The NHS believes in fairness – they treat everyone with equal contempt
Edward Gibbon was troubled by a swelling in his lower abdomen. I have the same condition. ‘Wow. That’s huge,’ said…
A play that shows Iranian society is like our own
Under the Shadow is a timely drama set in Tehran in 1988 during the Iran-Iraq war. Saddam’s missiles are raining…
Michelle Terry is ferocious in Brecht’s simplistic tutorial
Bertolt Brecht’s classic, Mother Courage, is about a female war profiteer who drags a wagon of supplies through no man’s…
My new job at the Amazon packing factory
What will you do if it all goes wrong? I have a back-up plan. Working for Amazon. Its Luton warehouse…
Are we ready for the truth about Judy Garland?
End of the Rainbow feels like a prison drama set in London in 1969. Judy Garland is about to give…
Haphazard and bitty but Rosie Holt is superb: Churchill’s Urinal reviewed
When Rachel Reeves became Chancellor she found a lavatory in her private suite which had been used by Churchill in…
Why is this Tudor drama full of swearing?
1536, by Ava Pickett, is set in a wheatfield near Colchester during the final months of Anne Boleyn’s life. Three…
A Beatles show without the love
Please Please Me is a play about Brian Epstein whose brief and troubled life remains relatively unknown. Tom Wright’s linear…
Man vs lobster
She was doing a postgrad course in a town by the sea, and a strange thing happened to us one…
Students of theatrical history will adore David Hare’s Grace Pervades
Grace Pervades by David Hare is a drama-documentary about the life and theatrical work of the great Victorian thesp, Sir…
Why actors love to play lunatics
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, adapted from Ken Kesey’s book by Dale Wasserman, is exactly like the movie but…
Almeida’s new Doll’s House is all wrong
A Doll’s House has been reconstructed at the Almeida with a new script by Anya Reiss. Torvald Helmer is an…
My lesson in misery from an anti-AI march
Automation is about to take over the world, apparently. But the fightback has begun. On a cold, blowy day a…
The torture of Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen
Copenhagen by Michael Frayn is a problem play. It debuted at the National in 1998 and ran for two years…
The National Theatre needs help
In The Print is a docudrama about the bitter war between Rupert Murdoch and the unions in the mid-1980s. Murdoch…
Self Esteem is the star of this David Hare musical
Teeth ’ n’ Smiles is not quite a musical. David Hare’s 1975 play about rock’n’roll includes a handful of tunes…
Don’t miss it: Summerfolk, at the Olivier, reviewed
Dachniki meaning ‘dacha people’ is the Russian title of the National Theatre’s new production of Gorky’s sprawling 1905 drama. Nina…
Lazy: America is Beautiful, Chapter 1 reviewed
Neil LaBute is one of America’s most provocative and interesting playwrights. His best-known work, The Shape of Things, was made…
Do I have what it takes to be a magistrate?
I’m thinking of becoming a magistrate. Before applying, I was advised to attend a few sessions and find out how…
Cynthia Erivo’s Dracula is tiresome
Interest in Dracula seems to go on for ever. Kip Williams has chosen Cynthia Erivo to star in his new…
Fans of George Eliot are in for a shock: Bird Grove at Hampstead Theatre reviewed
Bird Grove by Alexi Kaye Campbell is a comedy of manners set in 1841. A portly suitor, Horace, arrives at…
The blandness of Hugh Bonneville
Shadowlands, by William Nicholson, is a solid and unsurprising account of the brief marriage between C.S. Lewis (known as Clive),…
Should I be a Jew, Muslim or Hindu?
Time is running out. We all have to meet our maker at some point, and although I’m fit as a…
Dazzling: I’m Sorry, Prime Minister at the Apollo Theatre reviewed
Jim Hacker is back in the West End. I’m Sorry, Prime Minister, written by Jonathan Lynn (who co-wrote the original…
No chemistry between the performers: Arcadia at the Old Vic reviewed
The Old Vic’s production of Arcadia by Tom Stoppard has a vital component missing. The house. Stoppard’s brilliant historical comedy…
