Tuesday, September 16, 2025
★★★★ THE PRODUCERS, GARRICK THEATRE Musical mayhem in Mel Brooks' meisterwerk
You probably know what's coming, but it's such great fun!
Unexpectedly, there's a sly…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:12AM[SHARE]Thursday, August 28, 2025
★★★★ FAT HAM, RSC A raucous, raunchy Pulitzer Prize-winning re-imagining for our times
An entertaining, positive and contemporary blast!
$8.2B. That's what can ha…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:54AM[SHARE]Wednesday, August 13, 2025
★★★ THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, RSC, STRATFORD Youth-oriented version of youthful play
Shakespeare trying out lots of ideas that were to bear fruit in the future
I have…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:48PM[SHARE]Friday, August 1, 2025
★★★★ TOP HAT, CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE Lovely to look at, but don't think too much
Glitz and glamour in revived dance show based on Fred and Ginger's movie
Af…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:12AM[SHARE]Tuesday, July 29, 2025
★★ MAIDEN VOYAGE, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE All women crew sail around the world, singing, grouching and bonding
Pleasant tunes well sung and a good story, but not a good show
As th…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:42PM[SHARE]Monday, July 28, 2025
★★★★★ BRIXTON CALLING, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE The story of two men & one venue is a delight
Nostalgic, but the message is bang up to date
What a delight i…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:32PM[SHARE]★★★ THE WINTER'S TALE, RSC, STRATFORD Bleak production that skewers male jealousy
Strong women have the last laugh, but the play's bizarre structure overwhelms everything
T…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:32PM[SHARE]Monday, July 21, 2025
★★★★ DON'T ROCK THE BOAT, THE MILL AT SONNING Sound of shared laughter excuses flaws
Great fun, if more 20th century than 21st
Now 45 years in the past, its dazzling …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:18PM[SHARE]Thursday, July 17, 2025
★★★★ POOR CLARE, ORANGE TREE THEATRE Chira Atik's award-winning comedy packs a punch
Funny and clever show illuminated by a dazzling debut from Arsema Thomas
What am …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:12PM[SHARE]Thursday, July 10, 2025
★★★ GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY, OLD VIC Conor McPherson's smash hit is looking dated already
Fragmented, cliched story rescued by tremendous acting, singing and music
Well…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:48AM[SHARE]Friday, June 27, 2025
★★★ HERCULES, THEATRE ROYAL Show aimed at a family audience delivers enough, but no more
Big West End crowdpleaser lacks punch and poignancy with join-the-dots plotting …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:18PM[SHARE]Tuesday, June 24, 2025
★★ SHOWMANSHIP, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Dickie Beau's one-man show is lost in too large a venueÂ
Technically accomplished production with Dickie Beau never settles into a coheren…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:36AM[SHARE]Sunday, June 15, 2025
★ NORTH BY NORTHWEST, ALEXANDRA PALACE Too small a show in too large a venue
Emma Rice's storytelling at fault in misconceived production
Older readers may recall the cobbled togeth…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:24PM[SHARE]Friday, June 13, 2025
★★★★ HAMLET HAIL TO THE THIEF, RSC Music drives the prince to madness in spectacular show
An innovative take on a familiar play succeeds far more often than it fails
…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:48PM[SHARE]Thursday, June 12, 2025
★★ THE KING OF PANGEA, KING'S HEAD THEATRE - Highly personal American musical fails to land in London
Heart and soul proves insufficient in world premiere of therapeutic show
The…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:48PM[SHARE]Thursday, May 29, 2025
★★★ THIS IS MY FAMILY, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Play with music engenders a familiar warmth
Relatable or stereotyped - that's for you to decide
MOR. Twee. Unashamedly crowdpleas…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:02PM[SHARE]Wednesday, May 28, 2025
★★★ THE FROGS, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Pantomimeish adaptation of classic play
Tone never settles, but Sondheim's genius carries the day
As a regular theatregoer, you learn pre…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:32AM[SHARE]Wednesday, May 7, 2025
★★★★★ THE GANG OF THREE, KING'S HEAD THEATRE The big beasts banter 50 years ago
Beautifully written and equally well acted play resonates down the decades
There…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:54PM[SHARE]★★ CONVERSATIONS AFTER SEX, PARK THEATRE Nudity, but nothing new in UK debut
Award-winning Irish play fails to reach a memorable climax
In Dublin, a city that has changed more th…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:24AM[SHARE]Monday, April 28, 2025
★★★★ MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, RSC, STRATFORD Medieval court's mores translates uncomfortably well to modern football
Garish and gossipy, this new production packs a…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:03PM[SHARE]Thursday, April 17, 2025
★★★★★ GHOSTS, LYRIC HAMMERSMITH - Ibsen screams into 2025 in this perfect reimagining
Ten years on, Gary Owen and Rachel O'Riordan top their triumphant Iphigeni…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:18PM[SHARE]Saturday, April 12, 2025
★ MIDNIGHT COWBOY, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Ambitious project overwhelmed by challengesÂ
Two misfits misfire in misconceived show
It seems a bizarre idea. Take a pivotal film in America…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:03PM[SHARE]Wednesday, April 2, 2025
★★★★ THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING OSCAR, JERMYN STREET THEATRE One man play from 1960 given a compelling revival
Alastair Whatley honours his subject in a quietly powerful…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:48PM[SHARE]Tuesday, April 1, 2025
★★★★ STILETTO, CHARING CROSS THEATRE Castrato finds comfort by the canals
Quirky, operatic show won't please everyone, but will delight many
That friend you have wh…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:42PM[SHARE]Friday, March 28, 2025
★★★ ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS - THE MUSICAL, THEATRE ROYAL BATH Ambitious new musical isn't slaying 'em in the aislesÂ
1950s America feels a lot like 2020s America in…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:54PM[SHARE]Sunday, March 9, 2025
★★★★ EDWARD II, SWAN THEATRE Rapid and racy adaptation draws on its writer's legend
Putsch in the palace brings down a king who chose the wrong person to love
"Do…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:06PM[SHARE]Wednesday, February 19, 2025
★★★★★ HAMLET, ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE Rupert Goold's staging lends a gnawing, troubling, transatlantic relevanceÂ
The iceberg cometh
The date, projected be…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:48PM[SHARE]Thursday, February 13, 2025
★★★★★ THREE SISTERS, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Souls dissected in brilliantly conceived and executed production
Russia - but also here, there and everywhere
Russi…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:48PM[SHARE]Wednesday, February 5, 2025
★ MRS PRESIDENT, CHARING CROSS THEATRE A widow, a photographer but no soul
Curious play that fails to mobilise theatre's unique ability to tell a story
The phenomenal global success o…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:42AM[SHARE]Tuesday, February 4, 2025
★★★ SECOND BEST, RIVERSIDE STUDIOS First-class performance in a second-class play
Martin is not Harry Potter in the movies, then might be in real life, but proves to be the…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:06PM[SHARE]Sunday, February 2, 2025
★★★★★ PLAY ON!, LYRIC HAMMERSMITH The Bard and The Duke in perfect harmony!
Super performances deliver magnificent entertainment
If you saw Upstart Crow on tele…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:54PM[SHARE]Loading more stories…
