Aleks Sierz

“So, however charming and entertaining, the 80 minutes of The Bridge remain one-sided and rather slender as a piece of theatre.”

“This is a rather unbalanced show, with too little plot, too little characterization and too little exploration of the subject’s darkness.”

“Nicholas Hytner’s epic production of this epic play has a confident sweep that is often a joy to watch...”

“Giving this confessional drama their all this time it’s superstars Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup, in a terrific revival directed by Marianne Elliott.”

“His production, with partner company Tiata Fahodzi, is a really invigorating experience.”

“Page’s production has an excellent cast, who deliver the necessary intensity and occasional hilarity, and perform choreographer Ingrid Mackinnon’s moves with evident pleasure as well as concentration.”

“But the overall effect of the production is rather incoherent and incomplete.”

“The effect of Andrews’s writing and direction is deeply contradictory: this is both cerebral and emotional; compelling and distancing; fascinating and a bit banal.”

“This excellent show is directed by Anita Rochon, with designer Brian Ball and artist Juliette Demoulin’s colourful set, which suggests the great sweep of Judea, or is it Palestine?”

“The original novel, Les Liaisons dangereuses, first published in 1782, features a rich and powerful man and woman positively exulting in their manipulation of a much younger woman. Okay, so it’s a moral book, and the manipulators pay a heavy price at the end of the story, but not before both of them revel in their power.”

“Sad to say, it’s not so much atoms that are lost as an entire evening.”

“On the other hand, the simplicity of the story, the clarity and openness of its feelings, does make this a very moving experience, as well as one full of laughter.”

“With Rae Smith’s ghostly yet grounded design, helped by Mark Henderson’s lighting and Gregory Clarke’s sound, which create a real feel of the uncanny, The Brightening Air is both elegiacally written and poetically resonant.”

“So welcome another play that offers a great summer of surreal new writing.”

“This West End transfer of Peter Morgan’s award-winning play, Patriots, is rich in debate, in images and in a distinct sense that there must be so much more to say, and know, about a country whose current war with Ukraine has made it so relevant to us all.”

“This play with songs and dance moves works hard and successfully to lift audience spirits by making trauma palatable as well as distressing.”

“You can easily forgive the lack of thematic development when Bailey, Egerton and Anouka ignite the emotional fuel of the story — they blaze.”

“This revival of an American classic, complete with its moments of trouble, is both relevant and fun.”

“If this is a lightweight rendering of a heavyweight novel, it simply proves that a labour of love is not necessarily a good night out.”

“This is not just a play, it’s an event.”

“Camp Siegfried is victorious drama.”

“Death of England: Delroy is a sublime example of contemporary new writing and an instant classic.”

“This production has many good points, and proves what we have known for a while: that modernism is not longer obscure.”

“The result is a believable and heartfelt account of a contemporary tragedy.”

“These four pieces are beautifully directed by James Macdonald, whose cast — especially Jones, Findlay, Mothersdale and Louisa Harland — all give precise performances, making this an evening in which imaginative experiments with theatre form co-exist with an atmosphere of suggestion, fear and dread.”

“Woods is now a writer to watch; and I shall be looking out for his next one.”

“Weakly plotted, indifferently written and lacking in punch, it feels like a real waste.”

“In Dawn Walton’s engrossing production, Rose is dressed in a symbolically white dress, and her performance is a warm mixture of passionate anger and intimate confessional.”

“Small Island is overlong, and takes most of its considerable running time to warm up.”

“With its crystalline psychological detail and chic minimal staging, this is by far the best revival of this play that I have ever seen.”

“It’s a great celebration of your 40th anniversary. I saw it at the Royal Court tonight and I will remember it because the cast were clearly having great fun, and so was the audience.”

“The whole cast makes Miller's vision utterly compelling: the costs of belief in the American Dream have rarely been so acutely presented.”

“For once the hype is justified: this is clearly the best new play on the London stage.”

“Opening just before Armistice Day, this version of the show retains all of its emotional force and its intoxicating theatrical flair.”

“But while the play has lots to say about women in public life, and some good jokes about male self-esteem, it really says nothing about Labour’s current malaise.”

“At the Ambassadors, Foxfinder exudes plenty of atmosphere, but lacks dramatic punch.”

“But Mullarkey’s sensibility is pretty nihilistic.”

“This is an empathetic, entertaining, relevant and moving revival of a modern classic.”

“This is a play that is full of spirit, and spirits.”

“Their good work goes a long way to saving what is hyped as a classic, but is actually not such a very good play.”

“This is an enjoyably cartoon critique of everyday conformity, but don’t expect anything else.”

“Gradually, the story moves towards its intensely moving climax, unmarred by a couple of melodramatic notes.”

“Nevertheless, this is a well-written, very humorous and deeply felt drama...”

“If the text of the play is sometimes over-explicit, Joe Murphy’s production is coherent and extremely powerful.”

“With acting like this, it's really an amazing experience, if a rather heartless one. But Butterworth's storytelling finesse carries all before it.”

“Basically, this play is a mess.”

“It’s fun, but — for me at least — the earth didn’t move.”

“But, after its well-prepared revelations, the 85-minute play becomes a bit fuzzy and loses focus towards the end, and it finally feels a bit flabby when its story begs to have been tighter.”

“In fact, the final 15 minutes of the play are some of the most well-acted and emotionally thrilling in the West End today.”

“Anna Niland’s production has a climbing frame set, designed by Cecilia Carey, and fields exuberant performances from the large NYT cast.”

“The results are mixed, with a lack of coherence more in evidence than cohesion.”

“There is no doubt that it is an extraordinary achievement, and certainly the most powerful piece of new writing on the London stage.”

“Despite some good satirical points, and some good jokes, Skinner takes the temperature of the times with a rather insensitive thermometer, one which is frustratingly unsubtle.”

“At the end of three hours and 40 minutes, you stagger out of the theatre mighty glad you’ve survived this torrential outpouring of words.”

“I left the theatre with a taste of disappointment on my tongue.”

“This is an evening of continual revelation and theatrical pleasure — including scene-stealing moments with a rat puppet and a real pet dog.”

“Yet as a whole the production never rises above the level of standard West End fare.”

“This is a diamond production of a very humane play.”

“Longhurst’s surefooted production is both entertaining and deeply moving.”

“The poverty of his lead actor makes a beautifully constructed psychological thriller, if not exactly torture, surprisingly hard work to watch.”

“This revival, directed by John Crowley, is a bit of a disappointment.”

“As a comedy of manners, The Village Bike is acutely observed and often hilarious, and its themes of sexual bravado, the domestication of porn and the power of body image blend into a story of surreptitious pleasure and gnawing guilt.”

“But before that, there’s a lot of sexist rubbish to be endured.”

“The Heretic is a thrillingly funny and satisfying comedy drama.”

“No, this old writing, painfully arthritic, stale and politically inert.”

“If this is meant to be a picture of real people in a real slum then the evening is an utter failure.”

“While Hare’s piece is by far the most intelligent and well-imagined, the others feel as if they are squatting a bit too complacently on familiar ground.”

“This revival — directed by Johnson (who also directed the first production) and designed by Richard Kent — is outstandingly entertaining...”

“Even if the macabre absurdity of hoping to substitute goats for lost children is a strong indictment of government policy, Goats is slack, humourless and boring.”

“So although much of the evening is pedestrian, it does have its moments of acute pleasure.”

“Watching it is a powerful experience, but not an enlightening one.”

“For the rest, Labour of Love will feel like hard labour.”