Highest praise for return of National’s hit show

Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre

Some of the most moving and insightful reviews for some time greeted the return of War Horse to the National Theatre. There was praise for the concept of using puppetry and the execution. All paid tribute to the quality of the production and its effectiveness in conveying the horror of war through the story of a young man and his horse. Its average rating of 4.9 stars is the highest given to a production since this website began its reviews roundups two-and-a-half years ago.

5 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

Holly O’Mahony for LondonTheatre described: ‘Through unrivalled stagecraft that pours care into every tiny detail, it tells the irresistibly moving story of a boy and his horse, and a bond that takes them from rural Devon to the battlefield of World War I in France.’

Time Out’s Andrzej Lukowski reported: ‘It turns out War Horse is still incredible. Number one, the puppets are astonishing. Made by the South African company Handspring, it’s not just that individual puppets are good, but that there are so damn many of them, from horses to birds to a tank (…) and the standard of the puppetry and puppet direction (originally by Handspring’s Adrian Kohler, now by Matthew Forbes) is second to none (…) Number two: (…) It’s sturdy, unfussy storytelling, but this gives it a purity and timelessness’.

Maygan Forbes at WhatsOnStage extoled the virtues of this production: ‘Coleridge may ask us to suspend disbelief but War Horse simply confiscates it (…)Within 90 seconds the brain files “those are puppets” under irrelevant. Joey breathes, flinches, swivels an ear toward a voice. Toby Sedgwick’s choreography and Matthew Forbes’ puppetry direction make three people vanish into one creature, and the seam never shows. The horses don’t trot, they dance.’ Her eulogy ended: ‘In an age teaching machines to counterfeit feeling, here is the opposite: four people, a heap of cane, breathing together. As long as War Horse exists, the National will be fine. Bring tissues. You’ll think you’re above it. You are not.’

Rachel Halliburton at The Arts Desk gave us a detail: ‘In this production – for which Morris is now the director, and Katie Henry the revival director – the extraordinary detail of the way the horse is animated captures you from the start. Joey the foal, who – like the adult Joey – is made from cane, aluminium, stretch net and a synthetic material called Tyvek, lurches unevenly after he is born, before taking off at an experimental gallop. The puppeteers – Jordan Paris, Eloise Beaumont Wood and Anita Adam Gaby – manipulate him to show every twitch of fear, uncertainty, hope, and exhilaration.’

BroadwayWorld‘s Aliya Al-Hussan was not alone in praising the human contribution: ‘Tom Sturgess makes a spirited and sympathetic Albert, with good development between being a younger boy, moving into becoming a man.’ She ended with a heartfelt response to its iumpact:  ‘The fact that most of the audience are wiping away tears at the end shows the extent of emotion this production illicits. But the distress is intrinsic to the impact: this is no melodramatic pull-on-the-heartstrings. The Great War really happened and many hundreds of thousands of Joeys and Alberts lay where poppies now grow. This is theatre and theatrical invention at its finest.’

Tom Wicker for The Stage reminded us: ‘the design and operation of its stunning rod puppetry has proven so influential that it’s easy to overlook the production’s most powerful feature: its nightmarish vision of the brutality of war. That’s something Morris and this revival’s co-director Katie Henry make forcefully clear, as Joey returns to his home theatre.’

The Telegraph‘s Dominic Cavendish also ruminated on the tragedy of the story: ‘The huge risk taken by the show’s creative team – led by directors Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris (who now oversees this fresh iteration) – was to flip the conceit of Morpurgo’s 1982 novel. Instead of the action being narrated by the horse (Joey), our equine hero is placed centre-stage, but mute – in its own world. That could have resulted in a dramatic deficit; instead, owing to the ingenuity of the puppetry (by Handspring) and our own imaginations, this wondrous creature becomes the emblem of innocent suffering in the face of indescribable horror.’

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

The only major reviewer not to award five stars was The Times’ Dominic Maxwell. His reservations were: ‘It’s not flawless. The pace can be stately — more trot than canter sometimes (…) the second half leans into more filmic animations of cavalry charges, tank battles and giant explosions. It’s too busy; it distracts from what’s on stage.’ However, he still gave four stars: ‘The directors throw a lot at Nick Stafford’s script to get it on its legs: Adrian Sutton’s filmic soundtrack, John Tams’s folk songs. Most of it works a treat. And yet, for all that characters note the sentimentality of Albert’s love of Joey while surrounded by copious human suffering, it’s the severed link between a lonely boy and his beloved thoroughbred that still cuts through. Sob. And hooray.’

Critics’ average rating 4.9⭑

Value rating 53 (A combination of average rating and typical ticket price)

War Horse can be seen at the National Theatre until 30 July 2026. Buy tickets directly from the theatre

If you’ve seen War Horse, please leave your review and/or rating below

Swellegant-ish party

Barbican Theatre

For this summer’s musical at The Barbican, the theatre must have hoped the magic of their previous success Anything Goes would be conjured by another Cole Porter musical.  High Society is a stage version of the Grace Kelly/Bing Crosby film with added Porter songs. That the critics loved the score is a no brainer. That some compared it unfavourably to the earlier hit was also inevitable. On the whole though, it went down well. Ace performances from Julian Ovenden, Freddie Fox and Carly Mercedes Dyer helped.  Helen George in what we might call the Grace Kelly role of Tracy Lord was appreciated (‘sassy and vivacious’ The Times). The word ‘Swellegant’ figured strongly in the reviews.

5 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

The Times’ Clive Davis declared: ‘The Barbican delivers authentic widescreen glamour. Tom Rogers’s elegant set design conjures an atmosphere of east coast opulence, while Anthony Van Laast’s ensemble choreography is more than a match for the bustling rhythms of Let’s Misbehave. The musical director Stephen Ridley leads a sprightly orchestra that knows how to swing. This is surely going to be the party of the summer.’ While others were still trying to shake off the memory of Anything Goes, he found: ‘Rachel Kavanaugh’s revival of High Society turns out to be as uplifting as Kathleen Marshall’s Anything Goes’. While some critics were lukewarm about the star, he enthused: ‘Helen George more than steps out of the shadow of Grace Kelly… sassy and vivacious, she brings a fiery edge to her vocals.’

