Cleansed is still the most harrowing play you’ll ever see Life&Style Cleansed | Almeida | ★★★★☆ There’s a hint at what you’re in for with Cleansed when the Almeida staff tape over everyone’s phone on the way in to prevent any photography; there is a lot of nudity in this play, and none of it is the good kind. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Sarah [...]
Archduke play at the Royal Court: A fascinating comedy about radicalisation Life&Style Archduke | Royal Court | ★★★★☆ I’m not sure what I expected from this play about the days preceding the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand – the event credited with starting the First World War – but it wasn’t a comedy of errors whose influences run the gamut from Withnail and I to Chris [...]
The Misanthrope at the National Theatre: Sandra Oh shines in a play that flatters to deceive Life&Style The Misanthrope | National Theatre (Lyttelton) | ★★★☆☆ True to its name, this new version of The Misanthrope is a difficult play to love. Mercilessly updated from Moliere’s 17th-century comedy of manners by the mercurial Martin Crimp, it’s a jagged diatribe against… well everything. The literary world, the privileged, the young and the old, the [...]
Pride musical at the National Theatre review: I’ve never seen so many people in tears June 26, 2026 Pride musical at the National Theatre review: ★★★★ Could there be a story more ready-made for a musical than the tale of the unlikely partnership between the gays and the Welsh miners? Based on the true, incredible account of the miner strikes of 1984 and 1985, and following the brilliant 2014 film of the same [...]
Glengarry Glen Ross at the Old Vic fails to close June 22, 2026 Glengarry Glen Ross | Old Vic | ★★☆☆☆ David Mamet’s transformation from perhaps the most original and insightful American playwright of the late 20th century to a flag-waving, MAGA-supporting, anti-woke motormouth is… troubling. As a Mamet-head, this must be what it’s like for Trump supporters trying to enjoy 90 per cent of popular culture. It’s [...]
Much Ado About Nothing at the Globe: A silly, frilly production June 22, 2026 This production of Much Ado at Shakespeare's Globe is all light, no shade; it's up to you if you really care, writes Anna Moloney.
Judi Dench Theatre is a fitting tribute to the great dame June 17, 2026 On Tuesday, the Shaftesbury Theatre, the largest independent theatre in the West End, announced that it was changing its name. As of February 2027, following a renovation which will include restoration of its unique opening dome, it will be the Judi Dench Theatre, in honour of the 91-year-old actress who boasts an Academy Award, a [...]
Beetlejuice musical review: I’ve never heard West End fans scream this loud May 28, 2026 Beetlejuice musical review and star rating: ★★★ It’s rare to experience screaming so loud that it feels as if some terrible force is pressing against your eardrums. It happened at Taylor Swift’s show Wembley Stadium and last night at Beetlejuice: The Musical’s West End premiere, where after every song – whether it was good or [...]
Jinkx Monsoon’s Judy Garland musical proves drag is serious art May 22, 2026 Jinkx Monsoon’s Judy Garland musical, review and star rating: ★★★★★ Death Drop the Musical cautiously welcomed people back to the theatre in December 2020 with one major claim to fame: that it would be the first all-drag musical. Six years ago, that felt progressive. The musical was good, but it played to drag tropes: it was [...]
This shocking West End play is like Netflix’s Adolescence but live May 21, 2026 Equus play review and star rating: ★★★★ If a psychological drama about a teenager with an erotic fixation on horses sounds controversial, imagine how the idea landed 53 years ago. Peter Shaffer’s Equus is still platforming taboo-breaking conversations around mental health 53 years after its world premiere, which is probably more a criticism of our [...]