West end
How the British musical conquered the world
A new musical history is being written for Britain, says Nicola Christie
The history of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is the theatrical history of England
The newly renovated Theatre Royal Drury Lane has seen it all and staged it all, says Robert Gore-Langton
How real is the performing arts exodus?
Richard Bratby on the post-Covid exodus of talent from the performing arts
Theatres can now reopen – but they will resemble prison camps
Auditoriums can now reopen — but they will resemble prison camps, says Lloyd Evans
A hoot from start to finish: The Man in the White Suit reviewed
The Man in the White Suit, famously, is a yarn about yarn. A brilliant young boffin stumbles across an everlasting…
Slow-moving tale with a strong echo of Brideshead: Alys, Always at the Bridge reviewed
Nicholas Hytner’s new show, Alys, Always, is based on a Harriet Lane novel that carries a strong echo of Brideshead.…
Intelligent, unfussy, literate – the West End needs more plays like this: Switzerland reviewed
I know nothing about Patricia Highsmith. The acclaimed American author wrote the kind of Sunday-night crime thrillers that put me…
Flouncy, tasteless and unsubtle – I loved it: Ruthless! The Musical reviewed
Ruthless! The Musical is a camp extravaganza about ambitious actors stranded in small-town America. Sylvia St Croix, a pushy agent,…
Rarely has the West End seen such a draining and nasty experience: The Exorcist reviewed
The Exorcist opened in 1973 accompanied by much hoo-ha in the press. Scenes of panic, nausea and fainting were recorded…
A literary lap dance: Doctor Faustus reviewed
Great excitement for play-goers as a rare version of a theological masterpiece arrives in the West End. Doctor Faustus stars…
Life-enhancing achievement: ENO's Magic Flute reviewed
Centre stage, there’s an industrial-looking black platform, secured by cables. The Three Ladies snap the unconscious Tamino on a mobile…
Smith & Wollensky doesn’t even serve the best steaks in Covent Garden
Smith & Wollensky is a restaurant from The Shining: a terrifying American steak joint by the Thames, four months old,…
The Heckler: the disingenuous custom of the ‘press night’ should be scrapped
Sam Mendes once said there is no such thing as the history of British theatre, only the history of British…
‘I’m about to lose a lot of money’: our theatre critic prepares for his Edinburgh Fringe debut
Our theatre critic, Lloyd Evans, makes his Edinburgh debut
Fine production of a painful play: Death of a Salesman at the Noel Coward reviewed
Here come the Yanks. As the summer jumbos disgorge their cargoes of wealthy, courteous, culture-hungry Americans, the West End prepares…
Is London's West End Jewish enough for David Baddiel’s musical The Infidel?
David Baddiel has turned his movie, The Infidel, into a musical. The set-up is so contrived and clumsy that it…
If you have teenage boys who loathe the very idea of theatre, send them to The Play That Goes Wrong
It’s taken a while but here it is. The Play That Goes Wrong is like Noises Off, but simpler. Michael…
Indiscretions from two veteran producers
Robert Gore-Langton talks to Duncan Weeldon and Paul Elliott about the good old days – and getting shafted
Tim Rice’s diary: From Eternity to here
Last October, in these very pages, I wrote with what is now annoying prescience, ‘Like almost everyone else in the…
