UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

It’s probably safe to assume that, for many people, December 2023 so far has not been “the most wonderful time of the year”; whether it’s miserable weather, unreliable train infrastructure, or any of the myriad other problems facing the world, the lead-up to this year’s Christmas festiviti...

The joy springs from stage to stalls and back again in a wondrous update on Pinocchio...

Thirty years after American conductor Marin Alsop created a radical interpretation of the Handel masterwork in her homeland, she brings her Gospel Messiah to the Royal Albert Hall for its European debut....

There are nine countries in the world with nuclear weapons. And at any second, any one of them could press a button that would put an immediate and catastrophic end to life as we know it. Armed with just a laptop, a projector, a kettle, and some biscuits, Fringe veteran Chris Thorpe faces this reali...

Family show retains enough edge to honour its sources, providing thrills and spectacle and that wonderful, wonderful score...

Mat Ewins: Mr. TikTok* is a fun hour of comedy that packs as many jokes as it possibly can into its running time, using a brilliant combination of technology, pranks, and a brilliant tech partner. Not including the strange ending, it may have been one of my favourite comedy shows of the year....

As someone who moved to the UK last year, I’m still getting used to the tradition of pantomimes but have fallen in love with their boundless energy and cheesy jokes. Recently, I attended a 10:30 AM performance of Dick Whittington at the Arts Centre Hounslow, where I was one of two adults who was n...

Ada tells the story of the neglected pioneer of computing and, if you look a little, also the story of a foundation stone of English Theatre...

The world can often seem so grey at the moment, so any opportunity to step into the light is most welcome. There can be few festive shows that ignite such a sense of wonder and delight as the Royal Ballet’s The Nutcracker. If the festive season is all about tradition, then Peter Wright’s 1984 pr...

Matthew Dunster’s production of The Homecoming promises a “refocusing” of Pinter’s 1965 classic. I’m not sure what that is supposed to mean, but in reality it translates to a plastic production defanged of its guttural animal instincts and brutal bite. If you squint, you can make out Pinte...

Michael Dylan, Dave Hearn, and Amy Revelle share the comic timing of long-time friends. Strategically precise physical languages and a penchant for a quick, perfectly calibrated comeback make Steven Canny and John Nicholson’s a good-natured, lighthearted comedy. There are a few lulls in the first ...

Matthew White’s latest creation is stunning and Sondheim’s score remains beautiful. White doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to condemning the actions depicted, though at the very end his vision seems to suddenly shift all the violence into the necessary evil that kick-started Japan’s te...

Jen and Stacey are seventeen. Money is tight and their parents drive them mad, but all their thoughts are pulled towards that night of the week where they can let rip on a dancefloor. Kat Rose-Martin's promising new play pulls no punches in its stark portrayal of the harsh reality of life for two w...

After a run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Josh Glanc has brought Collections 2023 to Soho Theatre, showing off a collection of characters and silly sketches. It was quite a relief to be going to a show with no plot where I could simply sit and watch a comedian play a range of roles without the s...

It’s hard to believe Home Alone is 33 years old. Released in 1990, the John Hughes penned classic has become a firm festive favourite. It has also, over the past ten years, become a much-loved fixture of the Royal Albert Hall’s Films in Concert Series....

Sensational staging and great music sung with such passion, but are changing mores transforming how we see the sad clown and his wicked revenge?...

The VR-enabled Within Touching Distance is a profound work which digs deep into the psychology behind the most underrated sense. A word of warning: this show isn’t for the self-centred or the hard of feeling; those with the emotional awareness of an Ikea wardrobe will find little of value here. ...

Sh*t-Faced Showtimes’ A Pissedmas Carol has returned to Leicester square theatre for the fourth year - a cloud of alcohol following close behind....

Adapted by Emily Burns, the production sees the story transported to modern day. Excellently designed and featuring an incredible cast who keep the story moving quickly from scene to scene, it is a unique and innovative interpretation of the play that keeps you engaged from start to finish....

Annie's Baker's new play transfers from the Linda Gross Theatre in New York...

I’ve never seen a lunar halo – a sparkling ring around the moon – so the fact that Cheng Tsung-lung’s work of the same name uses it as a premise is indeed intriguing. Cheng as both choreographer and Artistic Director, presents Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (of Taiwan) at Sadler’s Wells....

It’s finally December, and there’s nothing British theatre does better than one-off festive entertainment. London has started swarming with mince pies, Christmas shows, pantos, and jolly gigs. In preparation for a pre-recorded stint on the radio later in December, recording artist and broadcaste...

Richard Schoch explores what daily life would have been like in the Shakespeare household and how the buildings that surrounded him have become hotspots. He describes how the unassuming residence on Henley Street was turned into a museum in the 19th century, long after the deaths of its original inh...

Taking your family to a production of Charles’ Dickens A Christmas Carol is almost as expected as taking them to your local pantomime with at least three major productions running this year alone. No stranger to reinterpreting classic works, Mark Gattis’ (Sherlock, Dracula, Dr Who) 2021 producti...

Seven pantos performed in the space of 70 minutes – it seems impossible… right? Oh no it isn’t!...