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

’This swellegant, elegant party is gloriously fizzy fun‘ said Marianka Swain at LondonTheatre. She explained: ‘There’s romantic drama, bon mots galore, design to die for, and another salient reminder that with his combination of waspish wit, heartache, and indelible tunes, Porter remains a songwriter supreme.’ She praised the cast: ‘Julian Ovenden, a truly great interpreter of Porter, supplies magnificent vocals, as does the always brilliant Carly Mercedes Dyer (…) Freddie Fox, making his musical theatre debut, is an absolute revelation: not just a wonderfully charismatic, wisecracking Mike, but an able mover and excellent singer.‘

A ‘swellegant, elegant party indeed’ agreed Alex Wood at WhatsOnStage. He asserted: ‘Julian Ovenden brings one of the best musical theatre voices on the planet to the role of Dexter‘. He concluded: ‘it all amounts to a dazzling, seductive night at the theatre’.

‘What a swell party it is’ said Neil Norman, writing for The Stage. He cautioned: ‘The show would benefit from a more conspicuous chemistry between the leading couple and crisper musical arrangements in some of the numbers. But nothing can obscure Porter’s smart lyrics and the production’s upbeat, feel-good nature.’

The Telegraph‘s Dominic Cavendish opened with a summary: ‘Bolstered by star turns – including an impish Felicity Kendal and the fantastic Freddie Fox, making his musical debut – and stuffed with witty, imperishable songs, Rachel Kavanaugh’s sleek production of High Society is an eminently welcome, frothy antidote to fretful times’. He admitted: ‘The show could benefit from a more frenzied spirit, even a roof-raising tap routine (there’s something almost too elegant about the cavorting party piece Let’s Misbehave). Equally, the casual glamour of the 1930s is beautifully suggested and individual performances sparkle amid the palatial Long Island set.’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

The Guardian‘s Arifa Akbar had mixed emotions: ‘The book by Arthur Kopit remains rather wooden. Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, the show seems so preoccupied with dazzling us musically and visually – with lovely choreography by Anthony Van Laast – that it forgets the importance of story, character, emotion. The songs are heavenly though – how could they not be? (…) It does dazzle with impeccable vocal performances all round and some big vivid voices. But, despite an extended version of Let’s Misbehave, it seems too tame, nostalgic and well behaved.’

The Standard‘s Nick Curtis was taken by Helen George, who he said ‘brings a pert, barefoot verve and a powerful set of pipes to heiress Tracy Lord’. He was not so keen on some of the other stars: ‘Julian Ovenden, an established all-rounder given to windy vocalisations, who precisely lacks the breezy charisma required of Tracy’s ex Dexter. And the always charming and attractive Freddie Fox, whose singing voice proves surprisingly good and gets better, but who is incapable of playing the self-doubt and self-loathing of Mike’. As for the production: ‘Kavanaugh’s staging is light, and sumptuous enough in its costumes and Anthony van Laast’s dance routines, but has an arch air, as if the actors are commenting on their characters not inhabiting them.’

Clementine Scott at BroadwayWorld was lightly critical of this light comedy: ‘In an attempt to conjure up the escapist glitz one expects of Cole Porter … this production has gilded the lily a little too much. Tom Rogers’ set is good at balancing squeaky clean New England pastels with something a little more opulent, but some of the set pieces – including a swimming pool and several garden follies – threaten to overwhelm the more subtle moments in the story. Rachel Kavanaugh’s directorial choices feel hedged in by the gaudy aesthetics, as though the production doesn’t trust the strength of the script to stand on its own.’

Time Out‘s Andrzej Lukowski just couldn’t forget Anything Goes at The Barbican five years ago: ‘(High Society) by comparison is… a really adequate production from Rachel Kavanaugh. The Brit director has gathered together a perfectly agreeable group of stage actors’.  For him, Helen George didn’t compare to Sutton Foster: ‘George can sing, dance and act – but she’s only okay at the first two, a triple mild nuisance rather than actual threat’. Then again, who could compare to Sutton Foster? but this led him to make the point: ‘I think the want of that show’s jaw-droppingly acrobatic dance sequences point to the fact that this sort of extremely old school musical needs a lot of razzle dazzle to keep it going’.

Critics’ average rating 3.7⭑

Value rating 33 (average rating combined with typical price)

High Society can be seen at the Barbican Theatre until 11 July 2026. Buy tickets directly from www.barbican.org.uk   A UK tour will follow

If you’ve seen this production of High Society, please leave a review and/or rating below 

Ridiculous but enjoyable

Charing Cross Theatre

In a small Appalachian town, a witch (Glenn Adamson) and a human (Lauren Jones) fall in love amid much opposition. Lindy Robbins, Dave Bassett and Steve Robson provide bluegrass and rock songs which the few professional critics who attended thought were well performed. Jonathan Prince‘s adaptation of the original 1940s (pre-Twilight) plot was considered to lack depth. Georgie Rankcome directs.

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

For The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar, there were pluses and minuses. She began: ‘It’s all rather weird, but proves its own eternal life through the power and personality of the songs (…) There are vocally pure performances across the cast’. On the other hand: ‘it lacks any kind of meaningful insight or profundity (…) the love story does not come alive either, perhaps because it all seems so hammy. She ended in the middle: ‘The production is rather too ridiculous to become the tear-jerker it could be but it’s enjoyable nevertheless.’

Gary Naylor at The Arts Desk advised: ‘go for the agonies of forbidden love and the singing and chemistry of the two leads delivering a pleasant score, but don’t expect narrative depth and don’t think too hard about mysteriously powerful men bewitching young women, be they strongminded or not.’

Clementine Scott at BroadwayWorld thought: ‘Adamson and Jones carry John and Barbara’s high-stakes forbidden romance with rich vocal harmonies and an intoxicating chemistry sure to appeal to romantasy fans.’

