City A.M.

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

“As the play goes on, you warm to this uniquely put-upon woman who approaches the absurd cruelties of life with a sardonic smile.”

“It's a brilliant production, a coming together of exceptional performances and confident, stylish direction, one of this year's undeniable theatrical events.”

“Electra/Persona is a long and plodding journey without any particular destination, albeit one with moments of real beauty along the way.”

“What the musical lacks in philosophical rigour though it makes up for in production value.”

“There’s not a dustbin in sight in director and choreographer Drew McOnie’s sexed up, high-octane production that stirs and transfixes.”

“There's no such vision here, no real aspiration beyond filling up a bingo card of scenes that made us smile back in 1996.”

“Atri Banerjee's 2026 punt gives the play a folk-rock aesthetic, complete with a punkish fairy band and neon dip dyed hair Titania, but ultimately struggles to take flight.”

“Archduke is a largely breezy affair, given the subject matter, filled with physical comedy and visual gags.”

“But The Misanthrope is a play that flatters to deceive, filled to bursting with ideas it’s never quite able to unpack, a shiny bauble loaded with talent that’s just not quite as clever as it thinks it is.”

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

“Marber’s play ends up feeling flat, a half-baked experiment in which every character feels like a caricature, often straining not to literally wink towards the audience.”

“Joey is magnificent, a puppet that doesn't attempt to hide the three humans controlling him yet utterly convinces you that he is indeed a horse.”

“Technically brilliant but often overwhelming.”

“It's a romp, an excuse to indulge in a comic book version of Victorian England, a slice of Conan Doyle fan fiction that you'd have to have a heart of stone not to warm to, even as the temperature plummets.”

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest falls firmly in the first category.”

“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).”

“It did feel like we were filming an episode of the TV show, with contestants fully getting wrapped up in the concept and trying to throw one another under the bus.”

“The Burlesque musical does not project the chaos of its production – running at two hours fifty minutes, it feels pacey, high-octane, and often funny, and is more slathered than sprinkled with incredibly eye-catching performances.”

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

“Rarely a minute passes when something doesn't bring a smile to your face.”

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

“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...”

“Vive’s resistance to fill the stage with rugs and chandeliers, as is typical for plays of the type, pays off.”

“Please, sir: give me more of this five-star hit”

“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.”

“Celine Dion musical is a titanic hit”

“Under the Shadow is proof that the stage can be every bit as scary as the cinema.”