Theatre
Like an episode of Play School: Dr Semmelweis, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, reviewed
Bleach and germs are the central themes of Dr Semmelweis, written by Mark Rylance and Stephen Brown. The opening scene,…
Two very long hours: The Effect, at the Lyttelton Theatre, reviewed
Lucy Prebble belongs to the posse of scribblers responsible for the HBO hit, Succession. Perhaps in honour of this distinction,…
London theatre needs Kevin Spacey
Lee Anderson, deputy chairman of the Conservative party, popped a few monocles by saying asylum seekers reluctant to stay on…
Trump, Diogenes, the Mitfords and Malaysian comedy: Edinburgh Fringe round-up
The Mitfords is a superb one-woman show by Emma Wilkinson Wright who focuses her attention on Unity, Diana and Jessica.…
A tragicomic lecture about Gold at Edinburgh Festival
A chilly August in Edinburgh. Colder than it’s been for 20 years and the city looks scruffier than ever. Locked…
Finally an entertaining play at the Royal Court: Cuckoo reviewed
The boss of the Royal Court, Vicky Featherstone, will soon step down and she’s using her final spell in charge…
Forgettable stuff: The Crown Jewels, at the Garrick, reviewed
In the 1990s, the BBC had a popular flat-share comedy, Men Behaving Badly, about a pair of giggling bachelors who…
Why the Chester Mystery Plays are more popular than ever
The Chester Mystery Plays date back to the 13th century – but are more popular now than ever, finds Richard Bratby
Hamlet fans will love this: Re-Member Me, at Hampstead Theatre, reviewed
A puzzle at Hampstead Theatre. Literally, a brain teaser. Its new production, Re-member Me, is a one-man show written and…
Much better than the film: Mrs Doubtfire, at Shaftesbury Theatre, reviewed
Mrs Doubtfire is a social comedy about divorce. We meet Miranda, a talentless, bitter mother, who tires of her caring…
Sad, blinkered and incoherent: Arcola’s The Misandrist reviewed
A new play, The Misandrist, looks at modern dating habits. Rachel is a smart, self-confident woman whose partner is a…
Riveting and sumptuous: The Motive and the Cue, at the Lyttelton Theatre, reviewed
The Motive and the Cue breaches the inviolable sanctity of the rehearsal room. The play, set in New York in…
The secret truth about Dom: The Play
‘Who wrote it?’ asks the Times, of Dom: The Play. I’ll let you in on a secret: it was me.…
Kids will enjoy this new show at the West End's newest theatre more than adults: Marvellous, @sohoplace, reviewed
London has a brand-new theatre – yet again. Last summer, a cabaret venue opened in the Haymarket for the first…
Artistic achievements that changed the world
‘Astonish me!’ was the celebrated demand that the impresario Sergei Diaghilev made of Jean Cocteau when he was devising Erik…
This production needs more dosh: Good, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, reviewed
Good, starring David Tennant, needs more dosh spent on it. The former Doctor Who plays John, a literary academic living…
Mirthless, artless farrago of jabber: The Doctor, at Duke of York's, reviewed
The Doctor is an acclaimed drama from the pen of writer-director Robert Icke. We’re in a hospital run by a…
How politics killed theatre
Zoe Strimpel on how identity politics is killing theatre
A show for politicians: John Gabriel Borkman, at the Bridge Theatre, reviewed
Clunk, clunk, clunk. John Gabriel Borkman opens with the obsessive footfalls of a disgraced banker as he prowls the attic…
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…
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…