2 stars ⭑⭑

Paul Vale for The Stage was not so sure: ‘it struggles to establish characters efficiently (…) Add to this, the disjoin of the two musical styles and it becomes difficult to empathise with such thinly drawn characters.’ He concluded: ‘These performers know how to sell a song, but there’s so much more that needs fixing here.’

Magyan Forbes at WhatsOnStage was also unimpressed: ‘When the drama finally arrives, it’s effective enough, but the road there is long, uneven and oddly hollow. There is undoubtedly talent on this stage, and technical feats are often impressive. But despite all the smoke, shadows and strained yearning, Dark of the Moon never quite finds the pulse it’s searching for.’

Critics’ average rating 2.6⭑

Dark of the Moon can be seen at the Charing Cross Theatre until 8 August 2026. Buy tickets directly from www.charingcrosstheatre.co.uk

If you’ve seen Dark of the Moon at Charing Cross Theatre, please leave a review and/or rating below

Tries hard, doesn’t quite succeed

Prince Edward Theatre

In the words of The Guardian review, ‘yet another movie turned musical hits the West End’. This time it’s Beetlejuice bursting into song thanks to Eddie Perfect‘s compositions and Scott Brown and Anthony King’s book. Don’t worry, Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) is still there. The critics liked the sets, some liked the songs, but they were largely resistant to David Fynn‘s humour as Beetlejuice (‘vulgar, puerile ‘ BroadwayWorld). This was unfortunate since he has become the main player in this adaptation. Hannah Nordberg was praised in the ‘Winona Ryder part’ of the grieving teenager Lydia.

 By the way, the full name of the show is Beetlejuice. The Musical. The Musical. The Musical.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

The Telegraph‘s Dominic Cavendish laid out his case: ‘The show has a lot in its favour – not least daft entertainment value – but it lacks essential spark.’ He went on: ‘The decision to make Beetlejuice the show’s ringmaster, with swearing, smut and local in-jokes about James Corden and Paddington The Musical to boot, results in zaniness overkill. The show can’t take itself too seriously but if it wants its themes about feeling invisible, deathly conformity and the grieving process to land, it needs to calm down.’ He ended: ‘much of it left me cold – Australian composer Eddie Perfect’s generic rock and Broadway pastiche score largely going in one ear and out the other (…) And visually, Alex Timbers’s production has a beautiful sense of hallucinogenic spectacle (…) Rather like Beetlejuice, I find myself caught between two positions; on the one hand, life’s surely too short for such convoluted hokum but, equally, who could revile a show that tries so hard to please?’

The Financial Times’ Sarah Hemming began with the positives: ‘It’s chock-full of smart puppetry (Michael Curry), magic tricks (Michael Weber) and meta-theatrical wisecracks in Alex Timbers’ exuberant production on David Korins’ haunted house set.’ Then came the ‘but’: ‘But gradually the thin yet complicated plot begins to stall and sag, and the spiky script, ingenious design and sheer gutsy energy of the cast aren’t enough to compensate. There’s no sense of real jeopardy to events and it all becomes rather bitty.’

The Independent’s Alice Saville commented: ‘When this show hits the mark, it’s hilarious (…) But too many moments feel rushed and awkward‘. She concluded: ‘All in all, there’s something surprisingly, likably fringey about this Broadway import. It’s a cheeky song-and-dance revue that’ll remind fans why they originally fell in love with Beetlejuice – without resurrecting the original’s spooky power.’

The Times’ Clive Davis recommended it ‘should be consumed with several glasses of wine to get you in the party mood.’ He noted: ‘although it’s tangled at times, the script, peppered with the occasional f-word, is often genuinely witty.’

Alex Wood for WhatsOnStage declared: ‘The good news is, book writers Scott Brown and Anthony King’s take on the irreverent 1988 film has lost none of the cheeky charm that seduced so many American audiences.’ He was pleased that ‘The rock score is delivered here with gusto by a top-tier cast steered by director Alex Timbers – audition staple and fan favourite “Dead Mom” is given a note perfect rendition by Hannah Nordberg as the goth-teen Lydia’. However, David Flynn ‘is perhaps missing some of the malice and dark comedic verve that could add real jeopardy to proceedings. It means the show is constantly an amusing ride, but never really flashes its teeth.’

There was much Chris Wiegand at The Guardian disapproved of: the distracting topical jokes and ‘(Fynn’s) ‘scattershot dialogue as the plot ventures in and out of the Netherworld quickly becomes tiresome (…) The show is at pains to tell you how wild it is, the host more boorish than creepily grotesque. And yet … There’s an awful lot to enjoy in Alex Timbers’ off-kilter production, with uncanny lighting by Kenneth Posner and trippy projections from Peter Nigrini. Set designer David Korins gives devilishly clever makeovers to the house’.

Time Out‘s Andrzej Lukowski wasn’t impressed. He lamented ‘the loss of anything like Michael Keaton’s deranged take on ‘freelance bio-exorcist’ Betelgeuse – the character has been almost unrecognisably reconfigured into a sort of fourth wall-breaking, meme-spouting, supernatural stand-up comedy douchebag (who isn’t even a bio-exorcist!).’ He concluded: ‘Ultimately it has nice sets, nice ballads and if you like aggressively knowing 21st century Broadway humour you’ll have fun. I get what they’ve done and why people like it. But it sells the source material very short.’

Anya Ryan for LondonTheatre commented: ‘even with all the shiny packaging, Alex Timbers’ production never emotionally flies. That might be because Beetlejuice on Broadway feels different to Beetlejuice in the West End. Here, its all-American book by Scott Brown and Anthony King feels out of sync with British dry humour. Beetlejuice, played by David Fynn, is a scheming lunatic, gifting the audience chaotic asides and constant roars. The sickly-sweet couple Barbara (Chelsea Halfpenny) and Adam Maitland (David Hunter), who die tragically in an electrical accident, are oh-so twee and almost entirely void of irony.’ She suggested: ‘ it’s definitely a feast for the eyes. It might be best to forget about the story and surrender to the hellish mayhem instead.’

