Dear England and the English Question
In his new play about Gareth Southgate, James Graham uses football to explore a contested national identity.
ByTheatre review
Ruth Wilson’s The Second Woman is a mesmerising feat of endurance
Over 24 hours, as Wilson played the same scene with 100 different actors, the repetition became addictive – and profound.
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A Little Life is absurdly, tediously, pointlessly bleak
This four-hour self-harm horror-show is schadenfreude dressed up as empathy.
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The magical realism of My Neighbour Totoro
The RSC production of the Hayao Miyazaki film – which has deservedly won six Olivier Awards – combines enchanting stagecraft with…
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Medea at Soho Place: a stunning production that rains down on the patriarchy
Sophie Okonedo’s formidable Medea will go down as a legend in theatre history.
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Dom: The Play is nowhere near as clever as it thinks it is
This twee, smug, lowest-common-denominator political satire is not just bad: it’s mindless.
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A new musical proves it – Sylvia Pankhurst is the feminist icon we need
While her mother Emmeline has traditionally been the most famous Pankhurst, the Old Vic’s new show is just the latest…
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After a visit to the theatre I feel more of a Brightonian than I did the day before
I’d never been to the Theatre Royal before, but its a delightful, old-school place.
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Jews. In their Own Words is a sharp illustration of how the oldest hatred is still with us
Jonathan Freedland’s play considers the prejudicial myths fuelling anti-Semitism today, and how the Royal Court became complicit.
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Tom Stoppard’s new play Leopoldstadt is inseparable from its author’s biography
There is no separating the artist and the art in Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt, which draws directly on his life as a…
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The light and shade of Shostakovich
Igor Levit brings dramatic contrasts to his performance of the preludes and fugues in their entirety, which marked the beginning…
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The relentlessly gynaecological joys of The Welkin
Set in 1759, this play is messy, ambitious and genre-bending.
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Joyous and devastating: Melly Still’s Rusalka caps a season of supernatural tales at Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne has just ended its 2019 season with a radical version of The Magic Flute (is there any other kind,…
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What’s worse, being jealous or crazy? This Cleopatra is both
The National’s Antony and Cleopatra is not Concept Shakespeare; news that many prospective audience members will greet with relief.
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The Jungle: an urgent play gives a voice to refugees
The squalor – and hope – of the lives of asylum seekers has never been better portrayed.
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Why Nina Raine’s Consent left a sour taste in my mouth
In this play, rape matters only for how it affects the plot – not the victim.
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Sex With Robots and Other Devices explores what happens when AI meets shagging
Imagining a future where our sex tech genuinely looks and feels like us.
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The Old Vic’s Mood Music hums with disquiet about the gender dynamics of the music industry
Joe Penhall’s new play features a dispute over songwriting credits.
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Quiz is a fast-paced, hi-tech retelling of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? cheating scandal
This tale of the “coughing major” is a nostalgic romp through the rise of reality television.
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Sound and fury: why Macbeth is having a resurgence in the age of Trump and Brexit
Five performances of Macbeth are on offer in Britain this spring: along with a ballet, a movie, and a novelisation…
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