Adam Bloodworth

“The Woods maxes out on meta gameplay in this technically brilliant but at times baseless musical that can be terribly proud of itself.”

“By today's standards, taking something so horrific as AIDS...and putting it as a backdrop to a central story about people getting kicked out of their flats...feels strange and tone deaf.”

“Subtle and ferocious, Coward remains our best chronicler of the family bust-up.”

“The final scene elicits one of the largest communal sobs I've ever heard in the theatre.”

“Technically brilliant but often overwhelming.”

“It is wondrously provocative, with one number satirising how the Jews have all the money and the whites all the power.”

“It's sexy, provocative, and totally unnerving.”

“It’s deeply unsatisfying and at points very frustrating: I didn’t come here to watch a film about Dracula, I came here to watch a live show.”

“But a series of challenges dull the drama’s emotional rage.”

“You can barely take your eye off the genial little bear as he draws on comedy (darting around knocking over crockery) and heartstrings (his song The Explorer & The Bear is one of the wonderfully tender moments).”

“And yet, I wasn’t alone in finding Evita hard work.”

“As much as I was exhausted by the curtain, I'll admit I do want it all over again.”

“This shiny three-hour-long transplant looks every penny of its eye-watering cost.”

“It's still a compelling night at the theatre watching one of Britain's greatest acting talents at their best.”

“Pinter’s dissection of infidelity cuts deep, and this production brings it painfully to life.”

“The ingredients for a barnstorming musical are all present and correct and yet… Somehow it doesn't quite click, falling short of the dizzy heights of a Hamilton or a Little Shop of Horrors.”

“Her inaugural show at the Old Vic is a joyful love letter to all things theatre, a tangle of surreal comedy and convoluted family drama.”

“You needn’t know who Hamilton is to be swept up in Miranda’s deliciously rich storytelling.”

“It might not be challenging theatre, but it's a nostalgic joy, much like watching an episode of the original show.”

“It’s best when it bolts along and veers away from sentimentality, and Staunton gets this: she always has a glint in her eye that shows she’s in on the joke. Oh, and she can sing! She belts the titular track in act two in a way that makes you feel perplexed as to why she hasn’t done much more of this...”

“It … they serve as a function to enable the story rather than existing to entertain us in and of themselves.”

“Director and choreographer Matthew Bourne has surely opened the musical of the year with his astounding dance sequences.”

“Lloyd, who is known for his innovative work across recent adaptations of The Seagull, A Doll’s House and Cyrano de Bergerac, as well as the National Theatre’s The Effect, certainly provides blue sky thinking for how theatre can incorporate film technology in new ways. It’s exciting to think what he may have next.”