City AM‘s Adam Bloodworth thought ‘The show looks a million dollars’ but found: ‘the viewing experience feels disattached. Much of that can be linked to the score, which features no ear worms, as well as the comedy lines, which too often don’t quite land – at least in terms of the ones geared towards the adults (…) Overall it is visually overstimulating, a roll-call of high-energy skits that lose their potency due to the sheer amount of them (the show comes in at just shy of three hours).’

BroadwayWorld’s Aliya Al-Hassan called it ‘An entertaining night out, but not a memorable one’. She reserved her harshest words for the lead: ‘David Fynn as Beetlejuice cannot be criticised for the energy and charisma he puts into the role, but the character is less a freelance “bio-exorcist” and more a vulgar, puerile, coke-snorting narcissist, joking about catching herpes and frequently rubbing his own nipples.’

2 stars ⭑⭑

The Stage‘s Sam Marlowe delivered a death blow: ‘while the show … didn’t quite make me abandon the will to live, by the time it was blessedly over, death had pretty much lost its sting.’ She explained: ‘An overlay of sentimentality and a re-centring of the Ryder character, Lydia Deetz, alongside the mischievous demon isn’t enough to give the narrative heart or purpose. And Alex Timbers’ production … looks cheap and feels flat, however strenuously a capable cast try to cajole us into having a wild time.’ As for the lead: ‘Fynn’s stripy-suited Beetlejuice is an epically irksome creation – there’s no wicked charm to offset his unsavoury freakiness, so although he toils hard, he quickly becomes an irritant. ‘

Critics’ average rating 2.9⭑

Value rating 36 (critics’ rating combined with typical price)

Beetlejuice: The Musical can be seen at the Prince Edward Theatre until 17 April 2027. Buy tickets directly from the theatre

If you’ve seen Beetlejuice: The Musical at the Prince Edward Theatre, please leave a review and/or rating below

Menier Chocolate Factory Theatre

Peter Shaffer’s play about a psychiatrist trying to understand why a teenage boy has blinded six horses is back. The critics liked the way Lindsay Posner‘s production used unadorned, bare chested actors as the horses (no hooves or horses’ heads as has been traditional). This brought out the homo-erotic side of the play. Several reviews emphasised that the  methods used by psychiatrist Martin Dysart have long been abandoned, but all agreed it holds up as a drama. Toby Stephens‘ portrait of Dysart received muted praise; Noah Valentine got top marks for his vulnerable patient Alan Strang.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

The Standard‘s Nick Curtis gave us the lowdown in his first paragraph: ‘This classy revival of Peter Shaffer’s 1973 play about a boy undergoing analysis after blinding six horses reveals its hybrid nature. Equus is an earnest exploration of belief, a homo-erotic study of repressed sexuality and an occasionally absurd melodrama. Lindsay Posner’s production, which marks Shaffer’s centenary, showcases a performance of glittering vulnerability from emerging talent Noah Valentine as the boy, Alan Strang, while Toby Stephens flirts with hysteria as the shrink, Martin Dysart. ‘

Kate Wyver for The Guardian got quite excited: ‘Lindsay Posner revives Equus with precision, as absolute power shifts, homoerotic desire grows and the muscular allure of a stallion becomes irresistible.’

The Telegraph‘s Dominic Cavendish found: ‘It’s wonderful to see an actor as young and vulnerable as Valentine capitalise on his freshness while commanding the stage. He is sulky, aggressive, inward, and awkward with his interlocutors; then, in the flashbacks that conjure his assignations with his stablemates, he peels that away, innocent in his nakedness and joyous as he rides, with an orgasmic release, on the shoulders of his beloved.’

Holly O’Mahony for The Stage commented: ‘Lindsay Posner’s production is a thing of beauty; powerful, carnal, elegant and precise.’ Having echoed Dominic Cavendish’s praise of Valentine, she noted: ‘Toby Stephens is riveting as Martin Dysart, the psychiatrist treating Alan and whose fascination with the boy’s crime extends beyond the professional. He’s every bit a man internally at war with his own reined-in emotions, and concerned about quashing those of his patient.’

Time Out‘s Andrzej Lukowski had this to say about the two stars: ‘Stephens’ Dysart is a vulnerable, nervy man whose cultivated professional veneer conceals doubts from the off … Stephens gives him a sense of fallibility from the off as he cringes from a furious Alan during a first encounter. And Noah Valentine is a wonderful Alan, boyishly vulnerable but with an elemental otherness that’s often menacing in the extreme but is also pure, free, his own.’

WhatsOnStage‘s Sarah Crompton talked about the horses: ‘The choreography by James Cousins magnificently embodies the horses in the form of six dancers, bodies smeared with black, who sit at the back of Paul Farnsworth’s stark arena of a set, watchful and still. When called into action, their bodies uncoil into the shapes of the animals, shoulders flexing, heads nuzzling and nudging, arms and legs shaped into an uncanny and communicative suggestion of movement. Sometimes they come together to convey the size and heft of the horses Alan will ride. This approach, so different from the masked stylisation of the original production, emphasises the erotic as well as the religious obsessions that have transformed horses into an object of worship.’

BroadwayWorld‘s Aliyah Al-Hassan recorded: ‘The Menier is a brilliant venue for the production, small enough to convey the intense claustophobia in the play, but also to appreciate the strength of the actors at such intimate quarters. It feels almost voyeuristic, peering into the darkness of Paul Farnsworth’s stark set. Posner approaches the famous nude scenes with delicacy and thoughtful care, but leans into the inherent unease in the play. It is not an easy watch, but a hugely moving and compelling one.

The Independent‘s Alice Saville felt: ‘it’s apt that Lindsey Posner’s striking staging feels as intimate as trespassing into a teenager’s bedroom. The lights are dim, and bare-chested dancers are the only furniture. Soon, the Menier’s small stage seems to swell, its walls struggling to contain the vastness of this young man’s terrifying internal world.’

