Time Out London

“This revival powerfully evokes the painfully human impact of a country with its boot on the neck of people lost or never given a chance – and not just men.”

“It’s hubristic behaviour that’s simply not backed up by the quality of the writing.”

“Not Graham's greatest work, but he makes a forceful argument for Keynes, his life and his beliefs.”

“It’s an entertaining and audacious endeavour – the book is better, but there’s room for both.”

“A formidable vehicle for Larson's songs, but a less impressive one for his story.”

“It's a thoughtful, touching, intelligent, funny and disarmingly gentle drama with strong roles for Black actresses.”

“Now it’s crossed the river to the Noël Coward with a mostly new cast, and it’s every bit as good.”

“But though polished witticisms and a solid cast make for an enjoyable enough night, this Hay Fever mostly feels like it’s on period comedy autopilot.”

“Sensational turns from Anderson and Billy Crudup are made even better by the ultra-intimate staging at @sohoplace.”

“It is, to be fair, almost certainly the most enjoyable play about an economist ever written.”

“The actual play can't really live up to the magnificence of the setting.”

“It’s a stylish and exhilarating theatrical experience, jolted forward by three powerful, emotive performances.”

“The Last Ship is an awesome spectacle and a heartfelt one too.”

“It’s fun at first, but you can’t sustain nearly three hours of theatre on patter, strolling songs and knob gags.”

“But it’s a remarkable end to an extraordinary play.”

“The two-hour stage piece often falters only to be saved by blessed moments of sheer brilliance.”

“This musical version of Thelma & Louise has many things going for it, notably some thrilling songs from alt-country legend Neko Case, a great cast led by Amy Lennox and Rachel Turner, and some sparking dialogue from Callie Khouri.”

“This drama about the 1984. Bhopal disaster is devastating when it reaches the events themselves, but is too slow to get there.”

“This revival makes it feel thoroughly alive.”

“Ava Pickett’s superb new play is a rip-roaring dark comedy set in the aftermath of a British Trojan War.”

“This spin on the Molière classic only really comes to life when Mark Rylance takes the stage.”

“Tilda Swinton has still got it.”

“Jane Eyre: A Musical is an elegant, tuneful but essentially bang-average affair that boils the source material’s unsettling gothic vision into a boilerplate period love story.”

“Along the way, the play unearths past romantic entanglements and jealousies that are ultimately less interesting than the central dilemma.”

“Violent, visceral and stylish, For Colored Girls is still a necessary piece of theatre.”

“It’s easily my favourite musical of the year, and deserves a long life.”

“A Month in the Country comes good before long, a play of stature with a towering female lead role that’s a gift to an actor of Okonedo’s powers.”

“There’s always a place for some thrills in the theatre.”

“Electra is good, Persona is good, Electra/Persona isn't necessarily one for the ages.”

“It's not yet a magnum opus but a climate drama that, with some tweaks, holds great potential.”

“This As It is a burst of late summer sun.”

“But it’s simply not a good drama.”

“But there’s a better, braver, more human musical in Death Note.”

“Hilarious performances power an excellent revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s surprisingly wholesome infidelity comedy.”

“Really it’s a very decent production of a tuneful and idiosyncratic musical that just happens to have sold a kerchillion tickets back in the day.”

“This indie musical for kids deftly channels the freewheeling silliness of Dav Pilkey’s graphic novels.”

“It is a messy, overly long piece of theatre, its script a bizarre mix of stilted scenes and strange song choices that squanders lead Alexandra Burke's talent and does little to convince us of Chaka's very real star power.”

“At best, the magic on display here is jaw-dropping.”

“Far from naff or dull, this is in fact a cheeky show, and a fun show, and a deeply profound show.”

“Lown-Collins’ production doesn’t really do much to combat these issues – the Latin is simply swapped for Spanish quips, and the ending is still the ending.”

“For the right audience this is a near-perfect production, and the perfect outing for any child in your life: inner or actual.”

“This misfiring adaptation is the perfect case in point that not every story should be turned into a musical.”

“The way in which Sonnenblick, partly through Trevor’s casual asides, creates in Arthur a fictional superstar of the great American songbook, is a delicious blurring of reality and theatrical invention.”

“But portraying him as a sort of loveable queer rogue sells everyone short.”

“The Oresteia is in many ways the apotheosis of Stone’s style, an expansive adaption of the Greek legend about the fall of the house of Agamemnon that is trashy as hell and yet relentlessly gripping, its three-and-a-half hours whizzing by.”

“All in all it’s a good production that slots into the Jamie Lloyd era of Sexy Lloyd Webber very nicely indeed.”

“It is satisfying and thought-provoking and rare to be able to spend three hours in the company of a drama whose fiery propulsive engine is an unquenchable search for knowledge.”

“A delicious cackle in the dark, at a subject that’s not becoming irrelevant anytime soon.”

“Barrett's direction provides an alluring air of ambiguity, but at the same time it's mostly a bloody good real-time thriller.”

“It’s just a bit disjointed, and less of a laugh than it should be.”

