18 h. ago Hamlet at National Theatre: the Prince has ADHD in uneven production

Hiran Abeysekera is this Hamlet at the Lyttelton Theatre in a production with plenty of ideas even if it is hit and miss

Politics

68 h. ago The Importance of Being Earnest: 'Stephen Fry's Lady Bracknell is the trump card'

An all-star cast takes on Oscar Wilde’s classic in hyper-camp style

Politics

4 d. ago Entertaining Mr Sloane review: 'Simply too nice, even at its nastiest'

Joe Orton’s twisted comedy about sex and class should be ripe for a modern revival but here it is more Carry On than carnal

Politics

5 d. ago Rise of the supersized sandwich! How Brits are ditching simple ham and cheese for American

A sandwich shop dubbed 'the best in the world' has taken the UK by storm after setting up a pop-up store in London , much to the delight of sarnie-loving Brits.

Politics

7 d. ago CLARKSTON review: Heartstopper's Joe Locke has nailed this coming of age part says PATRICK MARMION

Here we go again with Heartstopper actor Joe Locke.

Politics

7 d. ago Bacchae at the National Theatre: 'Anarchic activism set to rap and dance'

The first play under new National Theatre Director Indhu Rubasingham is production of wild mood swings that ticks off issues but loses the plot

Culture

7 d. ago Clarkston at Trafalgar Theatre review: 'Joe Locke is fine but this is pure American cheese'

The Heartstopper star will bring the crowds but the play is too generic and static to go anywhere

Politics

7 d. ago 50 First Dates the Musical review – This adaptation of the Noughties romcom about a woman with amnesia is suitably forgettable

The trend of putting films from 20 years ago on stage and throwing in some songs continues – but there’s only so far the nostalgia factor can carry an audience

Politics

8 d. ago CLARKSTON review: Heartstopper's Joe Locke has nailed this coming of age part says PATRICK MARMION

Here we go again with Heartstopper actor Joe Locke.

Politics

8 d. ago Bacchae at the National Theatre review: 'Tries representing all causes at once'

The first play under new National Theatre Director Indhu Rubasingham is production of wild mood swings that ticks off issues but loses the plot

Politics

8 d. ago Bacchae at the National Theatre review: 'half really cool, half really naff'

The first play under new National Theatre Director Indhu Rubasingham is production of wild mood swings that ticks off issues but loses the plot

Politics

8 d. ago Toussaint Douglass at the Soho Theatre review: a striking breakthrough from a comedian on the rise

Is it comedy? Is it nightly onstage therapy? Either way it is extremely funny

Events

1 week ago Emma at the Rose Theatre: Jane Austen will be laughing in her grave

Ava Pickett’s new adaptation is not for purists, but it is very funny

Politics

1 week ago The Weir at the Harold Pinter Theatre review: Brendan Gleeson's West End debut is a delight

Conor McPhearson directs this revival of his 1997 play that proves a splendid vehicle for Gleeson’s debut at the tender age of 70

Politics

1 week ago The Sicilian Vespers review – plot and theatrical panache collide in Verdi’s Parisian reinvention

Royal Opera House, LondonStefan Herheim’s production of this fascinating work battles with hollowness and ambiguities despite an impressive debut from Speranza Scappucci as principal guest conductorThe Giuseppe Verdi of 1855 was not unlike the Bob Dylan of 1965. Both had just produced, in rapid succession, three defining masterpieces which would ensure their immortality – in Verdi’s case Rigoletto, Il Trovatore and La Traviata, in Dylan’s the trilogy of albums starting with Bringing It All Back Home. The question that now loomed was – where to go from here?For Verdi, as for Rossini and Donizetti before him, the answer was Paris, and the conquest (and financial rewards) of French opera. The outcome was The Sicilian Vespers, a five act grand opera in French, complete with ballet, depicting the Sicilian rising against French invaders in 1282. It is a work of uncommon musical fascination, in which Verdi subjects his art to a form of self-renewal in something of the manner that Dylan wou...

Politics

2 w. ago The Lady from the Sea review: Alicia Vikander's powerful stage debut

Andrew Lincoln and Joe Alwyn also get wet in this often hilarious and water-drenched reworking of Henrik Ibsen

Politics

2 w. ago The Land of the Living at the National Theatre review: Juliet Stevenson is assured but this play feels hollow

Juliet Stevenson seems to lack compassion in David Lan’s return to British theatre with a story about Nazi-abducted children

Politics

2 w. ago The Lady from the Sea at the Bridge Theatre review: Alicia Vikander makes a splashy stage debut

Andrew Lincoln and Joe Alwyn also get wet in this often hilarious and water-drenched reworking of Henrik Ibsen

Politics

2 w. ago Starter for Ten review – David Nicholls adaptation features some of the best musical numbers of recent years

Musical adaptation of the ‘One Day’ author’s debut novel makes for a delightful night at the theatre

Politics

2 w. ago Earth Angel review – Alan Ayckbourn’s 91st play is a plea for decency

Stephen Joseph theatre, Scarborough In our polarised times, this is a generous look at a friendship between an enigmatic young man and a grieving widowerAdrian Prosper is a no-nonsense kind of guy. A retired police officer, he has dealt with enough lowlifes to see the worst in everyone. Played with frightening humourlessness by Stuart Fox, he is all suspicion and mistrust. When his newly bereaved brother-in-law, Gerald (Russell Richardson), is befriended by Daniel (Iskandar Eaton), an enigmatic young man, he thinks only the worst of the relationship.And he is not alone. In Alan Ayckbourn’s 91st play, he is joined in speculative plotting by Maxine (Liza Goddard), his misanthropic wife, as well as Gerald’s neighbours, the well-meaning Norah (Elizabeth Boag) and the online conspiracist Hugo (Hayden Wood). They are stoked by fear, small-mindedness and tribalism. Continue reading...

Politics