Punch at the Young Vic: A powerful look at restorative justice March 7, 2025 Punch | The Young Vic | ★★★★☆ Jacob was “itching for some fucking action”. So begins this dramatisation of the true story of Jacob Dunne, who killed 28-year-old paramedic James Hodgkinson in an unprovoked attack on a drunken New Year’s Eve with one fatal blow. Jacob did not mean to kill James, but in the [...]
I hate immersive theatre. Can the British Pullman’s murder mystery change my mind? February 21, 2025 The British Pullman's latest offering invites guests to solve a murder mystery on board. Can it win over haters of immersive theatre?
Much Ado About Nothing: Tom Hiddleston stars in glitterbomb show February 20, 2025 Much Ado About Nothing | Theatre Royal Drury Lane | ★★★★★ Jamie Lloyd’s production of Much Ado About Nothing is a blockbuster of such proportions the entire street outside the Theatre Royal Drury Lane was closed so fans could gather en masse to catch a glimpse of Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell. The festival vibe [...]
Unicorn play review: Mike Bartlett as sharp as ever with Stephen Mangan throuple play February 14, 2025 Unicorn play review and star rating: ★★★★ Through plays like King Charles III and Cock, Mike Bartlett has delivered some of the freshest-feeling contemporary writing about the way we live our lives today, particularly to do with sexuality and dating. Cock with Jonathan Bailey became one of the hardest tickets to land in the West [...]
Three Sisters at The Globe: Tragedy reimagined as farce February 13, 2025 The bijou, candlelit stage at The Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse gives the feel of a doll’s house to this production of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters. Dressed in puffy, floaty period costume and framed against exquisite wood panelling, the actors seem like they’ve been picked up and placed on the stage to read their lines rather [...]
Elektra starring Brie Larson is a strange, boring play February 7, 2025 Elektra at the Duke of York’s Theatre | ★★☆☆☆ After two and a half millennia, Sophocles can still pull in a crowd. This week saw the opening of Oedipus at the Old Vic, in which professional Creepy Lil’ Guy Rami Malek drawled his way through a thrilling evening of EDM and interpretive dance. In recent [...]
Oedipus at the Old Vic review: A freaky fever dream February 6, 2025 You can perform impossible feats, be a wise and respected leader, even solve the riddle of the Sphinx – but if you end up shagging your mum, that’s the only thing people will remember. This delirious reimagining of Sophocles’ tragedy of Oedipus, king of Thebes, is a freaky fever dream, told here from the point [...]
Mamma Mia and Hamilton help Cameron Mackintosh’s West End empire towards £200m January 3, 2025 The continued popularity of Les Miserables, Mamma Mia and Hamilton has helped push sales the West End theatre empire run by Sir Cameron Mackintosh to almost £200m. For the year to 31 March, 2024, Sir Cameron’s group has reported a turnover of £199.1m, up from the £185.8m it posted for the prior 12 months. Newly-filed [...]
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child maker remains in the red amid West End troubles December 20, 2024 The company behind the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage play remains in the red amid falling sales and show closures, it has been revealed. The joint venture which produces the show across the world has reported a turnover of £41.3m for the year to 31 March, 2024, down from the £45.2m it achieved [...]
The Unseen at Riverside Studios review: Prison drama goes at full-throttle December 8, 2024 With flavours of existential Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot and Stanley Kubrick psychological thriller A Clockwork Orange, The Unseen is an intense examination of incarceration, inspired by the real-life stories of Russian freedom fighters imprisoned by the state. The show’s grip tightens before you enter the theatre: as you walk into the Riverside Studios [...]