tue 28/01/2025

Theatre Reviews

Parliament Square, Bush Theatre, review – uncomfortable blaze of anger

aleks Sierz

The political story of our time is the upsurge in support for Jeremy Corbyn, leftwing leader of the Labour Party, mainly by young activists who are both idealistic and energetic. But what would happen if one of them decided to go freelance, and pushed their protest beyond the bounds of reason? James Fritz’s resonant and beautifully structured play explores this kind of question.

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Dear Brutus, Southwark Playhouse review - a judicious mix of comedy and sadness

Heather Neill

Confused people, some of whom may have made the wrong choices in life and love, find themselves in an enchanted wood at Midsummer. Dear Brutus has long been seen to echo Shakespeare’s comedy of metamorphosis, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

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The Passing of the Third Floor Back, Finborough Theatre review - the better nature of Jerome K Jerome

Tom Birchenough

Even by the standards of theatrical archaeology that the Finborough has made its own, The Passing of the Third Floor Back is a curiosity. Jerome K Jerome’s 1908 play was a long-running hit in the West End – with Johnston Forbes-Robertson, one of the leading English classical actors of his day, in the lead – before transferring to Broadway for a year.

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Goats, Royal Court review - unfocused and muddled

aleks Sierz

The civil war in Syria spawns image after image of hell on earth. Staging the stories of that conflict presents a challenge to playwrights: how do you write about horror in a way that is both accurate and entertaining?

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A Christmas Carol, Old Vic review - Rhys Ifans takes on Scrooge, triumphantly

Saskia Baron

Fresh from the success of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Jack Thorne now gives us his exuberant adaptation of another much-loved text. Charles Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol is the well-worn morality fable seared into our collective memory by countless screen versions and stage musicals....

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Inside Pussy Riot, Saatchi Gallery review - an immersive misfire

Will Rathbone

You say you want a revolution? Good luck locating one amid the tonally muddled Inside Pussy Riot.

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The Secret Theatre, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - a ferocious topical satire dressed up in period costume

alexandra Coghlan

The Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse may be a historical recreation, but the same shouldn’t be true of the plays staged within it.

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Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Apollo Theatre review - inclusive and utterly joyful

Marianka Swain

Everybody’s been talking about Everybody’s Talking About Jamie since its Sheffield Crucible debut earlier this year. It’s unusual to see a musical come steaming into the West End based on word on mouth – not star casting, or association with an existing franchise.

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Bad Roads, Royal Court, review – memorably unsettling

aleks Sierz

War is morally acidic: it dissolves social rules, loosens inhibitions and gives permission to men to behave like animals. And the people who have to put up with this deluge of amorality and abuse are, of course, women.

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Tiger Bay, Wales Millennium Centre review - ambitious but flawed spectacle

Owen Richards

During the 19th century, Tiger Bay in Cardiff was the beating heart of the Industrial Revolution and the most multicultural area in Britain. Visit today and the only signs remaining are the odd gothic buildings that sit between Doctor Who exhibitions and Nandos.

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Advertising feature

★★★★★

A compulsive, involving, emotionally stirring evening – theatre’s answer to a page-turner.
The Observer, Kate Kellaway

 

Direct from a sold-out season at Kiln Theatre the five star, hit play, The Son, is now playing at the Duke of York’s Theatre for a strictly limited season.

 

★★★★★

This final part of Florian Zeller’s trilogy is the most powerful of all.
The Times, Ann Treneman

 

Written by the internationally acclaimed Florian Zeller (The Father, The Mother), lauded by The Guardian as ‘the most exciting playwright of our time’, The Son is directed by the award-winning Michael Longhurst.

 

Book by 30 September and get tickets from £15*
with no booking fee.


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