Theatre
A massive, joyous, sensational hit: Why Am I So Single? reviewed
Why Am I So Single? opens with two actors on stage impersonating the play’s writers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss.…
The rise of soapy, dead-safe drama: The Band Back Together reviewed
The Band Back Together is a newish play, written and directed by Barney Norris, which succeeds wildly on its own…
Letters: A cautionary lesson for England’s schools
Lessons to learn Sir: Your leading article ‘Requires improvement’ (7 September) rightly raised concerns that a curriculum review in England…
What’s gone wrong at the National Theatre?
Now we have a Labour government, it would be nice to feel repertory will return to the National Theatre. It…
Dazzling: Stoppard’s The Real Thing, at the Old Vic, reviewed
The Real Thing at the Old Vic is a puzzling beast. And well worth seeing. Director Max Webster sets the…
The unstoppable rise of stage amplification
Recent acquisition of some insanely expensive hearing aids aimed at helping me out in cacophonous restaurants has set me thinking…
Artistically embarrassing but a hit: Shifters, at Duke of York’s Theatre, reviewed
Shifters has transferred to the West End from the Bush Theatre. It opens at a granny’s funeral attended by the…
The cast mistake screaming for comedy: Cockfosters, at Turbine Theatre, reviewed
The Turbine Theatre is a newish venue beneath the railway arches of Grosvenor Bridge in Battersea. The comfy auditorium is…
This Edinburgh Fringe comedian is headed for stardom
Dr Phil Hammond is a hilarious and wildly successful comedian whose career is built on the ruins of the NHS.…
Edinburgh has turned into a therapy session
Therapy seems to be the defining theme of this year’s Edinburgh festival. Many performers are saddled with personal demons or…
Reinforces the caricatures it sets out to diminish: Slave Play, at the Noël Coward Theatre, reviewed
Slave Play is a series of hoaxes. The producers announced that ‘Black Out’ performances would be reserved for ‘black-identifying’ playgoers…
Why Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believed in fairies
Sherlock Holmes fans will be delighted to know that there is a new play featuring the great man. In it…
Shapeless and facile: The Hot Wing King, at the Dorfman Theatre, reviewed
Our subsidised theatres often import shows from the US without asking whether our theatrical tastes align with America’s. The latest…
Vapid and pretentious: Visit From An Unknown Woman, at Hampstead Theatre, reviewed
Visit From An Unknown Woman, adapted by Christopher Hampton from a short story by Stefan Zweig, opens like an episode…
Unmissable – for professors of gender studies: Alma Mater, at the Almeida Theatre, reviewed
Alma Mater is a topical melodrama set on a university campus. The new principal, Jo, (amusingly played by Justine Mitchell)…
Morally repugnant: Boys From the Blackstuff, at the Garrick Theatre, reviewed
Yosser Hughes is regarded as a national treasure. He first appeared in 1982 in Alan Bleasdale’s TV drama, Boys from…
‘Punishingly dull – but the crowd loved it’: Next to Normal, at Wyndham’s Theatre, reviewed
The Constituent is a larky show about violence against female politicians. A strange subject for a comedy. Anna Maxwell Martin…
Riveting and exhilarating: Miss Julie, at Park90, reviewed
Some Demon by Laura Waldren is a gem of a play that examines the techniques of manipulation and bullying practised…
Hard to get to grips with: Marie Curie: The Musical reviewed
Marie Curie: The Musical is a history lesson combined with a chemistry seminar and it’s aimed at indignant feminists who…
An exclusive look at Graham Linehan’s Father Ted musical
The tree-lined streets of Rotherhithe are an odd place to unveil a West End musical. But this is a suitably…
Amazingly sloppy: Romeo & Juliet, at Duke of York’s Theatre, reviewed
Romeo & Juliet is Shakespeare with power cuts. The lighting in Jamie Lloyd’s cheerless production keeps shutting down, perhaps deliberately.…
Headed for the canon: Withnail and I, at the Birmingham Rep, reviewed
After nearly 40 years, Withnail has arrived on stage. Sean Foley directs Bruce Robinson’s adaptation, which starts with a live…
Fawlty Towers – The Play is the best museum piece you’ll ever see
Fawlty Towers at the Apollo may be the best museum piece you’ll ever see. A full-length play has been carved…
Minority Report is superficial pap – why on earth stage it?
Minority Report is a plodding bit of sci-fi based on a Steven Spielberg movie made more than two decades ago.…
Cheesy remake of Our Mutual Friend: London Tide, at the Lyttelton Theatre, reviewed
Our Mutual Friend has been turned into a musical with a new title, London Tide, which sounds duller and more…
