Review: Óran
A powerful immersive reworking of the descent of Orpheus into the underworld for the digital age
Genre: Theatre 0
Review: Because We Said We Would
A tender and touching exploration of a relationship that spans decades.
Review: Duty
A fresh and urgent play, Duty should tour as a salutary reminder of how war impacts community, divides war-influenced majority from the few who see through war.
Review: Kindling
Sarah Rickman and Ciara Pouncett have assembled a superb team. They need to revisit the script once or twice more and they’ll have a winner.
Review: We Are the Lions, Mr Manager
At a time of racialised targeting – a distraction technique born of the very forces Jayaben Desai fought – Grunwick speaks with startling relevance.
Review: This Little Earth
Jessica Norman is going to be a force. Watch out for her and see a powerful dramatic imagination at least hatch here.
Review: Wyld Woman: The Legend of Shy Girl
For Isabel Renner’s witty one-liners, production values and above all her own performance, this show ends up highly recommended.
Review: The Unbelievers
The Unbelievers confirms the Royal Court’s new phase can again splice the traditionally-crafted with the exploratory. A must-see.
Review: Mr Jones
Once you’ve seen Mr Jones, it will never leave you. Not just history, but the poignancy that shivers across survivors and leaves them buried, ceaselessly pulling them to the past.
Review: The Line of Beauty
Not the most theatrical story, it’s a heady narrative. A dance to the music of a time that marred us, this still compels
Review: Women Only, Albert’s Bridge
Albert’s Bridge is a Stoppard rarity you’re unlikely to see again. And Women Only seems swiftly established as a tiny, semi-precious comic gem.
Review: The Talented Mr. Ripley
A must-see. Minor caveats aside it’s as absorbing as some productions recently have plodded. This isn’t just any Ripley….
Review: Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts
For Morse fans, this is still a low-yield vintage that can mature
Review: Common Tongue
This is a funny, warm, and energetic play about home, ultimately - and the seemingly perpetually impossible subject of speaking Scots
Review: Blue/Orange
Absorbing revival – and rethinking - of this still relevant 2000 play about abusing the already-abused in the name of psychiatry.
Review: 2:22 A Ghost Story
Sharp, satisfying in itself, above all hauntingly intelligent in its questions.
Review: Hamlet
Kate Waters ensures the fight scene’s a suitable climax to Robert Hastie’s fleet production.
Review: Mistero Buffo
A thoroughly worthwhile revival, it still kicks and thrills in equal measure. Highly recommended.
Review: The Lightning Thief
There’s talents you’ll want to see and hear. And a stunning set whose production values spring surprises for the audience too. Highly recommended.
Review: Inter Alia
After 15 years away from the stage, Pike returns in a blaze of morals versus the law. Her triumph though is unequivocal.
Review: Keep Your Sunny Side Up
In nearly every way exceptional. Hampshire is consummate and sets off Rouselle as worthy to inhabit Fields.
Review: Who Do They Think They Are?
A finely-written show, with tensions wrought individually to a satisfying whole.
Review: The Needle Room
An intriguing and beguiling look at the past which is eerily reminiscent of our present.
Review: A. A. Milne The Truth About Blayds
A classic revival of a minor classic. Pacily directed and with a consummate cast, this production couldn’t be bettered
Review: David Lan The Land of the Living
The most moving and theatrically gripping new play I’ve seen for a long time, it’s also the most layered and completely realised. A world that invites ours to ask where on earth we come from.
Review: Cow/Deer
Emphatically theatre worth doing, worth attending, worth fighting to clarify and worth being changed for.
Review: Hamlet
An outstandingly thought-through Hamlet though, with more of the prince and play in it than I’ve seen. And Giles Terera’s is with the best of recent decades.
Review: Miller The Crucible
It’s almost sold out. If there’s a cancellation on any night, you must see this.
Review: Benny Ainsworth Vermin
The most riveting two-hander you’ll see this year; it’s not for the faint-hearted. Writing, acting and burned-off minimal staging draw us into hell, and its epiphanies. Outstanding.
Review: Natasha Cottriall (God Save My) Northern Soul
Time will deepen the shadows and writer/actor Natasha Cottriall shows this in the very last moment
Review: Natasha Cotriall (God Save My) Northern Soul
Time will deepen the shadows and writer/actor Natasha Cotriall shows this in the very last moment.
Review: The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return
It’s hard not to love this exuberant 75-minute romp through Luton’s urban sprawl. It’s both exuberant and serious, warm and yet with a chill undercurrent of deprivation
Review: The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return
It’s hard not to love this exuberant 75-minute romp through Luton’s urban sprawl. It’s both exuberant and serious, warm and yet with a chill undercurrent of deprivation
Review: Deaf Republic
Its claustrophobia overwhelms and moves, whilst leaving Dead Centre room for yet another slant on Ilya Kaminsky’s imaginary.
Review: Dear Adult
Beautifully impactful family-friendly theatre that melts even the heart of a cynic
Review: Death Comes to Pemberley
Stylishness in the fixtures, truth in the lower orders, some superb acting by the likes of Berger, Boyce, and Faulkner, as well as two couples with chemistry.
Review: …Earnest
In a field dominated by heavy topics, …Earnest provides an hour of escape, joy, and laughter.
Review: Suddenly Last Summer
Conor Baum and his company are carving out a record of distinction. We’re lucky it’s started in the south east. Outstanding.
Review: PSA: Pelvic Service Announcement
A fearless, funny, and refreshingly open solo show that turns pelvic floor taboos into comedy, music, and self-acceptance.
Review: Amazons
A heartfelt exploration of one woman's Brazilian heritage told through the lens of the region's history.
Review: A Paper Orchestra
A thoughtful, literary solo show that bridges prose and theatre, inviting audiences into stories and reflections on parenting, masculinity, and the need to be truly seen.
Review: Double Take
A mime show that, starting from a classical setup, reaches post-modern themes, daring to go outside the boundaries of classical miming.
Review: Do Astronauts Masturbate in Space?
A mature and hilarious dystopian fantasy that entertains and enrages in equal measure.
Review: Beggared in SA
With an unflinching eye and a stripped-back aesthetic, this is a taut gaze on South Africa’s social and political contradictions.
Review: The Drop of a Hat
An exceptional piece of Boy’s own drama that crinkles your stiff upper lip into wide grins.
Review: King
A high-octane solo show about a Singaporean woman discovering freedom and masculinity through her drag king alter ego.
Review: Sense & Sensibility
Austen fans can feel they’re delivered the story’s heft, if not all its socially pinched circumstance. It’s a small gem.
Review: Gimme A Sign!
A Highly Energetic, Humorous But Sensitive Combination of Comedy and Storytelling
Review: 1, 2, 3. Shit. That’s my OCD.
Rhythmical, immediate, and cleverly structured, it’s gorgeous work on a strong mind trying to make sense of its landscape past and present.
Review: Frat
A stunningly riveting performance which asks questions and leaves the audience wanting more
Review: The Baker Street Ladies
A compelling performance which successfully transported us back in time
Review: The Sound of Water
Pertinent theatremaking addressing climate change through poetic storytelling.
Review: Twelfth Night
The most exuberant Shakespeare out there, and a summer last-blast to make Malvolio weep.
Review: Last Rites
Physical theatre about ritual and grief. Imaginative, human, witty non-verbal Signed story.
Review: CADEL: Lungs on Legs
An inside look at cycling race Tour de France with a vibrant, dramatic story of cyclist Cadel Evans brought to life by Connor Delves, riding his bicycle for one hour!
