Theatre

Delightful nostalgia for political wonks: The Gang of Three, at the King’s Head Theatre, reviewed

10 May 2025 9:00 am

The Gang of Three gets into the nitty-gritty of Labour politics in the 1970s. It opens with the resignation of…

How tech ruined theatre

10 May 2025 9:00 am

Poor John Dennis. In 1709, the playwright devised a novel technology to simulate thunder to accompany his drama Appius and…

Pure gold: My Master Builder, at Wyndham’s Theatre, reviewed

3 May 2025 9:00 am

My Master Builder is a new version of Ibsen’s classic with a tweaked title and a transformed storyline. Henry and…

The case for replacing nurses with robots

26 April 2025 9:00 am

Tending is a work of activism on behalf of the NHS. The script brings together the testimony of 70 nurses…

Those behind this fabulous new comedy are destined for big things

19 April 2025 9:00 am

Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco is a period piece from 1959. It opens with the invasion of a French village by…

A horribly intriguing dramatic portrait of Raoul Moat

12 April 2025 9:00 am

Robert Icke’s new play examines one of the least appetising characters in British criminal history. Raoul Moat went on a…

Visit the King’s Head Theatre for one of the greatest theatrical surprises of the year

5 April 2025 9:00 am

Amanda Abbington’s new show is heavily indebted to Noël Coward’s Hay Fever.Coward’s early play follows the tribulations of the superficial…

I wish someone would kill or eat useless Totoro

29 March 2025 9:00 am

My Neighbour Totoro is a hugely successful show based on a Japanese movie made in 1988. The setting is a…

Irresistible: Clueless, at the Trafalgar Theatre, reviewed

22 March 2025 9:00 am

Cher Horowitz, the central character in Clueless, is one of the most irritating heroines in the history of movies. She’s…

A treat for nostalgic wrinklies: Punk Off!, at the Dominion Theatre, reviewed

15 March 2025 9:00 am

Punk rock, packaged, parcelled, and boxed up as a treat for nostalgic wrinklies. That’s the deal with Punk Off!, a…

Brian Cox’s Bach has to be heading for Broadway

8 March 2025 9:00 am

The Score is a fine example of meat-and-potatoes theatre. Simple plotting, big characters, terrific speeches and a happy ending. The…

Shakespeare as cruise-ship entertainment: Jamie Lloyd’s Much Ado About Nothing reviewed

1 March 2025 9:00 am

Nicholas Hytner’s Richard II is a high-calibre version of a fascinating story. A king reluctantly yields his crown to a…

Tedious and threadbare: Unicorn, at the Garrick Theatre, reviewed

22 February 2025 9:00 am

Unicorn, Mike Bartlett’s new play, involves some characters in chairs discussing a sexual threesome. That’s the entire show. Polly (Nicola…

If you have two hours to spare, spend it anywhere but here: The Years reviewed

15 February 2025 9:00 am

The Years is a monologue spoken by a handful of actresses, some young, some old enough to carry bus passes.…

Stylish facsimile of Carol Reed’s film: Oliver!, at the Gielgud Theatre, reviewed

8 February 2025 9:00 am

Oliver! directed by Matthew Bourne is billed as a ‘fully reconceived’ version of Lionel Bart’s musical. Very little seems to…

An excellent sixth-form drama project: Santi & Naz, at Soho Theatre, reviewed

1 February 2025 9:00 am

Santi & Naz is a drama set in the Punjab in 1947 that uses an ancient and thrilling storyline about…

Pious bilge: Kyoto, at @sohoplace, reviewed

25 January 2025 9:00 am

The West End’s new political show, Kyoto, can’t be classed as a drama. A drama involves a main character engaged…

Cheerless and fussy: The Tempest, at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, reviewed

18 January 2025 9:00 am

The Tempest is Shakespeare’s farewell, his final masterpiece or, if you’re being cynical, the play that made him jack it…

Exquisite: Tom Stoppard’s The Invention of Love, at Hampstead Theatre, reviewed

11 January 2025 9:00 am

The Invention of Love opens with death. Tom Stoppard’s play about A.E. Housman starts on the banks of the Styx,…

Brutal and brilliant portrait of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford

4 January 2025 9:00 am

The Last Days of Liz Truss? is a one-woman show about the brief interregnum between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.…

A miracle at the RSC: genuinely funny Shakespeare

4 January 2025 9:00 am

Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale? Most subsidised theatres hanker for…

Sumptuous but musically unmemorable: Elton John’s The Devil Wears Prada musical reviewed

14 December 2024 9:00 am

The Devil Wears Prada is a fairy tale about an aspiring female novelist, Andy, who receives a job offer from…

This Muslim playwright believes Yorkshire is headed for civil war

7 December 2024 9:00 am

Expendable, at the Royal Court, is an urgent bulletin from the front line of the grooming gang scandal in the…

Wonderful comedy of manners: Kiln Theatre’s The Purists reviewed

30 November 2024 9:00 am

A slice of the ghetto arrives at the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn. The Purists is set on the stoop of…

Heart-warming but safe biographical drama: Going for Gold, at Park90, reviewed

23 November 2024 9:00 am

Going for Gold is a biographical drama about a forgotten star of the 1970s. Frankie Lucas was a middleweight boxing…