Reviews
The Unknown Soldier, Infra, Symphony in C, Royal Ballet, review - WWI ballet honours obscure tragedy
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Pity fatigue is a risk for any artwork marking the anniversary of the 1918 Armistice. There can’t have been a man or woman in the Royal Opera House on Tuesday night who hadn’t already read, watched, or otherwise had their fill of the horrors of the Western Front and the never-ending debate over the futility of it all.
Summer and Smoke, Duke of York's Theatre review – Patsy Ferran's remarkable performance
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
This production of Tennessee Williams’ neglected classic, Summer and Smoke, arrives from the Almeida into the West End with five-star plaudits for its pitch-perfect performances and pressure-cooker intensity.
Orphy Robinson’s Astral Weeks, London Jazz...
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
After failing to make the charts on its release 50 years ago this month, Astral Weeks has long since passed into pop mythology, its unique amalgam of...
Dietrich: Natural Duty, Wilton's Music Hall...
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Getting the look right is half the battle: in that, Peter Groom's one-time-Captain Marlene Dietrich is a winner from the start. The looks at the...
The English Concert, Bicket, Wigmore Hall review...
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
It’s Christmas already at Wigmore Hall. Or advent at least – this concert of Bach Advent cantatas was presented by the English Concert without...
Fallout 76 review - how to wreck a perfectly good legacy with one messy game
When home runs go horribly wrong |
Kyungso Park, Near East Quartet, Purcell Room review - hot Korean contemporary
Culture clash as K-Music meets the EFG London Jazz Festival with spectacular results |
My Brilliant Friend, Sky Atlantic review - rich revelations of childhood
Elena Ferrante's wonderful world brought to the screen with marvellous care and subtlety |
Gary Numan, Royal Albert Hall review - the best night of his life
No 'Cars', but the ageless electropop pioneer is still in the driving seat |
Jessie Cave, Soho Theatre review - compelling confessional storytelling
A broken relationship examined with raw wit |
Louis Theroux's Altered States: Choosing Death, BBC Two review - profound and moving
Empathy and humanity from Theroux in a powerful documentary about life's conclusion |
EFG London Jazz Festival, first weekend review - Jeff Goldblum a jazz musician?
Bill Frisell mesmerised, Bobby McFerrin enchanted |
Trpčeski, RLPO, Petrenko, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall review - one composer, many views
Brahmsfest brings a big spectacular from a dream team |
Florence + The Machine, Genting Arena, Birmingham review - flying the flag for a hopeful future
Florence Welch takes her hippy schtick back on the road with new tunes front and centre |
Siberia review - Keanu Reeves's duff Russian mission
Crime thriller gets lost in the wilderness |
Daša Drndić: Belladonna review - a tragicomic journey into Europe's darkness
The visionary Croatian novelist, who died in June, has won Warwick University's Women in Translation prize |
War Requiem, English National Opera review - a striking spectacle, but oddly unmoving
A sober and dignified production fails to add value to Britten's score |
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald review - mischief not quite managed
Convoluted mythology stops second Potter prequel from flying |
Kolesnikov, BBCSO, Brabbins, Barbican review - rethought masterpiece, stolid rarity
Uninspired Ethel Smyth Mass follows standing ovation for vivacious Tchaikovsky |
Natalie Palamides, Soho Theatre - challenging show about consent
Deft and witty examination of a difficult subject |
Simon Boccanegra, Royal Opera review - a timely revival of Verdi's political music-drama
Moshinsky's classic production still serves up the visual goods |
Our Classical Century, BBC Four review - enthusiasm and delight
From the trenches to the jazz age, Sir Lenny embarks on an enthralling musical journey |
Macbeth, Shakespeare's Globe review - sexually-charged production draws power from the shadows
A daring counterintuitive reading proves richly rewarding |
Suspiria review - kindly, slow-motion grand guignol
Horror shocker remade with heartfelt emotion |
Hadestown, National Theatre review - new folk musical is hotter than hell
An alternative take on a classic myth produces sizzling results |
The Ballads of Child Migration, St James's Church, Clerkenwell review - into the heart of darkness
A chronicle of Britain's long and shameful history of child migration in a moving song cycle |
Pinters Three and Four, Harold Pinter Theatre review - double bill boasts double acts to treasure
The Pinter season continues, this time in largely comic form |
Thibaudet/Batiashvili/Capuçon Trio, Barbican review – a supergroup to savour
Three solo stars come together in ego-free harmony |
War Horse, National Theatre review - still touching after all these years
International sensation stirs the heart anew in its return home |
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latest in today
The Unknown Soldier, Infra, Symphony in C, Royal Ballet, rev...
Pity fatigue is a risk for any artwork marking the anniversary of the...
Summer and Smoke, Duke of York's Theatre review – Patsy...
This production of Tennessee Williams’...
Orphy Robinson’s Astral Weeks, London Jazz Festival 2018 rev...
After failing to make the charts on its release 50 years ago this month, Astral Weeks has long since passed into pop mythology, its...
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