Matt Wolf for LondonTheatre told us he had seen every production of Equus in New York and London, so it was praise indeed when he wrote: ‘Lindsay Posner’s deeply impassioned production … honours the legacy of a British playwright unrivalled in the sheer theatricality of his imagination.’ He noted: ‘Dispensing here with the metal hooves and headgear of the Napier original, Posner’s production foregrounds six performers of astonishing athleticism…the animals move with unerringly angular grace, the first act culminating in a naked Alan’s victorious ride atop Nugget in a genuine coup de théâtre that sends one in a state of astonishment into the interval.’ He concluded: ‘What matters in Equus is the fearless study in extremities that Dysart tells us early on “is the point”: this production, as it must be, is a wild ride.’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

Although he acknowledged the quality of the production, The Times’ Clive Davis wasn’t won over by the play: ‘in the overwrought conversations, the deck is fatally loaded. Dysart, forever lamenting his loveless marriage, talks of how the boy has “known a passion”. Strang’s uncomprehending parents, forcefully played by Emma Cunniffe and Colin Mace, are stock lower-middle class characters from a 1950s Rank potboiler.’

Critics’ average rating 3.9⭑

Equus can be seen at the Menier Chocolate Factory Theatre until 4 July 2026.  Buy tickets directly from the theatre

If you’ve seen Equus at The Menier, please leave a review and/or rating below

Profoundly moving story of end-of-life care

Old Vic Theatre

Alexander Zeldin‘s latest play, which he also directed, transports the audience into the dementia section of a care home, where Joan played by Call The Midwife‘s Linda Bassett has just arrived. We follow her decline while also meeting other residents and the staff. All the critics found it a hard but rewarding watch. Linda Bassett received the highest praise but other members of the cast- Rosie Cavaliero as her daughter, Llewella Gideon as a carer, Richard Durden as another resident, and more- were also acknowledged by the critics for their performances. All agreed that Rosanna Vize‘s set captured the atmosphere of a care home where the residents are detached from life and waiting for death.

5 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

The Telegraph‘s Dominic Cavendish began his review: ‘Care at the Young Vic is a profoundly moving, beautifully acted portrait of life, and death, in a nursing home for the elderly. It’s the best thing writer-director Alexander Zeldin, 41, has done, which is saying something.’ He was not alone in revealing that his review was informed by his own experience: ‘In 2023, I went through something similar with my own mother. It’s a tribute to how responsibly this play is handled that it left me devastated once again, yet cathartically released. Care is theatre at its best.’

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

<The i’s Fiona Mountford also touchingly referred to the ordeal she had in the last year of her mother’s life: ‘The mood of the piece settles into one of deliberate slowness and boredom, interspersed with sudden sharp bursts of emotion; this perfectly mirrors the experience I had of watching someone I loved wither away in a range of care facilities.’ While praising the accuracy and poignancy of the play, she pointed out: ‘For all their complaints about being overworked and under-resourced, the two carers we see, above all, Llewella Gideon’s cheerfully resilient Hazel, have an almost saintly amount of time and patience for their charges. It seems to have become an obligation for all care workers and NHS staff to be portrayed like this, but unfortunately, this is very far from my experience with Mum. The care she received was competent at best, yet far more often cursory, bordering on the downright negligent. It’s a comforting delusion that a broken system is held together by human heroes.’ [I’ve assumed a 4 star rating].

Holly O’Mahony at LondonTheatre wrote: ‘Alexander Zeldin blows open the doors to the care system and, over two hours of naturalistic scenes, makes us confront a reality we’d sooner shy away from.’ She concluded: ‘It’s a form of endurance theatre for the audience – the kind that lodges a lump in your throat and doesn’t let up – but making us face dying and death in this way is arguably its own form of care.’

‘It is gruelling, intense and true, with darkly sublime performances from actors playing the residents’ said The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar. She described it: ‘Set in what seems like a locked dementia ward, this play is both an unwavering portrait of what it means to be old, and an indictment of a system that leads to such acute loneliness in this last leg of life.’

The Times’ Clive Davis declared: ‘Zeldin…forces us to watch things we would rather not think about. At this drab establishment two overworked staff members, Hazel and Fanta (Llewella Gideon and Aoife Gaston), calmly supervise individuals whose minds are slowly coming adrift. These people wander through each day like ghosts.’ He said: ‘by the end you’ll feel drained but also quietly grateful. Zeldin has guided us through another country.’

‘it is gruellingly compelling’ reported The Standard‘s Nick Curtis. He had reservations: ‘Old, infirm people just aren’t this funny, and even those in extreme distress aren’t this consistently sad.’ He qualified this by saying: ‘But this is to apply real-life standards to what is, after all, a work of fiction. And the grinding pace, the repetition and the exasperation of old age is well observed. If this doesn’t sound like a barrel of laughs, it’s because it’s not. But it is a singular, compassionate piece of work.’ He mentioned: ‘Rosanna Vize’s authentically bleak set transforms twice, and it’s surely testament to the studied realism that she and Zeldin bring to this world that I thought I even caught a musty, antiseptic care-home smell.’

Clementine Scott for BroadwayWorld noted: ‘At the heart of this play…is a keen sense of how older people experiencing cognitive decline behave, and what that might illuminate about their subconscious (…) Just one throwaway line, or even one pointed look, betrays an entire universe of nostalgia and trauma living in the mind of someone who can no longer fully express it.’ She concluded: ‘Care is a great theatrical achievement just for its attempts to plumb the subconscious of the elderly, rather than treating them merely as objects of sympathy. There is nothing saccharine here, but instead a dignified portrait of old age in all its complexities.’

The Stage‘s Sam Marlowe found: ‘The piece is meticulously, unflashily acted by a faultless ensemble, and its situations – minor tragedies, no less shattering for being commonplace – are often heartbreaking. There is a tinge of sentimentality and sanitisation that slightly undercuts the production’s power. Yet despite those somewhat softened edges, at more than two interval-free hours it’s a tough watch.’

Time Out‘s Andrzej Lukowski praised the lead: ‘Bassett is an absolute trooper, giving an utterly unflinching – and ultimately very brave – performance as a kindly grandmother being slowly hollowed out over the course of the play’s nebulous (but at least, months-long) time frame.’

