Our UK / West End Critics
View All »
Aliya Al-Hassan
Critic
Amber-Rae Stobbs
Critic
Caroline Cronin
Critic
Cheryl Markosky
Critic
Cindy Marcolina
Critic
Debbie Gilpin
Critic
Franco Milazzo
Critic
Gary Naylor
Critic
Guest Author
Critic
Kat Mokrynski
Critic
Matthew Paluch
Critic
Mica Blackwell
Critic
Michael Higgs
Critic
Vikki Jane Vile
Critic
Review: BBC PROMS: FIRST NIGHT OF THE PROMS 2024, Royal Albert Hall
Unlike the Last Night of the Proms, which has developed its own mythology and status (thanks to the traditions that surround it), the First Night of the Proms is not bound by any particular structure or the need to play any specific pieces; there’s a freedom to it that spills out into the audience...
Review: THE HOT WING KING, National Theatre
When food takes centre stage, it is usually as a conduit for humanity. Somewhere in the pseudo religiosity of ritual and the flurry of flavours we summon stories of cultures, families, histories across time and geography....
Review Roundup: Did Imelda Staunton Delight in HELLO, DOLLY! at The London Palladium?
What did the critics think of Dominic Cooke's long-delayed production?...
Review: ECHO, Royal Court Theatre
Intricately weaving together a tapestry of different times and places, Nassim Soleimanpour’s ECHO is a feat of creative technology. Performed by a different celebrated actor each night, the performance offers a sharply intelligent take on immigration and national identity. ...
Review: IL SEGRETO DI SUSANNA / PAGLIACCI, Opera Holland Park
Opera Holland Park delivers two short pieces - an ideal introduction to the form's unique capacity to bring emotional weight to any story...
Review: AFTER SEX, Arcola Theatre
Friends with benefits. Casual lovers. Non-romantic sexual partners. They’re all terms that Google feeds you if you’re trying to define a relationship where one will undoubtedly end up catching feelings. Him and Her are attempting to circumnavigate the exact same situation(ship). She likes that h...
Review: THE BAKER'S WIFE, Menier Chocolate Factory
A gentler offering from Stephen Schwartz’s catalogue, this immersive show whisks you away to a time long past with a phenomenal ensemble who find the heart and soul in their characters. Perhaps the mistake made 50 years ago was attempting to bring The Baker’s Wife to a larger space. In the Menie...
Review: HELLO, DOLLY!, The London Palladium
Well, we got there in the end and thankfully, it was worth the wait. Initially due to open back in 2020, Dominic Cooke’s adaptation of Hello, Dolly! has finally arrived in the West End....
Review: THE LOST LIONESSES, The Space Arts Centre
The struggle to establish women's football in the UK told through the eyes of those who defied the establishment to play in a world cup in Mexico...
Review: BEFORE I GO, Brixton House
Before I Go, first seen during the Brixton House's Housemates Festival in summer 2023, is a one hour work written by Tobi King Bakare that centres on Ajani, a young, black man who has issues with communication when it really matters....
Review: JACK TUCKER: COMEDY STAND UP HOUR, Soho Theatre
Created and performed by Zach Zucker of Stamptown fame, Jack Tucker: Comedy Stand Up Hour is a longer-than-an-hour stand up show in which Zucker takes on his character of Jack Tucker. For those unfamiliar with the character, Jack Tucker is the self-described “ultimate comedian’s comedian” who ...
Review: MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Royal Opera House
There’s a singular simplicity in Madama Butterfly that draws in audiences year after year, decade by decade like moths to a flame: a man loves and leaves a woman; she gives up everything for him. With a staging that mirrors that bare but powerful concept, Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s 2002 ...
Review: I WISH MY LIFE WERE LIKE A MUSICAL, King's Head Theatre
Written by Alexander S. Bermange, I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical is a “comedic musical revue” that brings audiences into the world of musical theatre both onstage and off. Audience members experience the life of a performer, from the first nerve-wracking audition to the moment in which they ...
Review: SISTERS OF MERSEY, Liverpool's Royal Court
Following the success of A Thong for Europe at Liverpool’s Royal Court in 2023, writer Jonathan Harvey and director Stephen Fletcher are back with another five star comedy hit - Sisters of Mersey....
Review: NATIONAL YOUTH DANCE COMPANY: WALL - OONA DOHERTY, Sadler's Wells
National Youth Dance Company has been running since 2013, and acts as “England’s Flagship youth dance company”, the brainchild of, and run by Sadler’s Wells. The (Guest) Artistic Directors read like a who’s who of present day contemporary dance royalty, and 23/24 sees Oona Doherty take up ...
Review: FUERZA BRUTA: AVEN, The Roundhouse
Feeling like the wildest circus party in town, Fuerza Bruta (Spanish for “brute force”) return to the Roundhouse with their new show Aven....
Review: VISIT FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN, Hampstead Theatre
The lights flash on, a writer stumbles into his scantly decorated flat. A woman follows, champagne on her breath, flirtatious glances smuggled between them. It’s late at night and the inevitability of retiring to the bedroom looms. But it is not what it seems....
Review: THE W.I.G OF LIFE: A CONFERENCE, Riverside Studios
Entering Riverside Studios, you are greeted by two performers dressed in grey bodysuits and bright blue bob wigs, speaking to you in monotonous tones. Going into the theatre itself, the set is nothing but wigs. Wigs worn by the performers, wigs hanging from the ceiling, wigs on mannequin heads on th...
Review: DR ADAM PERCHARD AND RICHARD THOMAS: INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMP, Soho Theatre
It would be difficult to describe Adam Perchard as some shy, self-effacing wallflower. They follow up Bunburying (The Importance of Being Dr Adam Perchard) with another autobiographical show, this time with composer Richard Thomas, co-creator of Jerry Springer: The Opera....
Review: DEUX GRANDES DAMES, The Crazy Coqs
Two for the price of one isn’t always a good deal, but Deux Grandes Dames with Melissa Errico & Isabelle Georges at Crazy Coqs - Brasserie Zedel is a dynamic vehicle for the two “tall” & “leading” ladies.
...
Review: SLAVE PLAY, Noël Coward Theatre
For a play that wears controversy as a badge of honour the last thing I expected to feel was slightly bored...
Review: DORIAN: THE MUSICAL, Southwark Playhouse
However, penned by Joe Evans (score and lyrics) and Linnie Reedman (book and direction), Dorian is an awkward production that’s supposedly adapting the mores and morals of the time for a social media-obsessed audience. They reimagine the protagonist as a lonely rocker who gains overnight popularit...
Review: BARNUM, Watermill Theatre
The Watermill’s dazzling production fully immerses the audience into the showman’s wondrous world in spite of its inherent script issues. With an all-round talented cast led by the ever charismatic Matt Rawle, you’d be justified if you wanted to run away and join the circus after watching this...
Review: GRUD, Hampstead Theatre
Sarah Power’s Grud is a show about space – in more ways than one. When Bo joins an after school club mission to send a model robot into the stars, it causes the space between her home life and the rest of the world to narrow until it disappears completely. Grud follows sixth form student Bo (Cat...
Review: NEW VIEWS FESTIVAL 2024, National Theatre
Luke Fields and Emyr Strudwick take honours with plays set in Northern Ireland and South Wales...
Videos
TICKET CENTRAL
Tickets From $59
Tickets From $143
Buy Tickets
Tickets From $69
Get UK's #1 Theatre Newsletter
Get the best news & discounts for UK Shows & beyond.
