★★★★ GREASE, Dominion Theatre Nostalgia for the late 1950s and late 1970s underpins an entertaining show Crowdpleaser pleases crowd: this High School musical deliv…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 11:07PM[SHARE]★ JULIUS CAESAR, SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE Misjudged masterpiece  Intrusive 21st century agenda and dismal staging waste an opportunity With tyrants licking their lips around the worl…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:54AM[SHARE]Iconic couple shoot for West End success One of the more irritating memes (it's a competitive field, I know) is the "Name a more iconic couple" appearing over a photo of Posh and Becks, or H…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:42AM[SHARE]Swordplay and songs never quite hit their stride Zorro (what a name!) is back, swashing and buckling his way into the West End, 13 years after he left and now not the only one wearing a mask…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:06AM[SHARE]Political lesson on the dangers of populism fails to hit home Loud madcap comedy morphs into mime and flops when it should fly When Rhum + Clay conceived this show, the idea of a comic becom…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:12AM[SHARE]Abigail Graham's pacy production focuses on the moneylender's fate A supposed 'comedy' gives the moneylender Shylock pride of place The Merchant of Venice is a comedy, you say? Shakespeare,…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:03AM[SHARE]Dennis Kelly's 2005 play presses many 2022 buttons Lockdown, #MeToo and Ukraine give new urgency to a dystopian fable Mark was teased about the fallout shelter at the bottom of his garden …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:36AM[SHARE]Another musical based on a movie hits London, with a moral guaranteed to please audiences Wave your pom poms for a show with its heart in the right place We open on "Seventeen is Swell", the…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:48AM[SHARE]Few concessions to 21st century sensibilities, but a great night out Iconic film on stage heats up the West End Wind the clock back 45 years and the Big Apple was bankrupt, the lights had go…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:18AM[SHARE]Plodding book detailing a poet's sentimental education falls flat on stage Somewhere in the world right now, one can hear Mister Mister's AOR hit, "Broken Wings" on an MOR radio station, cap…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:42AM[SHARE]★★★ THRILL ME:THE LEOPOLD & LOEB STORY Child killers seduce us with charisma and song Child killers seduce us with charisma and song There's a lot of True Crime stuff a…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:33AM[SHARE]Sir David Suchet reflects on his extraordinary career Sir David Suchet takes us from school days to sleuth days In the 80s, An Audience With... gave a television studio to an actor who …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:48AM[SHARE]★★★★ THE TIGER LILLIES' CHRISTMAS CAROL: A VICTORIAN GUTTER, SOUTHBANK CENTRE Melancholy musical retelling laced with wit and political venom  The Tiger…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:24PM[SHARE]★★★ THE GOOD LIFE Nostalgic comedy with a surprising resonance 45 years on Tom, Barbara, Jerry and Margo are back in the '70s, but with a message for today "Off-grid…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:03AM[SHARE]★★★ A Christmas Carol - Immersive Dickens production not quite a Christmas cracker Stephen Mangan's Scrooge learns his lesson in imbalanced Dickens adaptation Four year…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:42AM[SHARE]★★★★ VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE Comedy mines Chekhov for laughs and finds some rich seams Super London debut for Russian-inspired Broadway comedy Van…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:36AM[SHARE]★★★★★ FOOTFALLS AND ROCKABY, Beckett's ferocious contemplations on the ebbing of life Double bill finds the Irish master at his most raw Like all great art, …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:42AM[SHARE]★★★★ MILK AND GALL, Baby turns New Yorkers' lives upside down, while Trump has a tantrum or two No holds barred comedy lays bare the unsentimental side of pare…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:32PM[SHARE]★★★ THE CHOIR OF MAN, Decent blokes sing old school hits in an old school pub Lots of songs and lots of sugary sentimentality Like a previous occupant of this venue, Six…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:12PM[SHARE]★★★ THE MAGICIAN'S ELEPHANT, ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE A musical about trust and hope, and an unexpected elephant An elephant awakens an emotionally shattered town Trig…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:42PM[SHARE]★★ VANARA, HACKNEY EMPIRE Falls well short of its West Side Story inspired ambition Two tribes feud over fire in a post-apocalyptic world's last surviving forest Two tribes, …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 11:32AM[SHARE]★★★★ WHAT IF IF ONLY Caryl Churchill's short play considers the despair of grief and the optimism of hope A beautifully staged reflection on the pain of confronting l…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:42AM[SHARE]★★★★ BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL, ADELPHI THEATRE A spectacular West End show to delight fans old and new Whether you've seen the movie ten times or never, thi…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:48AM[SHARE]★★★★ THE LAST FIVE YEARS, GARRICK THEATRE Jason Robert Brown's semi-autobiographical show gets a West End upgrade Flaws remain, but audiences will lap up the g…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:06AM[SHARE]★★★ BLITHE SPIRIT, HAROLD PINTER THEATRE Jennifer Saunders delights her fans in classic comedy Jennifer Saunders delivers a fine turn as the celebrated Madame Arcati in …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:03AM[SHARE]★★★ STATEMENTS AFTER AN ARREST UNDER THE IMMORALITY ACT, ORANGE TREE THEATRE Timely revival of Athol Fugard's searing indictment of Apartheid Forty-nine years on, Fugard…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:54AM[SHARE]★★★★★ BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS, MARLOWE THEATRE, CANTERBURY Dazzling Disney rewrite Beloved Angela Lansbury film is in sure, safe theatrical hands Bedknobs …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:54AM[SHARE]★★★ CINDERELLA, GILLIAN LYNNE THEATRE A spectacular show that hits and misses A good night out, but with unrealised ambition to be rather more than that Belleville has l…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:36AM[SHARE]★★ 2:22 A GHOST STORY, NOËL COWARD THEATRE A big name cast wring all they can from a flawed script A few shocks and laughs but lacking in character-led credibility Danny Rob…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:06AM[SHARE]★★★★★ BIG BIG SKY, HAMPSTEAD DOWNSTAIRS A wonderful play about decent people This poignant, uplifting play is just what we need right now Get to Swiss Cott…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:06PM[SHARE]★★★★★ SOUTH PACIFIC, CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE Rodgers and Hammerstein classic given renewed relevance Rodgers and Hammerstein classic is given renewed…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:54AM[SHARE]
