2 h. ago 1536 turns Anne Boleyn’s downfall into a witty, wrenching parable of girlhood

The themes of female friendships, misogyny and the trickle-down effects of patriarchy are as present today as they are in this play set 500 years ago

Politics

7 h. ago 1536 at the Almeida Theatre review: Ava Pickett's debut play is electrifying

This look at Anne Boleyn’s life is bold, idiosyncratic and disturbingly funny

Politics

7 h. ago Oedipus at Colonus/Electra review – a double shot of Sophocles in Sicily

Greek theatre, Syracuse Two searing new productions, performed in a hallowed space by intense ensembles, bring strikingly fresh energy to the ancient dramasConcurrent London productions recently presented Oedipus as a modern politician pledging a new start (Mark Strong in the West End) and as a distant detective investigating a climate catastrophe that jeopardises Thebans’ future (Rami Malek at the Old Vic).Sophocles’ late play Oedipus at Colonus, less commonly known, looks not ahead but backwards. This elegiac tragedy finds the exile reaching the end of his life. The 5,000-strong audience at Syracuse’s ancient outdoor theatre hear Giuseppe Sartori’s barefoot Oedipus before they see him. His wooden staff strikes the steps as he descends among us, down to the front row and on to a stage populated by trees that thicken the woodland around the theatre. “It seems this place is sacred,” announces Antigone (Fotinì Peluso) at the wanderer’s side. That goes for this Sicilian playing space a...

Politics

11 h. ago The Comedy About Spies at Noel Coward Theatre review: bungling, buffoonish hilarity

Finally, Mischief may have found a match for their smash hit The Play That Goes Wrong

Events

28 h. ago House of Games at Hampstead Theatre review: an efficient, tense piece of work that never quite sings

This continues the venue’s long run of putting on middle to mediocre shows

Society

4 d. ago Marie and Rosetta at the Rose Theatre, Kingston: magnificent singing, pedestrian script

Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu shine as the gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharp and her younger sister, but are undermined by the script

Politics

5 d. ago Here We Are at the National Theatre, Lyttelton review: should this have been staged at all?

Stephen Sondheim’s posthumous musical has no songs, only a stellar cast save it from being completely unenjoyable

Politics

5 d. ago Review: Hamlet Hail to the Thief is unmissable drama at Aviva Studios

The world premiere production fuses Shakespeare with the music of Radiohead - and the results are achingly cool, writes Dianne Bourne

Events

6 d. ago Hamlet Hail to the Thief at Aviva Studios Manchester review: Radiohead plus Shakespeare? Yes please

These two very different works have been fused into an urgent, frantic 100-minute work that’s part drama, part dance piece and part gig

Politics

7 d. ago Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe review: why is it set in the Wild West?

Lola Shalam is strident, standout Juliet - but the production could do without those massive white hats and all that shouting

Politics

7 d. ago The Empire Strips Back at Riverside Studios review: this Star Wars parody is hardly titillating stuff

A row of fishnetted derrieres isn’t that erotic when the women involved are also wearing Imperial Stormtrooper masks

Events

1 week ago Weer by Natalie Palamides at Soho Theatre Walthamstow review: spectacular show to open a spectacular location

A silly, seductive, slapstick joy is the perfect show to open London’s newest theatrical venue

Society

1 week ago Giant at the Harold Pinter Theatre review: 'there is no more urgent play in London right now'

Mark Rosenblatt’s Giant tackles Roald Dahl’s antisemitism in blistering style with a sublimely nuanced performance by John Lithgow

Politics

1 week ago Review: the world premiere musical that's been dazzling audiences in Manchester

The opening night was hit with a technical problem, but it still won a standing ovation from a Manchester audience clearly besotted with this brand new musical, writes Dianne Bourne

Politics

1 week ago George Clooney receives first ever Tony Award nomination as full list of nominees revealed

George Clooney was named in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for his Broadway debut in 'Good Night, and Good Luck'

Events

2 w. ago My Master Builder at Wyndham’s Theatre review: Ewan McGregor's first stage appearance in 17 years is a dud

This play boasts a glib, howlingly pretentious script and a drippy central character in McGregor’s architect Henry Solness

Politics

2 w. ago Britpop battle between Blur and Oasis revisited in ‘punchy’ new comedy

John Niven’s debut play explores rivalry between the two British bands who vied for the No 1 spot in the charts in 1995It was the great Britpop showdown in the summer of 1995, billed as a contest between cheeky chaps and lairy lads. Thirty years on, a new play is to revisit the fierce rivalry between Blur and Oasis when both British bands put out a new single in the same week and competed to grab the No 1 spot in the charts. Some purchased both releases, many couldn’t care less, but for a few days it was a decision that defined you: whether to spend £2.99 on Oasis’s Roll With It or Blur’s Country House?The Battle is the debut stage play of novelist and screenwriter John Niven who said of the era: “Music was so central to the culture that two pop groups could dominate the entire summer, the evening news and the front page of every newspaper in the country. We’re going to take you back there.” Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Dealer’s Choice review – Hammed Animashaun is the ace in a busted flush

Donmar Warehouse, LondonPatrick Marber’s debut play about a group of poker players brims with banter, but this pallid 30th-anniversary revival exposes its weaknessesIn 1995, two British playwrights made their debuts with all-male, six-character chamber-pieces strongly influenced by Pinter and Mamet, and set over one long, tense night in London. Jez Butterworth’s Mojo and Patrick Marber’s Dealer’s Choice proved to be superficially dazzling calling cards rather than enduring classics. Now a pallid 30th-anniversary revival of the latter reveals its weaknesses.Set in a restaurant where the manager Stephen (the Paul Bettany-esque Daniel Lapaine) and his employees Frankie (Alfie Allen), Sweeney (Theo Barklem-Biggs) and Mugsy (Hammed Animashaun) are gearing up for a late-night card game, the play brims with bants.At Donmar Warehouse, London, until 7 June Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Dealer’s Choice at the Donmar: savagely comic study of male compulsion

Alfie Allen and Brendan Coyle star in this banter-filled play about a high stakes card game

Economics

2 w. ago Dealer’s Choice at the Donmar review: savagely comic study of blokes playing poker

Alfie Allen and Brendan Coyle star in this banter-filled play about a high stakes card game

Economics