Patrick Barlow's The Messiah relies too much on repetitive and unsophisticated humour to be a hit. The exaggerated mime, malapropisms and 'talking-like-a-ten-year-old', that make up the bulk of The Messiah, are safe comic bets for a brief …
The layered dialogue and mesmerising central performance in Luke Culloty's Jailbirds is weighed down by a disjointed pace, unnecessary staging decisions and a disappointing ending. As audiences walk into the Etcetera, Culloty's ensemble are already onstage - …
Some strong performances and deliciously catty one-liners ensure The Crumple Zone is an enjoyable and inoffensive 75-minutes, but the flimsiness of the writing becomes a bit of a barrier to really feeling able to rave about …
Flux Theatre's production of Chutney is slick, stylish and self-aware - with assured direction and promising performances. I just wasn't mad about the play itself. The sanguinary premise of Reece Connolly’s Chutney is rich, both in dramatic possibility …
Christopher York's metatheatrical reimagining of The Pit and the Pendulum transposes its central characters' dire fate on an unnamed but real-life Iranian activist. When a peaceful Iranian protestor becomes a prisoner, she (meta-theatrically) finds herself in Christopher York’s …
Valiant performances and an interesting, expressionist design are not quite enough to elevate A Pupil's lethargic writing. Lucy Sheen wheels on to stage as Ye, an utterly dejected former musical prodigy. Ye occupies a sparse bedsit that’s littered …
An excellent cast - and accomplished direction - can't quite rescue the Park's revival of Honour from a text that feels dated, formulaic and self-satisfied. Joanna Murray-Smith’s Honour deconstructs an idea still perpetuated by rom-coms, Disney flicks and …
Ian Hislop and Nick Newman's The Wipers Times is a witty, fast-paced and well-performed frolic through Flanders Fields. “There’s nothing funny about the war”: so says one austere general of the British High Command. Quite right he …
Adapted for stage by Jenny King, Bram Stoker's Dracula contains all your vampire clichés but failed to quench my thirst for a particularly original take. In the month of Halloween, Bram Stoker's Dracula seems a timely opportunity to …
Anna Nicholson has true talent for improvisation and facilitating audience participation - which is where the fast-paced, energetic and enjoyable Woman of the Year really holds its own. The Space is a great choice of venue for …
Focusing on the engrained and authoritarian structures that perpetuate the practice of FGM, the topic at the heart of Gloria Williams' Bullet Hole is heartbreaking and vital - but the script lacks the dramatic arc necessary …
Sharr White's disorientating look at the illusions and delusions of dementia is intelligent and sophisticated, but engages the brain more than the heart. A smart set from Jonathan Fensom disorientates as soon as The Other Place's protagonist, …