Much-loved 90s Scottish cult classic movie about heroin addiction gets a slightly baffling musical makeover Thirty years ago back in my provincial hometown, I sat down in the local movie theatre to watch Trainspotting. The subject matter (heroin addiction) did not sound like something that I would ordinarily be interested in, but everyone was talking […]
The Oresteia – The Bridge Theatre
A Greek tragedy for our times The Oresteia is a big play in all senses. It runs for three and a half hours, including two intervals, so it demands a level of commitment from the audience that seems unusual these days, when so many productions are done and dusted within 90 minutes. It is a […]
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Regent’s Park Theatre
Rock and Roll Shakespeare Reaches Music Festival Heights “Sound, music! Come, my queen, take hands with me,And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be.” Perhaps it’s not surprising that A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been performed at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre more than 50 times since its first production there in 1933. The sylvian […]
Springwood – Hampstead Theatre
The hot dog summit Springwood, which has just opened at Hampstead Theatre, is a historical drama that tells the story of the 1939 meeting at Franklin (Robert Lindsay) and Eleanor (Jemma Redgrave) Roosevelt’s New York estate, Hyde Park, with King George VI (Andrew Havill) and Queen Elizabeth (Rebecca Night). The King hopes to garner American […]
London Theatre Previews, July – December 2026 – Off West End
Clue in to the theatre scene as the days shorten There’s a lot to be excited for on London’s ‘Off West End’ scene in the second half of 2026. From big-name performers like Tilda Swinton and Josh O’Connor to community productions celebrating London’s history, we’ve curated a selection of standout ‘Off West End’ shows not […]
South Bank and Bankside Theatre Previews 2026 (July–December)
A guide to theatre on the Thames in the second half of 2026 London’s South Bank and Bankside scene kicks into gear in the second half of 2026. From sprawling Greek tragedies to an intimate portrayal of Jazz Age London, we’ve curated a selection of standout South Bank and Bankside productions not to be missed as the days get shorter. […]
Relics – Hammersmith Lyric
Family secrets and sibling quibbling in Ben Ockrent’s darkly funny play about the physical and emotional relics we inherit “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” is a great motivational phrase. That is, unless there is an inheritance involved…! Throw in four siblings with widely divergent ways of dealing with their family trauma and dynamics, […]
Archduke at Royal Court Theatre
A spellbinding dissection of political violence Rajiv Joseph’s Archduke premiered in Los Angeles in 2017. In the last two years, it’s been re-staged in Britain and America three times. This is no coincidence; there are few works that bite so precisely into the fault lines of strongman politics and restless masculinity. This is a historical […]
Cyrano de Bergerac – Noel Coward Theatre
A moving Cyrano with words that fly Getting an entire audience onto its feet is no mean feat in the London theatre. Yet this is how we found ourselves early in the RSC production of Cyrano de Bergerac, which has opened at the Noel Coward Theatre. In fact, the opening scenes had me wondering quite […]
Sinatra the Musical – Aldwych Theatre
Frank Sinatra Comes to Town Sinatra the Musical has just opened in the West End, following its 2023 Birmingham Rep premiere. Written by the two-time Tony Award-winning writer Joe DiPietro and directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award-winning Kathleen Marshall. This much-anticipated biographical jukebox musical depicts a pivotal period of Frank Sinatra’s life during the 40s and 50s, underpinned by […]