Critics’ average rating 4.1⭑

CARE can be seen at the Young Vic theatre until 11 July 2026. Buy tickets directly from the theatre.

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Michelle Terry triumphs as Brecht’s wartime entrepreneur

Shakespeare’s Globe

Running alongside A Midsummer Night’s Dream this summer, Shakespeare’s Globe is programming their first play by Bertolt Brecht. Many critics loved the emotional impact of Artistic Director Michelle Terry’s performance as Mother Courage and Anna Jordan’s gritty adaptation of the story of a woman trader who adapts to the horrors of war, but a minority felt Elle While‘s production wasn’t true to the author’s ‘epic theatre’ genre, intended to keep the audience at a distance. There were mixed opinions about the set and the singing, but the reviewers praised Vinnie Heaven, and Rawaed Asde and Rachelle Diedericks as the Children.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar contemplated the decision to veer away from Brecht’s intention: ‘This production … seems to break the first rule of Brecht’s epic theatre, which requires emotional distance. It conjures Brecht’s upside down world, in which war denotes order and profit, while underlining all the losses that Mother Courage faces in spite of her relentless entrepreneurialism and attempts at profiteering – selling anything from burgers to ammunition and sex. But it is human, moving and funny. The distance closes and the production becomes devastating in its most savage moments, when Mother Courage loses her children, one by one. Translator Anna Jordan justifies these moments by interpreting Brecht’s rule of verfremdungseffekt as making the drama “strange” rather than distanced. And in director Elle While’s powerful production, the emotional drama is tightly controlled, flaring up momentarily.’

Fiona Mountford for the Telegraph noted: ‘the Globe’s first ever foray into the German playwright’s work has two glorious weapons in its (pacifist) arsenal. The first is Anna Jordan’s astute and nimble adaptation and the second is artistic director Michelle Terry triumphing in the towering central role.’

‘At the heart of it all is Terry,’ agreed WhatsOnStage’s Sarah Crompton, ‘coarse, funny, shocking. She commands the space as she wheels and deals, sharp-eyed in search of a quick buck, a profit. She claims she is doing it all to survive, but Terry is good at communicating how alive it makes her feel’.

Holly O’Mahony at The Stage described Michelle Terry: ‘(her) superpower is her rare ability to slip into any part and seem born to play it – and this really is a winning turn. Utterly charming and manically chipper’.

Tom Wicker for Time Out said: ‘Terry is astonishingly good as Mother Courage. She’s bawdy, broken and ferocious, with a physicality always halfway between entreaty and attack.’

The Standard’s Nick Curtis praised other members of the cast: ‘There’s nice work too from Vinnie Heaven and Rawaed Asde as Courage’s sons, and a deeply moving performance from Rachelle Diedericks as her mute daughter Kattrin. But the show belongs to Terry. Her Courage is a flame-ringleted force, attractive in her crude energy, repellent in her lack of morals, fascinating in the unforgiving brusqueness of her motherly love. It’s a hardcore performance in a hardcore show that won’t be to everyone’s taste.’

Theo Bosanquet for LondonTheatre described the set: ‘Designer takis [sic] has taken the theme of dystopia and run with it, covering one pillar with oil drums and scaffolding, while the costumes are all filthy denims, torn vests and blood-caked overcoats.’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

The Arts Desk’s Rachel Halliburton noted ‘Elle While’s uncompromising production is like a Mad Max cabaret at the end of time, a post-apocalyptic vision of a world corrupted by violence and greed. The impact is heightened by a punchy, expletive-stacked translation from Anna Jordan that vividly demonstrates the corrosive impact of conflict on language.’ Her middling rating seemed surprising given the amount of praise she lavished but: ‘Trivial though it may sound to observe, if only the singing had been uniformly strong, this production would have been astonishing.’

2 stars ⭑⭑

The Times’ Clive Davis agreed about the music: ‘The Globe’s house style, all jaunty, ragged street melodies, one part jazz, one part folk, is beginning to sound threadbare.’ He made clear he doesn’t like the play, calling it: ‘drama that presses home the same grim message at length.’ He thought:broadway  ‘the lumbering version of Mother Courage and Her Children … is not going to do much to dispel Brecht’s reputation for being didactic.’ As if that wasn’t enough: ‘It doesn’t help that this production, designed by takis, lacks visual flair.’

Unlike The Guardian’s critic, Gary Naylor at BroadwayWorld was not so forgiving of the liberties taken with Brecht’s work. He didn’t think this genre of theatre worked in the Globe space: ‘The distance, strangeness and alienation that lies at the heart of Epic Theatre just can’t be established. It is impossible to avoid theatre’s history, theatre’s wonder and, most of all, theatre’s connection to its public at The Globe, built explicitly to place such thoughts at the heart of its work.’ In any case, he wasn’t keen on the production : ‘For all its ambition and Terry’s remarkable energy in portraying a remarkably energetic woman, the vision of this production never resolves into a clear picture, too sharp at some times, too fuzzy at others’.

Critics’ average rating 3.5 ⭑

Mother Courage and Her Children runs at Shakespeare’s Globe until 27 June 2026. Buy tickets directly from the theatre www.shakespearesglobe.com

If you’ve seen Mother Courage And Her Children at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, please leave your review and/or rating below

Life imitating art- entertaining or boring

Hampstead Theatre

Sarah Ruhl‘s play Stage Kiss went down well in the US, so the UK premiere was much anticipated. In the event, the critics’ reaction was lukewarm. The play includes two plays-within-the-play which involve amusing parodies of rehearsals and the acting world. It also delved into the way emotion from art and real life can get confused, by us as well as the people on stage. Some critics thought this worked (‘profound..entertaining’ Time Out), others didn’t (‘borders on the bland, bloviating, and boring’ BroadwayWorld). The cast were praised: Myanna Buring as She, Patrick Kennedy as He, Rolf Saxon as The Director, Oliver Dimsdale as The Husband. The production is directed by Blanche McIntyre.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Nina Culley for Time Out found: ‘The dialogue is zigzagging, joyfully absurd with the right amount of twists. The tension between the hamminess of Act One and the grit of Act Two is a juxtaposition rarely staged this openly – and if it never quite commits to either, Ruhl’s comedy holds it together. In the end, what Stage Kiss leaves you with is something approximately profound, but above all, very entertaining.’

