& Juliet the Musical review
It’s been quite a year for feminist historical theatre, with SIX reigning at the Arts Theatre and Emilia opening at the Vaudeville. Now, pop meets Shakespeare as & Juliet struts its way to the Shaftesbury Theatre, fusing super-producer Max Martin’s chart toppers with star-crossed lovers in...
DEAR EVAN HANSEN review
Anxiety. Suicide. Abandoned children. Dear Evan Hansen packs in as many bleak subjects as in can in two hours, and even though at times it feels like emotional manipulation on the audience, it’s easy to see why this musical for the social media age has been such a hit on Broadway since it opened...
Measure for Measure review
Gregory Doran’s production of Measure for Measure is set in Vienna in the early twentieth century. The choice works well for a play all about hypocrisy, with the city’s vices thinly hidden behind its outward show of respectability and grandness. After the Duke’s decision to hand over power...
Mary Poppins review
As the winter nights draw in and the grim spectre of general election politicking looms large over the daily headlines, the time could hardly be better for some escapist fun. And it really couldn’t come in any finer form than the return of Mary Poppins to the West End, to the Prince Edward...
The Taming of the Shrew review
Shakespeare’s notoriously problematic comedy The Taming of the Shrew has inspired debate for centuries thanks to its tale of a man gaslighting his headstrong bride into submission. Now director Justin Audibert brings a new spin to the archetypical “battle of the sexes”, as Elizabethan England...
Death of a Salesman review
Like death and taxes, Arthur Miller’s stinging deconstruction of the American dream is a certainty. Certain to keep coming back to any major city with a theatre. It’s an evergreen classic of 20th-century drama that is so well-known, so quotable, that it can often come across as somewhat tired...
As You Like It review
The relationship between the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Barbican goes back a long way, so it is good to see it thrive with the arrival of their three summer Stratford productions in London, performed in rep by a diverse company of 27. First up is Kimberley Sykes’ effusive take on As You...
Lungs review
It’s the Queen and Prince Philip, but not as we know them... As we await the third series of The Crown with Olivia Colman now taking the throne, a wonderful opportunity to see its outgoing stars Claire Foy (W) and Matt Smith (M) now presents itself at the Old Vic Theatre in Duncan Macmillan’s...
The Girl Who Fell review
Sarah Rutherford's new production starts with teenage twins Lenny and Billie teasing one another - him carrying his sax, her rolling around on her wheelie shoes. Although jokey in tone, their discussion soon turns to death - the theme that drives The Girl Who Fell's plot. Sam's suicide, seemingly...
Ghost Stories review
It’s close to Halloween, and Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s Ghost Stories is scaring audiences all over again at the Ambassadors Theatre in time for the spooky season. The creepy show first played to tense audiences almost ten years ago, and since then has toured the world and has also been...
