reviews

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Between the River and the Sea, Royal Court review - wry take on insoluble antagonisms

aleks.sierz |

Wars in the Middle East provoke furious arguments. Red hot. So why is British theatre so cool, distinctly chilly, about staging new work about these controversial issues? If any proof is needed that current new writing is meek and mild then it must surely be this.

Kraggerud, Irish Chamber Orchestra, RIAM, Dublin review - Mozart and movement

David Nice
As those of us who were there at what turned out to be his unofficial inaugural concert with the Irish Chamber Orchestra will know, Henning Kraggerud…

In the Print, King's Head Theatre - a moment that changed the newspaper industry for ever

Rachel Halliburton
This new play, In The Print – by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky – gives a pacy account of the seminal moment when Rupert Murdoch moved News…

Mint, BBC One review - when crime families collide

Adam Sweeting
Filmmaker Charlotte Regan has been moving steadily up the creative ladder with music videos, short films and her 2023 feature debut Scrapper, which…

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The Dream of Gerontius, LSO and Chorus, Pappano, Barbican review - drama beyond belief

Boyd Tonkin
Tenderness, and terror, outshine majesty in Elgar's journey of the soul

Jasper Høiby's 3Elements, Bristol Beacon review - incandescent jazz conversation

Mark Kidel
Brilliant trio seamlessly combine composition and improvisation

Bergerac, Season 2, U&Drama review - murder most tasteful, served sunny side up

Helen Hawkins
Well paced and excellently cast, this revival still needs more of a sense of danger

Láng, Bretz, BBCSSO, Chan, City Halls, Glasgow review - Bluebeard's Castle threatens and yearns

Simon Thompson
Love among the chills in Bartók’s House of Horrors

Avenue Q, Shaftesbury Theatre review - we need that puppet sex now, and the rest

Gary Naylor
Can it be as good as it was 20 years go? Of course it can!

Gerald Barry's Salome, NSO Ireland, Kuhn, National Concert Hall, Dublin review - funny-queasy genius

David Nice
Paradoxically both ordered and wild(e), with weird twists and superb performances

The Rite by Heart, Aurora Orchestra, Multitudes Festival, RFH - exhilarating display of changing rhythms and moods

Rachel Halliburton
This semi-dramatised evening was as illuminating as it was exhilarating

The Flying Dutchman, Welsh National Opera review - running, jumping and standing still

stephen.walsh
Lusty singing, plenty of space and not a sail in sight

Carsie Blanton & the Burning Hell, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham review - a fine revolutionary singalong

Guy Oddy
Socialist troubadours spread hope and optimism

Frang, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - Los Angeles meets Leningrad

Boyd Tonkin
Secret handshakes between works that weathered trauma

The Blue Trail review - take it to the river

Saskia Baron
Full steam ahead for Rodrigo Santoro and Denise Weinberg

Diamanti review - welcome to the vaginodrome

Markie Robson-Scott
Soap-opera in the Roman style: Ferzan Özpetek's opulent, melodramatic meta drama

Heart Wall, Bush Theatre review - deeply felt, but frustratingly incomplete

aleks.sierz
New play about family trauma and grief is subtle, sensitive, but pitted with plot holes

theartsdesk on Vinyl Record Store Day Special 2026

Thomas H. Green
Check our reviews of 28 Records Store Day exclusives

Harry Enfield, Touring review - 40 years of arsing about

Veronica Lee
The character comic looks back at his career

Rebuilding review - finding hope after wildfire devastation

Markie Robson-Scott
The things that got left behind: Max Walker-Silverman directs a film of quiet beauty

The Capture, Series 3, BBC One review - fake it till you make it

Adam Sweeting
Is anything real in Ben Chanan's digital dystopia?

Nicholas Royle: Finders, Keepers review - a never-ending story

Jon Turney
A small-scale journey through literary afterlives unveils a world of wonders

Northern Chamber Orchestra, Beyers, King’s School Macclesfield review - the high-wire experience

Robert Beale
Orchestral music without a conductor has its own unique frisson

Music Reissues Weekly: The Lovin’ Spoonful - What A Day For A Daydream The Complete Recordings

Kieron Tyler
When a narrative becomes more complicated than the one delineated by the hit singles

Tori Amos, Symphony Hall, Birmingham review - a sell-out show that steers away from the obvious

Guy Oddy
A set that is short on hits but that keeps the fans more than happy

Flyby, Southwark Playhouse review - new musical is stratospherically impressive

Gary Naylor
Distance grows between two lovers - and extends to millions of miles

Cecily Brown: Picture Making, Serpentine Gallery review - from vigorous paintings rich in allusion to murky tangles of oil paint

Sarah Kent
An artist who has lost her way

Hurvin Anderson, Tate Britain review - being in one place and thinking about another

Sarah Kent
Gorgeous paintings in search of belonging

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latest in today

'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages of love and support
We are bowled over! We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts…
Between the River and the Sea, Royal Court review - wry take on insoluble antagonisms
Wars in the Middle East provoke furious arguments. Red hot. So why is British theatre so cool, distinctly chilly, about staging new work…
Kraggerud, Irish Chamber Orchestra, RIAM, Dublin review - Mozart and movement
As those of us who were there at what turned out to be his unofficial inaugural concert with the Irish Chamber Orchestra will know, Henning…
In the Print, King's Head Theatre - a moment that changed the newspaper industry for ever
This new play, In The Print – by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky – gives a pacy account of the seminal moment when Rupert Murdoch moved News…
Foo Fighters put on a carefree, playful tone with 'Your Favorite Toy'
To say the last few years have been some of the most painful and tumultuous for Foo Fighters would be quite the understatement. The band's…
Mint, BBC One review - when crime families collide
Filmmaker Charlotte Regan has been moving steadily up the creative ladder with music videos, short films and her 2023 feature debut…
The Dream of Gerontius, LSO and Chorus, Pappano, Barbican review - drama beyond belief
Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius is generally discussed and judged – and judgment, of course, stands at the heart of the work – by those…
Jasper Høiby's 3Elements, Bristol Beacon review - incandescent jazz conversation
Ace bass-player Jasper Høiby achieved fame with his band Phronesis, recording and performing sophisticated yet accessible jazz, and…
theartsdesk Q&A: film director Christian Petzold on 'Miroirs No. 3' and telling stories of shapeshifting women
The main female characters in Christian Petzold’s films are kindred spirits – sisters in subversiveness. Petzold and Nina Hoss collaborated…
Blu-ray: The Devil's Hand
French director Maurice Tourneur (1876-1961) trained as an interior decorator and illustrator, the move into film a logical progression…