The Times’ Clive Davis called it a ‘light but droll comedy (that) delights in playing games with the audience.’ ‘Ruhl has enormous fun sending up the conventions of a period piece where a maid makes hurried entrances and the leads utter clipped, pseudo-worldly dialogue before breaking into the occasional song.‘ ‘MyAnna Buring and Patrick Kennedy are perfectly poised as the lovers. Rolf Saxon quietly steals scenes as the director, while the multitasking James Phoon wins well-deserved laughter as an inept understudy. Blanche McIntyre’s direction is attentive to every comic detail’. He ended: ‘Just when you think Ruhl is losing focus, you realise that she is still toying with us.’

Helen Hawkins at The Arts Desk spoke of Ruhl ‘niftily juggling meta themes with standard comedy of manners tropes as she probes the line where real life blurs with stage life. She brings a sly but warm, grounded humour to the material that allows the audience to sit back and enjoy the ride.’

’It’s playful but sincerely meditative’ summed up Miriam Sallon for WhatsOnStage.

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

The Standard’s Nick Curtis noted: ‘There’s an interesting idea here, I think, about how we use actors as proxies to explore how life should be lived. But it gets stomped on by the galumphing comic business, which includes toppling pot-plants, onstage injuries and misfiring props, and the knowing staginess of it all.’

Dave Fargnoli of The Stage found: ‘While Buring and Kennedy nail the humour of their roles, the chemistry between them never quite convinces, always feeling strained. More believable and tender is She’s attachment to her husband, the surprisingly humble finance bro Harrison – given an aura of quiet acceptance by Oliver Dimsdale.’

2 stars ⭑⭑

Lucinda Everett for The Guardian liked the earlier part of the evening but: ‘Stage Kiss also has its sights set on the interplay between art and life – specifically whether onstage romance can conjure real feelings – and here it comes unstuck, thanks to some pointed but unsteady metatheatricality.’

Cindy Marcolina at BroadwayWorld didn’t pull her punches: ‘this is an uncomplicated, easy, unchallenging comedy for the easily pleased that borders on the bland, bloviating, and boring. Not only it’s too melodramatic for what it is, but it also contains so much surplus material that its two-hours-ten-including-an-interval could be streamlined into a 90-minute-straight-through by a dramaturg.’

Critics’ average rating 3.3⭑

Stage Kiss can be seen at Hampstead Theatre until 13 June 2026.  Buy tickets directly from the theatre

If you’ve seen Stage Kiss, please post your review and rating here

An evening in the presence of greatness

Royal Court Theatre

An hour an ten minutes might not constitute a full evening’s entertainment for some but for the critics it was a case of quality not quantity in this Beckett themed double bill. The main attraction was Gary Oldman who directed, designed and starred in Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, which premiered at Theatre Royal York. All the critics, with one exception, lavished praise on his portrayal of an old man listening to himself on tape 30 years earlier and displaying surprise and disappointment at how life hasn’t turned out as he expected. The critics’ awe at being in the presence of Mr Oldman extended to universal references to his role as Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses, and the fact that the tape recorder was also used by Michael Gambon and John Hurt when they played Krapp.
The curtain raiser was a new play by 19 year old  Leo Simpe-Asante called Godot’s To-Do List, which was generally well received. In it, a young Godot (Shakeel Haakim) is detained by a voice giving him tasks to perform.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

BroadwayWorld’s Aliya Al-Hassan was entranced by Oldman: ‘His performance in Krapp’s Last Tape is mesmerising: the role requires the actor to bring so much to the act of a cough, a sigh or eating a banana (or three) and Oldman imbues all actions with huge purpose’…(He) displays huge vocal skill; the recordings of his younger voice have a brighter, more lyrical tone, contrasting with the creaky gruffness of older age.’ She gave three stars to Godot’s To-Do List: ‘a fun and quirky opener’.

The Standard’s Nick Curtis analysed Gary Oldman’s performance: ‘Oldman’s Krapp (the scatology is deliberate) is a layered, nuanced investigation of Beckett’s low-key miniature. He mines pathos and comedy from a softening of the eyes or a tightening of the mouth as much as from the scanty text (…) watching Oldman eat a banana is mesmerising. The first thing Krapp does is devour two of them, deliberately and with relish. Emotions chase each other across his face: greed, melancholy, guilt (…) The ending, when Oldman stares ahead as the light dwindles on the quietly turning tape spools before him, is magnificent.’

The Independent’s Alice Saville pointed out: ‘This play is Beckett at his brilliant, merciless best, and Oldman’s staging brings out all its cruelty by showing how utterly destroyed Krapp has been by his own self-deluded ambitions (…) It takes a lot of genius and a lot of experience to convey oceans of complexity in a few short words – and Oldman’s return to Beckett does just that. It’s a profoundly weighty half an hour, saturated in regret and loathing for the youthful hubris that’s gone before.‘ She was critical of the choice of opener: ‘there’s also a juvenile crassness to its jokes about pig orgasms, and a flimsiness to its structure that can’t stand up to Beckett’s masterfully constructed monologue.’

The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish noted: ‘as he cradles the old reel-to-reel kit, and listens intently, and inscrutably, it’s as if Oldman’s derelict, largely desk-bound figure is trying – impossibly – to spirit himself into the words, and the warmer past, itself.’ He called Godot’s To Do List ‘simple but inspired’.

