Max McGuinness

“Those two episodes constitute the dramatic heart of Graham’s mesmerisingly accomplished play, whose 18-strong cast is directed by Rupert Goold with characteristic razzmatazz that cleverly evokes The Sun’s own brand of infotainment.”

“Santino Fontana’s performance is so magnetically assured that we can just about believe in Dorothy’s improbable success.”

“Choir Boy is nonetheless an often startling and provocative work, which features a remarkably assured and charismatic central performance by Jeremy Pope as Pharus.”

“The exposition gets slightly muddled towards the end as Hall trims a pivotal sub-plot...But the real story here is the overwhelming sense of spectacle crafted by van Hove and Cranston’s barnstorming performance. Reality may have outstripped Lumet and Chayefsky’s most pessimistic prophecies.”

“But all that sound and fury ends up signifying very little.”

“But, as the Girls would put it, this adaptation just isn’t ‘fetch’.”

“Three Tall Women reveals too much of its hand and lacks the enigmatic power of Albee's At Home at the Zoo.”

“That brittle rapport poignantly illustrates the moral imperative of solidarity — even for those who deserve it least.”

“It all adds up to a conventional but slickly produced adaptation, which, unlike Julie Taymor's The Lion King, avoids taking any great theatrical risks.”

“What results is a scrupulous rendition that nonetheless seems to lack an extra theatrical dimension.”

“Having lived through an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity, Kirkwood’s characters are forced to confront the truth that all their efforts have bequeathed a blighted planet to their children.”

“But the townhouse setting, measured conversations and tightly woven plot end up seeming rather genteel and thus fail to capture the delirious condition of US political life.”

“Hell would be more fun than playwright Steve Martin’s stale riffs on wine snobbery, weight loss and sex.”

“Leguizamo's boisterous, chalk-covered persona and Peter Sellers-esque gift for mimicry more than make up for any lack of historiographical subtlety.”

“Alas, David Yasbek’s numbers don’t complement that tale of hesitant romance.”

“That dash of moral and political ambiguity also injects tension into what might have been a didactic rehash of old journalism.”

“But the story is just as silly as the opera.”

“But A Doll’s House, Part 2 doesn’t have anything particularly original to say on the subject and soon runs out of ideas after the rhetorical fireworks of Nora and Anne Marie’s initial exchanges.”

“By confronting such harsh truths, Indecent becomes an unsparing lament for a vanished culture, which refuses to offer false hope of redemption where none is available.”

“It all adds up to a slick yet somewhat hollow package that cries out for a smidgen of pathos amid over two hours of relentless merriment.”

“But the show’s ode to triumph in the face of adversity quickly becomes repetitive in the absence of any discernible attempt to grapple with the full horror of the attacks, let alone their political repercussions.”

“This lack of contrivance creates a compellingly naturalistic atmosphere where nothing much seems to be happening until the action suddenly explodes into life.”

“For all its strengths, Upton and Crowley have taken their adaptation too far.”

“Somehow that apocalyptic deed here also becomes the subject of both tears and uproarious laughter with hardly a beat between them.”

“'The Great Comet' collapses the boundaries between music, dialogue and exposition, seamlessly telling the story through the show’s 27 numbers…Under Rachel Chavkin’s brisk direction, the central performances also tend towards playful high-spiritedness…One senses even Tolstoy himself might have had a good chuckle over this irreverent take on a sm...”

“No mere scheming temptress, this Merteuil is driven by a ferocious desire for independence and contempt for sexual hypocrisy that remain bracingly current.”

“Though never less than affecting, the play itself feels a little neat, however.”

“But van Hove has once again pulled off an inspired reimagining of a theatrical classic, which takes a little time to find its rhythm during the first scene, but then canters briskly along throughout the final two hours.”

“Grandage's Hughie does just enough to sustain that bleak vision.”