2 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

2 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

6 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

11 h. ago PATRICK MARMION reviews The Comedy About Spies at the Noel Coward Theatre: A head

A Sixties spy spoof that is like Johnny English meets Basil Fawlty in a Piccadilly hotel. It's bigger, better and more brilliantly bungling than ever.

Events

23 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

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 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

2 w. ago Ben and Imo at Orange Tree Theatre review: a small gem of a play

Erica Whyman’s efficient production retells the story of how Benjamin Britten’s catastrophic Coronation piece Gloriana was created

Politics

2 w. ago PATRICK MARMION reviews Krapp's Last Tape at York's Theatre Royal: Gary Oldman's return to the stage after 37 years makes perfect sense

The Hollywood star has chosen to make his stage comeback - after 37 years - in Samuel Beckett's 50-minute monologue about a rueful old git, surveying the paltry wreckage of his life.

Politics

2 w. ago Hot Chicks review: Powerful play an important message to parents on dangers of drug gangs

Cardiff-born playwright Rebecca Jade Hammond's 75-minute show issues a warning on the dangers for young people in society

Events