Is Liz Truss a real grown-up?
Tough call today for Liz Truss. She had to relaunch her premiership at her very first conference as leader. She…
Worthy of Wilde: Eureka Day, at the Old Vic, reviewed
Eureka Day is a topical satire set in a woke school in America. An outbreak of mumps has led to…
A masterpiece: P Word, at Park Theatre, reviewed
Look at this line. ‘I’m 80 years old. I find that unforgivable.’ Could an actor get a laugh on ‘unforgivable’?…
A tremendous show that will attract serious attention from the West End: Rehab – The Musical reviewed
Rehab: The Musical opens with a boyband star, Kid Pop, getting busted for possession of cocaine. The judge sentences him…
For the state funeral mourners, the endurance is part of the ritual
The queue snakes for miles along the South Bank. Thousands of ordinary people are giving up hours of their time…
Why is the BBC using Paddington to remember Her Majesty?
Here comes Paddington – again. Earlier this year, to celebrate her platinum jubilee, the Queen agreed to be filmed taking…
Rhapsodic banalities: I, Joan, at the Globe, reviewed
‘Trans people are sacred. We are divine.’ The first line of I, Joan at the Globe establishes the tone of…
Our prison culture is more barbaric than it was in 1823: Elizabeth Fry ‘The Angel of Prisons’ reviewed
The Angel of Prisons dramatises the life of the penal reformer Elizabeth Fry, who lived near Canning Town. She married…
The show works a treat: Globe's The Tempest reviewed
Southwark Playhouse has a reputation for small musicals with big ambitions. Tasting Notes is set in a wine bar run…
A four-way race between poet, actor, video artist and sound engineer: Edinburgh Festival's Burn reviewed
In a new hour-long monologue, Burn, Alan Cumming examines the life and work of Robert Burns. The biographical material is…
The Dane gets an interpretive dance makeover: Ian McKellan's Hamlet reviewed
Ian McKellen’s Hamlet is the highlight of Edinburgh’s opening week. In this experimental ballet, Sir Ian speaks roughly 5 per…
I can't recommend this Cole Porter musical highly enough: Anything Goes, at the Barbican, reviewed
The Barbican’s big summer show is billed on the website as ‘the sold-out musical sensation, Anything Goes’. The term ‘sold-out’…
Stupendously good: Much Ado About Nothing, at the Lyttelton Theatre, reviewed
Simon Godwin’s Much Ado About Nothing is set in a steamy Italian holiday resort, the Hotel Messina, in the 1920s.…
An entertaining display, clearly destined for Netflix: Patriots, at Almeida Theatre, reviewed
Patriots, by Peter Morgan, is a drama documentary about recent Russian history. And though it’s a topical show it’s not…
The unedifying spectacle of Boris’s last PMQs
Today Boris gave his last performance at Prime Minister’s Questions. But was it his last? He left the House hanging…
The real winner from last night’s debate
Last night Channel 4 held a 90-minute live event starring Rishi, Liz, Tom, Penny and Kemi. Not a manufactured pop-band…
Hytner hits the bull's eye: The Southbury Child, at the Bridge Theatre, reviewed
The Southbury Child is a comedy drama set in east Devon featuring a distressed vicar, Fr David, with a complex…
Boris is finally free
A curious atmosphere in the Commons today. Relaxed. Jovial. Almost like a party. There was a bit of aggro at…
Bleak, vapid and banal: why are the Tory leadership videos so awful?
The Tory candidates have released a set of videos presenting their claim to become Britain’s next prime minister. Frontrunner Rishi…
Right play, wrong place: The Fellowship, at Hampstead Theatre, reviewed
Roy Williams’s new play is a wonky beast. It has two dense and cumbersome storylines that aren’t properly developed. Dawn…
Boris skewered – for one last time?
A brutal encounter at the Liaison Committee this afternoon. Boris was grilled for two hours by a gang of aggressive…
PMQs was a blue-on-blue bloodbath
Knife crime beset PMQs. It was a horrific blue-on-blue bloodbath as Tory backstabbers queued up to play the role of Brutus…
If you see this show you’ll want to see it again – directed properly: The Glass Menagerie, at the Duke of York's Theatre, reviewed
The Glass Menagerie directed by Jeremy Herrin is a bit of an eyeball-scrambler. The action takes place on a huge…
Tony Blair is too good for British politics
Tony Blair was the headline act at his day-long talking-shop in London yesterday. The crowds attending the Future of Britain…
Bloated waffle: Jitney at the Old Vic reviewed
The Old Vic’s new show, Jitney, has a mystifying YouTube advert which gives no information about the play or the…
