The Critics Think of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF?
Jordan Fein's new production of Fiddler on the Roof is now open at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre....
Review: WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOU, Park Theatre
When I walked out of When It Happens to You, all I wanted to do was hug my sisters. Part of me had forgotten I had seen a show, the other part couldn’t stop thinking about the last twenty minutes of it. That’s the sign of good theatre. Theatre that lights a fire underneath you, theatre that gets...
Review: FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
The production embraces Jewish representation and celebrates their religious rituals with refreshing openness. From Tevye’s personal relationship with God to the customs of his culture, there’s pride in Fein’s take. He imbues it with tradition, lifting the narrative to a universal story of lov...
Review: MADWOMEN OF THE WEST, Riverside Studios
Four acting icons. A mostly clever script. And enough gossip to last an entire theatre season. What more could you ask for from a summer’s evening at the theatre? Madwomen of the West transfers to Riverside Studios after seasons in New York and LA and, while a little clumsy at times, is a showcase...
EDINBURGH 2024: Review: IS THE WIFI GOOD IN HELL, Underbelly Cowgate
Is The Wifi Good In Hell? is a coming-of-age story with heart....
EDINBURGH 2024: Review: I SELL WINDOWS, Assembly George Square Studios
I Sell Windows is a heartfelt and brutally honest production that dives into the messier side of grief and ambition....
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 21: THE SINFONIA OF LONDON AND JOHN WILSON
John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London have rightly earned a reputation for holding audiences rapt with their vivid realisations of music. Last night, you could have heard a pin drop in the majestic Royal Albert Hall, as they returned to The Proms for a victorious fourth consecutive appearance, cele...
Review: WORMHOLES, Omnibus Theatre
You simply can't take your eyes off Victoria Yeates (Call the Midwife, Fantastic Beasts, Ben and Imo, The Crucible), who's completely captivating in Emily Jupp's one-woman play, Wormholes, at bijou Omnibus Theatre on London's Clapham Common. Her portrayal of a bubbly young woman broken by a controll...
Review: SOMETHING ROTTEN! IN CONCERT, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
In line with the trend of the moment, this is more than a concert and less than a full production. The set has been kept to a minimum, featuring only two heavy-looking wooden tables with chairs and banners with Tudor insignia, but there’s enough costumes and choreography to have a proper glimpse o...
Review: POLICE COPS IN SPACE, Underbelly Cavendish Square
Police Cops In Space is a space age comedy, creatively adapting the legacy of 80’s cult police and space films to joyous effect. The comedy showcases bold and dynamic trio Zachary Hunt, Nathan Parkinson and Tom Roe, who honour the genre playfully, with their high-energy, fast-paced theatrical miss...
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 18: SAM SMITH, Royal Albert Hall
Auntie had no need to be worried. For Smith's only UK appearance of 2024, they were joined the BBC Concert Orchestra and the LJ Singers for an excellent (and very professional) evening, celebrating Smith as a singer, rather than a controversialist....
Review: THE YEARS, Almeida Theatre
Five actors + 80 years + a soupçon of French ennui = an evening that will spark many a conversation...
Review: A CHORUS LINE, Sadler's Wells
The show is in itself show-stopping. The cast of accomplished triple-threats swaps tense competition for a jubilant celebration of form. In a post-pandemic industry that’s suffered cuts to the arts across all areas, it’s disheartening to see an artist’s quality of life hasn’t exactly progres...
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