The Stage’s Sam Marlowe welcomed: ‘all the skill and presence you’d expect from Oldman is very much in evidence; bleakly absorbing.’ She commented on Godot’s To-Do List: ‘ Simpe-Asante has a confident command of theatrical gesture and language, and Haakim is engaging as the confounded everyman Godot.‘

Chris Wiegand of The Guardian thought the new play a worthy opener:  ‘Simpe-Asante laughingly considers, yet crucially does so with compassion, the sense that any of us could ever wield any kind of control in this world. It shows, at one point quite literally, a futile search to be in sync with your surroundings.’ About Krapp he said: ‘Oldman’s direction delicately captures a sense of nightfall, with the dying moments of Malcolm Rippeth’s lighting design creating a terrible pathos (…) A stillness concealing tumult is exactly what Oldman’s expression captures as the machine whirs almost like lapping water, and he picks over what is left behind in life when the tide goes out.’ Perhaps in an attempt to having to provide an average rating, Mr Wiegand gave no rating. I’ve assumed 4 stars because that was his rating when he saw it in York.

Tim Bano for The Financial Times commented on the curtain raiser: ‘You could read it as a piece about the tyranny of tech, how our watches now tell us when to stand up; you can see it as a warning about our inability to enjoy the present moment. Wry and smart, it finally explodes into a Beckettian flash of words about the meaning of existence.’  As part of his analysis of Oldman’s performance in Krapp’s Last Tape, he noted: ‘you can almost see those small scenes from his life drift across his eyes, his face responding with expressions of fondness, then dismissal, before a final staring sadness as he fades slowly to black.’

‘Simpe-Asante has created something fresh and modern’ noted Olivia Rook at LondonTheatre before moving on to the main event: ‘It is an understated performance that requires patience from its audience — much of the time Oldman is chuckling or grunting at something his former self has said; in other moments, he sits in silence.’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

Was the lavish praise of Gary Oldman in the 4-star reviews a case of the Emperor’s new clothes (or in this case a Jackson Lamb style ‘grubby shirt’)? The Times’ Clive Davis declared himself ‘slightly underwhelmed’.  He noted: ‘Much of the time Oldman strikes impassive gestures as he spools back and forth on his old school reel-to-reel machine’. He liked the opener: ‘a little like hearing the lugubrious Beckett given a generous dose of laughing gas.’

Critics’ average rating 3.9⭑

Krapp’s Last Tape can be seen at the Royal Court theatre until 30 May 2026. It’s sold out but returns and Monday rush tickets may be available from royalcourttheatre.com

If you’ve seen this double bill at the Royal Court, please leave a review and/or rating below

Happy Dream

Shakespeare’s Globe

Only a few months after The Globe’s last Dream, not to mention the Bridge’s revival of their Dream and an RSC production at The Barbican, London has yet another version of Shakespeare’s popular comedy. Only this time it’s less dark and a lot more frivolous, as all the critics agreed. Emily Lim has a reputation for involving communities in theatre, and she applies her skills and experience to a production that involves the Globe audience in a lot of fun.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Miriam Gillinson for The Guardian loved it: ‘It’s generous, creative and clever, always with an eye to making the audience feel included. With gloriously extravagant costumes (concept by Fly Davis), a set that spontaneously blooms from designer Aldo Vázquez, hearty folk music by Jim Fortune and effervescent comic performances, this is the rarest of things: a Dream the whole family can enjoy.’

Rachel Halliburton at The Arts Desk declared: ‘It’s a Dream that’s very much in the Globe’s tradition of crowd-pleasing entertainment, filled with music, laughter, and appropriately absurd audience participation.’

LondonTheatre’s Aliya Al-Hassan was transported: ‘It’s true that we never feel the nervousness of the lovers alone in the forest, nor any of the potentially unsettling aspects of the text. But shying away from the darker sides of the play feels more than appropriate for these troubled times, and this Dream is perfectly frivolous summer fare.’

Clementine Scott at BroadwayWorld felt: ‘This version of Dream is something close to a folk musical, with original songs by Jim Fortune. The inherent artificiality of musical theatre, breaking into song and such, works well with the general sense of performance, and of witnessing some sort of deftly choreographed ritual.’

Time Out’s Andrzej Lukowski was charmed: ‘it uses the Globe’s large, lairy crowd to maximum impact for a production that cheerily deviates repeatedly from Shakespeare’s exact text in a joyous, almost non-stop welter of audience interaction.’

The Standard’s Nick Curtissurprised himself: ‘It can be played dark or light. In Lim’s hands it’s a sunny show, decked with trippy flowers and colourful costumes, where the undercurrent of horror is only faintly implied. There’s copious audience participation, however, which is usually my very idea of horror but works surprisingly well here.’

Calling it ‘irresistible fun’, The Financial Times’ Sarah Hemming said the production ‘emphasises the theatricality and communality of Shakespeare’s comedy. Lim, who has previously worked on large-scale public-interaction theatrical works, foregrounds the role-play in the story and celebrates the transient community created by live theatre.’ She noted: ‘In the programme, Lim talks about “joy as a radical act” that can bind communities together. That’s what she delivers, and it feels pretty necessary right now. ‘

The Times’ Dominic Maxwell praised: ‘Grady-Hall…proves a clown of twinkling restraint. I say “restraint” — his Puck sports green tights adorned by table-tennis balls. Yet he plies his quirkiness calmly and plays the audience like a musical instrument as he encourages different sections to sing different notes on his cue. And that’s the key to the success of an evening that’s not so much good drama as a good time.’

Theo Bosanquet for WhatsOnStage overcame his reservations: ‘it feels the narrative is sublimated to the showmanship, the darker and more poetic aspects of the play drowned out in a (literal) sea of bubbles. But this is forgivable in a version that feels unapologetically fun, escapist and, I daresay, well-judged for the current times.’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish was the only notable critic not to immerse himself in the lovefest, describing it as a ‘rainbow-colourful, strenuously frisky al fresco version, glutted with audience participation. Yet, for all the admirable industry and invention of Emily Lim’s production, at times I felt as if I’d been trapped in Butlin’s rather than spirited away to an enchanted forest outside Athens (…) The cast seem to be having a ball – many Globe-goers will, too. I just wish there was a bit more trust in the Bard to work his own magic.’

Critics’ average rating 3.9⭑

A Midsummer Night’s Dream can be seen at Shakespeare’s Globe until 29 August 2026. Buy tickets directly from the theatre.

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