UK / West End Theater Reviews Page 2

Review: THE COMEUPPANCE, Almeida Theatre
by Debbie Gilpin - April 14, 2024

Welcome to a high school reunion with a difference: this one has an uninvited (but secret) guest. In Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ latest play, a group of friends collectively known as “MERGE” have gathered for a pre-reunion meet-up; Ursula, Emilio, Caitlin, Kristina and Paco haven’t all been in the same ...

Review: ARTIFICIALLY YOURS, Riverside Studios
by Gary Naylor - April 12, 2024

Leslie Ash leads a very funny play by first time writer Aaron Thakar, lit up by a charming and hilarious turn by another debutante, Jake Mavis...

Review: AN ACTOR CONVALESCING IN DEVON, Hampstead Theatre
by Franco Milazzo - April 12, 2024

Sometimes reality and drama overlap so much that it can be hard to tell where one finishes and another starts. ...

Book Review: THE ACTOR AND THE SPACE, Declan Donnellan
by Cindy Marcolina - April 13, 2024

His first publication went viral (once again, in a way) when Mr Jeremy Strong of Succession fame featured it in his GQ interview about his essentials, saying he swears by it. Declan Donnellan succeeds at describing the indescribable, putting the ephemeral art of acting on paper in another gem of a b...

Review Roundup: What Did the Critics Think of Ian McKellen in PLAYER KINGS?
by Aliya Al-Hassan - April 12, 2024

Bringing together Shakespeare's two great history plays, Player Kings is now open at the Noël Coward Theatre. Ian McKellen plays Falstaff in a new version of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, adapted by the award-winning writer and director Robert Icke. A divided country, leadership crumbling, corruption in t...

Review: PLAYER KINGS, Noël Coward Theatre
by Alexander Cohen - April 12, 2024

Ian McKellen is a mesmerizingly athletic Falstaff in Robert Icke's iconoclastic fusion of Henry IV parts 1 and 2...

Review: THE POWER (OF) THE FRAGILE - MOHAMED TOUKABRI, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - April 12, 2024

The Elixir Festival returns to Sadler’s Wells with the same, integral mission: “rethinking perceptions around dance and age.”...

Review: MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, Wilton's Music Hall
by Franco Milazzo - April 11, 2024

​​​​​​​Serving as a kind of Barber of Seville of theatre, Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the most accessible of Shakespeare’s plays. Its blend of mystic romance, daffy dramatists and fairy-powered shenanigans is not short on rambunctious comedy turns but, in the hands of Flabbergast Theatre, that...

Review: INTERNATIONAL DRAFT WORKS, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - April 11, 2024

The evening includes ten works and the premise is an important, and pressing one: where is ballet (as we know it) going…? ...

Review: PLAYING LATINX, Soho Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - April 15, 2024

'Walking into the Soho Theatre Upstairs, you are given a nametag before taking your seat. Interestingly enough, Playing Latinx has the same start as Derren Brown’s Unbelievable on the West End, with a chair on stage and a sign stating, “The show will start once someone sits on this chair.”'...

Review: LIAM WITHNAIL: CHRONIC BOOM, Soho Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - April 15, 2024

Liam Withnail: Chronic Boom begins with a video, in which Withnail is recording a podcast episode with a fellow comedian. Before they can get into a conversation, however, Withnail receives a call from the hospital, telling him that he needs to go in overnight. This meant dropping everything and goi...

Review: PHANTOM PEAK: FESTIVAL OF INNOVATION, London
by Franco Milazzo - April 10, 2024

When Phantom Peak, one of London's most innovative and ridiculously fun theatrical experiences, holds a Festival Of Innovation, how can one say no? It is not the only impressive immersive show in town but its near-peerless execution and boundless imagination puts it up there with the more well known...

Review: THE PROMISE, Birmingham Rep
by Laura Lott - April 10, 2024

New play The Promise, which has its world premiere at Birmingham Rep this week, looks at the intersectionality of dementia and deafness through the experiences of one family, and highlights the urgent need for more understanding and care options. ...

Review: UNDERDOG: THE OTHER OTHER BRONTË, National Theatre
by Abbie Grundy - April 08, 2024

Sisterly bonds are tethered by fiery ambition in this exploration into the lives of the Brontë sisters....

Review: YOUR LIE IN APRIL – THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
by Cindy Marcolina - April 09, 2024

If Your Lie in April follows the same patterns as Death Note, it won’t be the last time we hear of this iteration. It would be absolutely wonderful to see both of them completely realised as full production at last. The demand is there and the West End should take note....

Review: BARE: A POP OPERA, London Palladium
by Cindy Marcolina - April 08, 2024

One-off staged concerts are all the rage these days. A way for producers to attract established stars that will fill a room and the chance to test the waters for potential longer runs are only a few benefits. Realistically, they’re also cheaper, relatively risk-free, and easier to mount than a full-...

Review: CARMEN, Royal Opera House
by Gary Naylor - April 06, 2024

An old favourite brings the passion and the pain with beautiful singing and convincing acting...

Review: GUNTER, Royal Court Theatre
by Katie Kirkpatrick - April 06, 2024

Gunter is a messy play. Literally. There’s sand, dirt, blood, confetti, and ink all over the actors and the floor. Fringe company Dirty Hare throw absolutely everything at their canvas, in a piece that includes music to projections to microphones, shadow puppetry, and masks. In this rare gem of a sh...

Review: THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, Sadler's Wells
by Louise Penn - April 08, 2024

The Velveteen Rabbit is a story which needs little introduction, and which retains wide appeal. This retelling by Ben Crompton for balletLORENT pops with life as a man reacquaints himself with childhood toys, notably a beloved rabbit. Aimed at a family audience, this is a delightful way to while awa...

Review: CASSIE AND THE LIGHTS, Southwark Playhouse Borough
by Cindy Marcolina - April 06, 2024

Written and directed by Alex Howarth based on real conversations with kids in care, it’s a shot to the heart. Profoundly moving in its bittersweet playfulness and candid approach to the matter, the production is scrupulously crafted to come off as child’s play. It exquisitely translates the world as...

Review: KYLE DEAN MASSEY, Crazy Coqs
by Franco Milazzo - April 04, 2024

After two years away, Kyle Dean Massey steps back onto the cabaret stage at London’s Crazy Coqs....

Review: HORNE'S DESCENT, Old Red Lion Theatre
by Cindy Marcolina - April 05, 2024

Horne’s Descent features a compact take on religious philosophy and slender social politics, adding a dash of good-natured occult to the mix. It refuses to spell out its contents for the audience, trusting them to connect the dots and draw their own conclusions in an exercise of mental flexibility....

Review: THE 39 STEPS, Richmond Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - April 05, 2024

Mix a classic spy novel with the genius of Alfred Hitchcock, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps. With a history spanning over 100 years, John Buchan’s 1915 novel was adapted by Alfred Hitchcock which then went on to become a stage play in 1996, adapted again in 2005 by Patrick Barl...

Review: INSULT TO INJURY, Lion & Unicorn Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - April 05, 2024

Written by Kieran Dee and Grace Millie, who also star as Ellis and Kat respectively, and directed by Harriet Marsh, Insult to Injury tells the story of two content moderators on a famous social media site and how they deal with “misinformation, technology, responsibility, power and eating other peop...

Review: LIFE WITH OSCAR, Arcola Theatre
by Matthew Paluch - April 04, 2024

Life With Oscar is an autobiographical monologue written, and performed by Nicholas Cohen that takes the audience on a trip to the darker side of La La Land....