A tangle of nonsense from the sloppy Caryl Churchill: A Number, at the Old Vic, reviewed
A Number, by Caryl Churchill, is a sci-fi drama of impenetrable complexity. It’s set in a future society where cloning…
PMQs: Boris looks chipper for a man on the brink
And still they try. MPs are desperate to get the Prime Minister to quit, live on TV, during PMQs. As…
Is this the worst production of all time? Royal Court's The Glow reviewed
It’s getting silly now. London’s subsidised theatres aren’t just competing to put on the worst play of the year but…
Starmer knows that Boris is safe – for now
Calm returned to the bridge. Big Dog looked comfortable in the chamber as Sir Keir Starmer quizzed him at PMQs.…
Borderline soft porn but thrilling: Moulin Rouge! The Musical at Piccadilly Theatre reviewed
Moulin Rouge wins no marks for its storyline. A struggling Parisian theatre is bought out by an evil financier who…
Suchet makes Poirot sound like craft beer: Poirot and More, at Harold Pinter Theatre, reviewed
Producers are getting jittery again. Large-scale shows look risky when a single infection can postpone an entire show. Hence Poirot…
PMQs: Pantomime Starmer wasted his chance
Does Boris lie? Well, yes, of course, he’s a politician. That’s the standard response to the honesty question. And in…
One of the best nights of my life: Hampstead Theatre's Peggy For You reviewed
Hampstead Theatre has revived a play about Peggy Ramsay, the legendary West End agent who shaped the careers of Joe…
Why Boris might still survive
Haunted. Ashen. Defeated. That’s how the PM looked in parliament this afternoon as he faced the flamethrowers of the opposition.…
His thuggish materials
Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust has been adapted at the Bridge. The yarn is set in Oxford, and the…
Jacinda Ardern to Alastair Campbell: My 2021 'naughty list'
Merry Christmas – but not for those who have earned a place on my naughty list. From Jacinda Ardern to…
Clive Rowe is astonishing: Hackney Empire's Jack and the Beanstalk reviewed
Jack and the Beanstalk is a big, sprawling family show that opens with a baffling gesture. A booming voiceover announces…
What happens to Afghan migrants when they reach the UK?
What happens to Afghan migrants when they reach the UK?
Unbowed Boris has put his Tory rivals in their places
Boris was resurgent at PMQs today. He sprinkled scorn, merriment and mischief in all directions. He even boasted that last…
An amazing technical achievement: Life of Pi at Wyndham's Theatre reviewed
Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi is a complicated organism. The action starts in southern India where we meet a…
PMQs: Boris's nadir
The bombshell at bay. That’s how Boris looked at today’s PMQs. Deflated, cornered, winded and lifeless. Gone were the chuckles…
The National has become the graveyard of talent: Manor, at the Lyttelton, reviewed
Somewhere in the wilds of England a stately home is collapsing. Rising floodwaters threaten the foundations. Storms break over the…
Donald Trump understands how Prince Harry’s mind works
Last night Nigel Farage delivered the shortest hour-long interview in TV history. GB News had cleared 60 minutes of the…
Guilt-free hilarity: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Charing Cross Theatre reviewed
World-class sex bomb Janie Dee stars in a fabulously silly revival of the American comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha…
The forgotten story of the pioneering surgeon who healed disfigured airmen
Lloyd Evans on a musical that tells the story of the pioneering maverick whose methods for treating disfigured second world war airmen revolutionised plastic surgery
A gem that should be released online: Park Theatre’s Abigail’s Party reviewed
Mike Leigh’s classic, Abigail’s Party, has been revived under the direction of Vivienne Garnett. The script is a guilty secret…
An affectionate exercise in comic sabotage: Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) reviewed
Let’s be honest. Jane Austen is popular because War and Peace doesn’t fit inside a handbag. Austen’s best-loved novel, Pride…
Pub theatres are a British institution
Why pub theatres are thriving
Like Alan Bennett but less funny: 'night, Mother at Hampstead Theatre reviewed
’night, Mother is a two-hander that opens like a comedy sketch. ‘I’m going to kill myself, Mama,’ says Jessie. She’s…
Every MP must see this play: Value Engineering – Scenes from the Grenfell Inquiry reviewed
Scenes from the Grenfell Inquiry is a gripping, horrifying drama. Nicolas Kent and Richard Norton-Taylor have sifted through the public…
