Royal Albert Hall, LondonShiny-suited and slick, the US standup fired off peppy and sometimes taboo-teasing gags about his cultural identity, married life and visits to a fertility clinicYou…
Nottingham PlayhouseThe camaraderie and eccentricities of some model railway enthusiasts make for an endearing group portrait in William Ivory’s well-gauged comedyBefore the play begins, a…
Royal Exchange, ManchesterA celebration of the cartoonist’s sexual awakening and queer identity as well as an investigation of darker family dynamics, this soulful show wears its heart on …
Braboeuf Manor, GuildfordElegantly stitching the plays into two parts of the same continuing story, Tom Littler’s sunny al fresco productions play every possible tragicomic noteTwo Shakesp…
Pitlochry Festival theatreMaureen Beattie leads a modern-dress version, which focuses on family dynamics rather than the decline of Shakespeare’s mighty rulerYou know when you walk into a …
The playwright has long been considered one of the country’s most famous exports, but not an ‘Irish writer’. An ambitious new season of plays explores his complex relationship with his…
Schwarzman Centre, OxfordHeadlong’s take on Karel Čapek’s 1920 tale of romance and robots is rife with timely debates about tech’s threat but at times the philosophical discussions dr…
The horny TV series has inspired a whopping four comedy shows this summer. Their makers explain why musical theatre and steamy action are such good bedfellows – and why there’s no rivalr…
Theatre503, LondonMixing naturalism and fantasy, Katie Đỗ’s debut is conceptually inventive but flawed by over-short scenes and scant emotive appealThis debut by Vietnamese-American pla…
Swansea Grand theatreSchool locker room banter has a sinister edge in Jonathan Houlston’s shrewd debut, which pairs the toxic tropes of Adolescence with the group dynamics of Laura Wade’…
The standup on bad gigs at motorway service station hotels, her nan’s reviews and the pressure to be ‘prize pig’ at the Edinburgh fringeWho did you admire when you were starting out?I …
London PalladiumThe Eurovision star leads a glittery production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s blockbuster but this booming show lacks context and clarityThis amped-up version of An…
After a run in Nashville, Dolly: A True Original Musical is set to open in New York in DecemberDolly Parton will celebrate turning 81 with the opening of a musical about her life on Broadway…
The dreaded bloodsucker will be getting his fangs into the Edinburgh fringe this year – in a deeply creepy, liberty-taking show with a sisterly twist. We meet its directorWho is your Dracu…
From returning comedy award winner Sam Nicoresti to Flo & Joan’s cheeky One Man Musical, these are surefire standouts at the fringeEdinburgh festival 2026 reviewsIt may contain a brief…
The formidable actor talks about the challenge of finding meaty characters, tough times in the US – and co-starring with her dad’s hero Kenneth Branagh in The Cherry OrchardIt’s luncht…
This late-night escapade became a word-of-mouth festival favourite. The show’s creators discuss the method behind its madness – and why you’ll laugh without knowing whyDeep within the …
Dear England, Ink, Sherwood … I owe my career to publicly funded art. Never downplay it: it’s how we speak to each otherJames Graham is a British playwright and television writerIt shoul…
Broadway, CatfordJustice Ezi tackles racism, belonging and the sometimes-shadowy business of sport in this well-paced and plotted drama with a genuinely nail-biting final shootoutEntering th…
Lowry, SalfordThese lonely travellers overlap with Bowie’s Maj Tom, Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary or Spielberg’s Disclosure Day as they contemplate our place in the vastness of the v…
Fruit Market, HullAssigned roles as the unlucky inhabitants of a remote village audience members must avoid ending up on the pyre in this high-camp game of smut and survival‘But is it thea…
Siobhan Davies Studios, London Watching a group of artists produce new work based on Davies’s 1977 classic Sphinx, which none of them know, makes for a rewarding eveningThe project: five c…
Sadler’s Wells, London Hideki Noda’s spectacular vision of villainous biotech and bone conduction is full of dazzling coups but gets bogged down in its earnest messageThis wacky futurist…
CrazySexyCool, the celebrated playwright’s new show in DC, is a vibrant love letter to the hits and sisterhood of the R&B trioCrazySexyCool, an ambitious new musical about the visionar…
Stephen Joseph theatre, Scarborough This celebratory show by Tim Firth and Gary Barlow delivers emotional openness alongside cracking jokesOne of the great qualities of Calendar Girls is its…