Theatre

A Shakespeare play at the Globe whose best features have nothing to do with Shakespeare

5 June 2021 9:00 am

Back to the Globe after more than a year. The theatre has zealously maintained its pre–Covid staffing levels. On press…

A brilliant, tense, ragged slice of drama: Waiting for Lefty reviewed

29 May 2021 9:00 am

A Russian Doll is a monologue about Putin’s campaign to swing the Brexit vote in his favour. It stars Rachel…

A last hurrah for the Zoom play

22 May 2021 9:00 am

Lockdown is about to end but some theatres are gripped by cabin fever and want to explore the two new…

Clever, funny and fearless: Good Girl at Soho Theatre online reviewed

15 May 2021 9:00 am

A new work by Alan Bennett features in Still Life, a medley of five ‘untold stories’ from Nottingham Playhouse. The…

Do theatres actually read scripts before agreeing to stage them?

8 May 2021 9:00 am

Money is a new internet play about financial corruption starring Mel Giedroyc. She appears on-screen for less time than it…

Xenophobic twaddle: Bush Theatre's 2036 reviewed

1 May 2021 9:00 am

The Bush Theatre’s new strand, 2036, opens with a monologue, Pawn, which takes its name from the most downtrodden piece…

Why do theatres think audiences want Covid-related drama?

24 April 2021 9:00 am

Hats off to the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. They’ve discovered a new form of racism. Some people say we…

This comedy duo should be on Netflix: General Secretary reviewed

17 April 2021 9:00 am

General Secretary is a new drama with a dull title and an off-putting poster. A pair of angry women in…

A fantastic online show of Euripides's take on Helen of Troy

10 April 2021 9:00 am

Everyone knows Helen of Troy. The feckless sex popsicle betrayed her husband, Menelaus, and ran off with the dashing Paris,…

If you want a play that brings girls into science, commission a man: Jina and the STEM Sisters reviewed

3 April 2021 9:00 am

Jina and the STEM Sisters is a blatant act of propaganda. And its intentions are excellent. This is a musical…

Promising material squandered: BKLYN – The Musical reviewed

27 March 2021 9:00 am

BKLYN — The Musical gives itself a headache for no reason. What does ‘BKLYN’ mean? Perhaps it’s a random jumble…

There's the kernel of a good show in this copycat Hamilton: Treason the Musical reviewed

20 March 2021 9:00 am

Copycat Hamiltons are everywhere. Lin-Manuel Miranda led the way by turning an unexamined corner of history into a smash-hit show.…

Grotesquely plodding: Late Night Staring At High Res Pixels reviewed

13 March 2021 9:00 am

The Finborough’s new show is a love story with the male partner absent. Two women, one Irish and one American,…

Unhappy blend of melodrama and allegory: Southwark Playhouse’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice reviewed

6 March 2021 9:00 am

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a musical fantasy set in a Nordic town near the Arctic circle. Johan is a magician…

Even Adrian Lester's sweetness, grace and nobility can't rescue Almeida's Hymn

27 February 2021 9:00 am

The Almeida is fighting back against lockdown with a sprawling family drama about two long-lost siblings. Adrian Lester plays Gilbert…

This fabulous play is like a Chekhov classic: The One Day in the Year reviewed

20 February 2021 9:00 am

The One Day In the Year is an Australian drama about the annual commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign in 1915.…

Perfect to fall asleep to: Good Grief reviewed

13 February 2021 9:00 am

Good Grief is a new drama starring Sian Clifford who shot to fame as the older sister in Fleabag. The…

Netflix should turn this into a series: Southwark Playhouse’s Fabulist Fox Sister reviewed

6 February 2021 9:00 am

The Fabulist Fox Sister is a one-man show about the three American women who are credited with inventing the trade…

How Facebook became a freedom-gobbling corporate monster

30 January 2021 9:00 am

Southwark Playhouse is beating the latest lockdown with a zingy new musical about social media. The performers, Francesca Forristal and…

Actors will be in trouble if the Bridge Theatre's latest experiment catches on

23 January 2021 9:00 am

Flight has been hailed as a new form of dramatic presentation — prefab theatre. It’s great to look at. A…

Stick it on the BBC: Love Letters at Theatre Royal Haymarket reviewed

9 January 2021 9:00 am

Love Letters by A.R. Gurney began life as an epistolary novella about two childhood friends, Andy and Melissa, whose on-off…

Deserves to be a permanent winter fixture: Potted Panto at the Garrick reviewed

19 December 2020 9:00 am

Potted Panto is a 70-minute parody presented by two burlesque comedians. Jeff is a tall, playful bungler and his colleague,…

Like eating 58 luxury chocolates: The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk reviewed

12 December 2020 9:00 am

The Flying Lovers of Vitebskbegins with a phone conversation between a pretentious art critic and a man called Marc. This…

Absorbing and beautifully designed: Jane Eyre reviewed

5 December 2020 9:00 am

Blackeyed Theatre is another victim of the virus. Its production of Jane Eyrewas midway through a UK tour, and due…

Skilful and riveting: Poltergeist at the Southwark Playhouse reviewed

28 November 2020 9:00 am

Sasha is angry. He’s a gay artist on his way to his niece’s birthday party and he keeps popping codeine…