“Nelson's script, however, leans too heavily on familiar national clichés: the British drink tea and rely on decorum, while the Americans are plain-speaking, easy-going free spirits.”

“It’s very much the romantic tragicomedy Rostand wrote, but despite its period setting, it feels wholly current.”

“If you really like Frank Sinatra, this is absolutely fine.”

“Writer Stephen Beresford’s musical adaptation of his own 2014 film is a triumph.”

“Instead, the production tries to do both in tandem – big idea thinking and slapstick comedy – and swiftly goes off the rails.”

“Overall, a mixed bag that ends strong.”

“This cocktail of evasions, delusions and selfishness slips down with delicious ease.”

“It’s the more serious bits where it struggles.”

“Swirling all those elements together in her cauldron, Swithinbank creates a masterful, destabilising examination of domestic abuse.”

“The bells, whistles and strangers in your group really do elevate the Live Experience into something more than a cynical tie-ie.”

“There are some shortcomings, but it’s not every day you get a thoughtful ex-IDF soldier ruminating on his experiences at length.”

“It's a fascinating idea, and while it would be odd to see this without at least having seen the film for reference, I'd say it's an experiment that works.”

“Eleanor Tindall’s meet cute queer love story is appropriately moving, but comes with a lot of very distracting baggage.”

“Really it’s broad, dated humour salvaged by a tremendous cast headed by Jamie Lloyd veteran Mason Alexander Park as Mary and the redoubtable Giles Terera as ‘Mary’s husband’ (ie Abe).”

“But it may not have been a great idea for her debut play Driftwood to try and tell all of them at once.”

“Still, as a drama about living under the strain of war and government oppression, it absolutely works.”

“Dinosaur World Live has a genuine, up-close charm and is a perfect child-distractor for the remainder of the summer holidays.”

“As disturbing an hour of theatre as you’ll see on the London stage.”

“But I think it’s fair to say that just because William Kamkwamba did a genuinely astonishing thing aged 13, it doesn’t mean that his story provides enough material for a pitch-perfect 2.5-hour musical.”

“It’s a very nice evening at the theatre - but it’s overshadowed by a production that was a proper event.”

“The ‘war’ section that takes up most of the play is, at its most intense, astonishing, a roiling living Guernica of nocturnal horror and nightmarish imagery.”

“Ultimately it has nice sets, nice ballads and if you like aggressively knowing 21st century Broadway humour you’ll have fun.”

“And the intimacy of Posner’s production magnifies all that, focussing Shaffer’s meaning and burning away pedantic quibbles.”

“This is not the Judy of A Star is Born, it's the Judy of a star in decline. But in Jinkx Monsoon, another star rises.”

“The Last Man is weird, goofy and confused.”

“Ultimately, Churchill’s Urinal is a fairly inoffensive set of satirical stand-up.”

“Which is fair enough: it’s a world that little dramatic light gets thrown on – and with the brilliant Bassett as our proxy, it’s a powerfully unsparing guide to the end.”

“Thankfully, Terry is astonishingly good as Mother Courage.”

“This hugely enjoyable new Sherlock Holmes adventure from playwright Joel Horwood gives you all you could possibly want from The Great Detective.”

“The dialogue is zigzagging, joyfully absurd with the right amount of twists.”

“Pickett’s play is a tour de force, and 1536 one of those theatrical moments that stays with you for a very long time.”

“La Barrie nails the heady rush of wealthy excess.”

“He is, to be clear, bloody good in Krapp’s Last Tape.”

“Xia’s production is very entertaining indeed.”

“There’s a lot more to like about Chat Noir!”

“Hare’s play becomes a sweet panegyric, and a really traditional, really entertaining night both at the theatre and of the theatre.”

“Mass is powerful stuff, but its devastating peaks can’t entirely offset some major frustrations.”

“Whatever the truth, Wright’s interpretation makes for compelling theatre.”

“But The Price is compelling in its uncompromising cynicism, originally written as a rebuke to how Miller perceived the abstract, consequence-free tone of 1960s theatre.”

“Between the River and the Sea is a moderate show and a modest one, but it‘s a pleasure to spend time in Sweid’s garrulous company.”

“Accept all that, and Jason Moore’s revived production is a fun piece of naughty noughties nostalgia that raises a smile from the sight of its fluffy yellow stage curtain onwards.”

“Heart Wall isn’t a perfect show, but it is an entertaining one that left me profoundly moved.”

“But the bottom line is: it just doesn’t work.”

“The songs have gone unmentioned so far for a reason – they're the weakest thing here, which is a problem in a musical.”

“Copenhagen remains an impressive play, although I couldn’t love it.”

“What can I say: it’s a really good production with two sensational leads, of a play that has long stopped being a sexy novelty and now kind of sits as a guilty pleasure.”

“It’s a fascinating subject that Pinnock approaches mischievously: there are some much bigger laughs in the final third than one might envisage.”

“If you’re into the smutty vibe, Ancient Grease is a right laugh.”

“This production is a blaze of colour at a dismally grey time.”

“In our branch of the multiverse, we’ll have to settle for one that’s merely very good.”