Pure, heavenly escapism: The Unfriend, at the Criterion Theatre, reviewed
The Unfriend is a smart new family comedy which opens on the sunlit deck of a cruise ship. Peter and…
PMQs gets worse every week
Gruesome rhetoric at PMQs. The horror began with Sir Keir Starmer revealing that he can tell the time. ‘It’s three…
Comes close to perfection: Watch on the Rhine, at the Donmar Warehouse, reviewed
Watch on the Rhine is the curiously misleading title chosen by Lillian Hellman for a wartime family drama that became…
Clever and witty state-of-the-nation play: Kerry Jackson, at the Dorfman Theatre, reviewed
The National’s new comedy by April De Angelis is a clever and amusing attempt to deliver that most elusive artefact,…
Harry’s interview is an explosive, flame-throwing spectacle
Bombs away! Prince Harry’s mission to dump ordnance on his nearest and dearest continued last night in a riveting interview…
Eccentric triviality aimed at 1970s feminists: Orlando, at the Garrick Theatre, reviewed
Orlando opens with a pack of Virginia Woolfs on stage. All wear the same costume of horn-rimmed spectacles, long tweed…
Cruel but shamefully enjoyable: Vardy v Rooney – the Wagatha Christie Trial reviewed
The Wagatha Christie affair began in 2019 when Coleen Rooney accused Rebekah Vardy of selling stories from her private Instagram…
The acting rescues it: National Theatre’s Othello reviewed
Crude eccentricities damage the potential brilliance of Othello at the National. Some of the visual gestures seem to have been…
An unexpected heartbreaker: Elf the Musical, at the Dominion Theatre, reviewed
Elf opens with an unbelievable premise. Buddy was abandoned as a baby and adopted by Santa’s elves and he spent…
Wordy, overwritten flop – perfect for the BBC: Noor, at Southwark Playhouse, reviewed
A heroic Asian woman parachutes into occupied France to work for the resistance and help overthrow the Nazis. This sounds…
Rebecca Humphries is dynamite – pity about the play: Blackout Songs, at Hampstead Theatre, reviewed
Viewers watching a good romcom need to fall in love with three things. The boy, the girl and the affair…
The UK Drill Project, at The Pit, reviewed
The UK Drill Project is a cabaret show that celebrates greed, criminality and drug-taking among black males in London. It…
Matt Hancock: Star of the ‘I’m a Celeb’ jungle
Has Matt Hancock gone mad? Maybe not. His appearance in ‘I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here’ is…
Who will be next week’s ministerial exit?
For the past fortnight, it was Suella Braverman. Now it’s Sir Gavin Williamson. The media aims to destroy two careers…
The National Theatre deserves to have its budget cut
The arts cuts have arrived. The biggest loser is English National Opera whose annual award of £12.6 million will be…
The dialogue ripples with energy: King Hamlin, at the Park Theatre, reviewed
King Hamlin is a shock-horror drama about gang crime in London. Hamlin, aged 17, has left school without learning any…
PMQs: Starmer’s astonishing Nigel Farage imitation
The small boats have landed. PMQs was dominated by the migration issue and the flotillas of dinghies struggling across the…
Kids will enjoy this new show at the West End's newest theatre more than adults: Marvellous, @sohoplace, reviewed
London has a brand-new theatre – yet again. Last summer, a cabaret venue opened in the Haymarket for the first…
How long before Rishi fatigue sets in?
The Prime Minister has an Asian background. You wouldn’t know that if you listened to the Tories at PMQs because…
This production needs more dosh: Good, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, reviewed
Good, starring David Tennant, needs more dosh spent on it. The former Doctor Who plays John, a literary academic living…
The gripping spectacle of Truss's fight for survival
A week of sheer hell for the Tory leader. Plots and rumours have swirled around Westminster. Rebels are said to…
Mirthless, artless farrago of jabber: The Doctor, at Duke of York's, reviewed
The Doctor is an acclaimed drama from the pen of writer-director Robert Icke. We’re in a hospital run by a…
A show for politicians: John Gabriel Borkman, at the Bridge Theatre, reviewed
Clunk, clunk, clunk. John Gabriel Borkman opens with the obsessive footfalls of a disgraced banker as he prowls the attic…
Is Liz Truss a real grown-up?
Tough call today for Liz Truss. She had to relaunch her premiership at her very first conference as leader. She…
Worthy of Wilde: Eureka Day, at the Old Vic, reviewed
Eureka Day is a topical satire set in a woke school in America. An outbreak of mumps has led to…
