UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

'Why do you want to be a parent?' This expansive, almost unanswerable question is one of many asked to gay couple Zeb and Eoin when they decide they want to adopt. In Breeding, writer Barry McStay unpacks the ‘new normal’ of queer parenthood in a crowd-pleasing narrative that doesn’t shy away ...

This slathered-in-schmaltz hagiography is like watching the Zone of Interest: you know the disturbing stuff is always just out of view....

Pierre Novellie: Why Are You Laughing? has an interesting question for a name, but the reason he is asking does not actually come into play until the end of the show. Novellie has a French first name, an Italian last name, is South African and moved to the Isle of Man, but, “there’s no time to e...

Now a stage musical, John Cassavetes’ 1977 film Opening Night was a commercial flop when it was released, later becoming something of a cult classic of American independent cinema. Director Ivo Van Hove specialises in bringing work to the stage that may be called “challenging”. Challenging can...

Haemosporidian is a critique of the destructive force of new developments clad in dark tragicomedy. Callum and Henry live in less than perfect conditions, but they’re happy and care deeply for each other. Among the mould stains and thin walls of their estate, they feel at home. When a demolition n...

A spin off from Mischief Theatre’s Magic Goes Wrong,  Mind Mangler: Member Of The Tragic Circle makes its official London debut....

Priscilla the Party is based on The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, a movie from the 90s that was adapted into a musical and has since travelled the world. But, instead of a classic musical, guests are invited into the Cockatoo Club, standing in front of the stage that is able to be ta...

An ambitious but flawed character study...

Sister Act The Musical’s tagline is “A Divine Musical Comedy” but whether the gods were for or against the film or this later version is debatable....

English National Opera closes its troubled, but successful, 2023-24 season with Bartok's curious compelling slice of psychodrama beautifully played by its orchestra...

Tyrell Williams' award winning play is triumphantly promoted up a league to the West End after two runs at the Bush Theatre...

Alison Spittle: Soup is not a show entirely dedicated to soup. But, fear not, soup fans - there are definitely bits about soup spread throughout, as Spittle admits that the show began as “an outlet for her love of soup.”...

Original programming continues at the Royal Opera House, Linbury Theatre with the ever original Yorke Dance Project...

Frank Hardy has a problem. He’s an Irish faith healer without faith in his power to heal. It comes, it goes and he only knows for sure when it is not going to happen. With his wife Grace and manager Teddy, their tour of Wales and Scotland in a battered van has seen his abilities steadily failing h...

After an outstanding run at the last VAULT Festival, Rebecca Simmonds and Jack Miles’ project has been garnering a steady foundation of favourable reviews. Its journey is simply the latest proof we needed to understand the impact of the loss of a grassroot program such as VAULT. In Clay tells a to...

Drag Race Favourite Monét X Change shines in this cabaret-style performance....

The book showcases a variety of venues worldwide, from ancient to modern, from the smallest travelling theatre in Rome to one of the largest in New York. Paul Tracey's paintings capture the spirit of the playhouse in all its grandeur and mystery. It is all about the images, with the briefest of text...

The entire evening confirms MacMillan’s scope as a choreographer, but we knew that already right? ...

Assembly Hall takes place in, as you might have guessed, an assembly hall, where a group of medieval reenactors are coming together for what may be the final meeting of the General Assembly of the Benevolent and Protective Order. However, everything is not as it seems . . ....

Absurdist quintet Figs In Wigs return to preach an apocalyptic gospel - but is this the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?...

We all have someone that we look up to - for some, it’s a parent. For others, it’s a friend. But for Frank (Andy Moss), it’s divas - Marie Lloyd, Julie Andrews, Ethel Merman, Judy Garland, Agnetha Faltskog and Dusty Springfield, to be precise....

Getting to grips with what a mute medium like dance is trying to convey is never easy even when there is a recognisable concept like Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal....

In the week when an Arts Council England report lambasted the current state of opera and questioned its relevance to wider society, Charles Court Opera’s The Barber Of Seville stands as a stern rebuff to those who consider this art form to be dated and irrelevant....

With a live rendition of the Oscar-winning score by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the Philharmonia Chorus, the latest in the Royal Albert Hall’s “films in concert” series brings the The Lord of the Rings epic fantasy saga to a majestic conclusion....

Like some latter day Phileas Fogg, immersive dining specialists Gingerline’s revival of The Grand Expedition leads us on a merry virtual journey around the world all while sat in a hot air balloon gondola....