Dave Fargnoli

“Vicious repartee absolutely crackles”

“Though Wilson’s play never quite resolves its meaty themes, it remains a stinging indictment of the US’ media culture.”

“This frothy musical, with book and lyrics by Stephen Beresford, is heartwarming and dispiritingly necessary.”

“But the truth is, the play is neither funny nor incisive enough to really grip.”

“This playful autobiographical monologue from Arab-Israeli actor Yousef Sweid is full of humour and heart.”

“Though the sprawling production’s energy flags at times and we never spend quite long enough on any one character, this remains a melancholy, impressionistic portrait of an era – like our own – marked by vacuousness and poised on the brink of sudden upheaval.”

“The play’s pacing is languid and the energy dips during long, static conversations, but Lynn and Gyngell balance out the cerebral dialogue with plenty of sight gags and lightly farcical moments.”

“The sparky banter between these two pairs perfectly encapsulates the dramatic tensions that make Stoppard’s writing so compelling.”

“Leaning into every opportunity for unsettling humour, but neglecting the rich emotional depth that can make Shakespeare’s tragic masterpiece so powerful, this latest take on the classic tale of delayed revenge is flat, hollow and unfocused.”

“There is a certain cheeky charm to all the clumsy cavorting, but it’s too tame and obvious to feel properly subversive, and the intentionally overblown delivery tends to interrupt the exquisitely poised flow of Wilde’s witty repartee.”

“The sweet script achieves a delicate balance between humour, lightness and some more painful recollections.”

“This deliciously vicious satire from Shaan Sahota – in her first fully staged drama – pulls no punches.”

“The dialogue is sharp and dynamic, full of snappy banter and brutal truths, and the slippery text keeps the audience continually guessing and reassessing the characters’ true motivations.”

“Telling the story of a destructive affair, Terence Rattigan’s stinging 1952 drama is a sensitively observed classic, underserved by this stiff, overly mannered production.”

“This challenging, shattering and strikingly humane play from celebrated writer-director Robert Icke pushes back against such a simplistic assessment, instead using Moat’s grim story to frame potent questions about toxic masculinity.”

“Uneven revival of pioneering Black playwright Michael Abbensetts’ rarely produced 1978 comedy, directed by Lynette Linton and starring Arinzé Kene and Cherrelle Skeete”

“Bursting with bold visuals and angsty, unsubtle performances, this ambitious, often incoherent take on Sophocles’ classic myth puts style firmly ahead of substance.”

“Amy Jephta’s incisive comedy skewers the malignant prejudices simmering within a privileged enclave in South Africa”

“This sombre Tempest is alienating and coldly aloof.”

“This classic Cold War farce feels more timely and more terrifying than ever.”

“The piece has a cumulative power that builds gradually until the atmosphere is riveting, suffocating and unbearably tense.”

“Anjana Vasan gives an electrifying central performance in this lean, focused and visually arresting drama about PTSD”

“While there are some hilarious set pieces and some compelling moments of pathos, the production never recovers from its uneven energy and slack pace.”

“It remains an engaging and audacious experiment.”

“Timely new play interrogates the tarnished legacy of celebrated author Roald Dahl”

“A trio of strong, believable performances provides a core of realism in this surreal, modern-day ghost story”

“Although the production feels perhaps overly reverent towards the source material, these powerful, heartfelt performances remain absorbing, channelling the desperation, hope and fury of Steinbeck’s story.”

“But the play’s achingly slow pace and contrived conversations keep the drama from generating the compelling heat that it should.”

“This latest piece builds on Soleimanpour’s signature style, but the results are uneven – it is an inelegant collision of earnest philosophising intermingled with metatheatrical commentary on the distance between author, actor and audience.”

“...it’s a challenging, yet deeply rewarding watch, suffused with wistful beauty.”

“Smyth's dialogue is fantastic, with scenes able to pivot completely”

“Although the production as a whole can feel non-committal, it is an undeniably truthful piece, which effectively captures the fear, frustration and fizzing potential of the most confusing time of life.”

“It's a stirring tribute to the resili[ence]...”

“Gradually, the play reveals itself as a touching celebration of enduring love, family and forgiveness.”

“Based on the phenomenally popular Netflix series, this visually stunning retro-horror romp is audacious, exhilarating and relentlessly inventive...Subtlety is not the goal here, and this show never quite matches the series’ charming mix of nostalgia, hope and horror. But it is an extraordinary, gripping spectacle.”

“If the symbolism of caged songbirds feels heavy-handed, it is nonetheless well suited to the offbeat, melancholy tone of this thoughtful exploration of the fragility and resilience of hope.”

“Zeldin soon demonstrates that her melancholy, thwarted journey towards emancipation makes for a gripping, moving drama.”

“But while this swirling, muscular movement is visually arresting, it tends to diffuse rather than heighten the building tension.”

“But with Rose never rising from the bench where she sits shiva, it can feel profoundly static.”

“Bruce’s keenly observed dialogue remains vivid and raw, lifted by moments of grim humour.”

“Though the play feels unfocused in places, Freedland’s text is undoubtedly ambitious – trying to tackle historical injustices, fractious party politics and pernicious conspiracy theories simultaneously.”

“Fortunately, those performances are uniformly gripping, the character's clashing complications gelling together in a messy but compellingly believable whole.”

“Though it’s loaded with crisp dialogue and moments of wince-inducing viciousness, Rebeck’s script suffers from its low stakes and ponderous pace.”

“Their bubbly chemistry and the gentle warmth filling their home always feel extraordinarily fragile within the grim world of the play.”

“Sami Ibrahim's unrestrained and unwieldy script is cluttered with compelling yet underdeveloped threads, ghostly metaphors, and awkward jokes clustered around a familiar story about the futility of violence.”

“Epic in scope but grounded in the parallel personal journeys of these two complex figures, The Father and the Assassin successfully weaves a thorny mass of contentious history and factional politics into a tight and accessible drama.”

“But with these prosperous, well-adjusted characters grappling with nothing more significant than a dawning sense that they’ve lost control over the trajectory of their lives, the ferociously low stakes rob the piece of any dramatic energy generated by the committed performances it showcases.”

“Anna X is a smart, stylishly told story from former journalist Joseph Charlton.”

“Christina Bennington is terrifically energetic as protagonist Veronica, skilfully navigating a clumsily written part that positions her as both the show's sardonic narrator and its conflicted emotional heart.”

“Director Emily Burns keeps things under tight control, pairing the performer’s snappy repartee with some impeccably daft sight gags.”

“The play remains admirably, unapologetically angry, a timely articulation of an ongoing struggle for love, dignity and acceptance.”

“The play eloquently distils the galling outrage of a political situation in which, as a society, the most we choose to offer to a starving family is a soggy cheese sandwich.”

“This is a beautifully preserved example of a country house murder mystery, a throwback to theatregoing in the thirties (minus the matinee tea-trays).”

“...utterly absorbing piece from avant-garde performance makers Complicité”