The Antipodes, National Theatre review - mysterious and gently momentous

★★★★ THE ANTIPODES, NATIONAL THEATRE Mysterious and gently momentous

Annie Baker's latest will divide opinion but reward devotees

The National Theatre is forging its own special relationship with American playwright Annie Baker, having now produced three of her plays within four years, all in their smallest Dorfman space. The result has allowed a gathering acquaintance with a genuinely startling theatrical voice that mixes detailed hyperrealism with a leap into the void.

'Master Harold' ... and the Boys, National Theatre review - timelessly moving

★★★★ 'MASTER HAROLD'...AND THE BOYS, NATIONAL THEATRE Timelessly moving

Athol Fugard's 1982 self-exorcism is searingly revived

Time has been kind to Athol Fugard's "Master Harold"...and the Boys. It's a stealth bomb of a play that I saw in its world premiere production in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1982 and that has been a regular part of my playgoing life ever since. Yes, the apartheid-era South Africa that Fugard dissects with terrifying force has been dismantled, and we live in (supposedly) more enlightened times.

Faith, Hope & Charity, National Theatre review - a grim compassion

FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY, NATIONAL THEATRE Alexander Zeldin's bleak study of society on the edge

Rich in empathy, dramatically raw, Alexander Zeldin's bleak study of society on the edge

Alexander Zeldin continues his devastating analysis of modern Britain in this culminating play of a (very loose) trilogy that started with 2014’s Beyond Caring, followed by LOVE two years after that.

Hansard, National Theatre review - starry argument ends poorly

★★★ HANSARD, NATIONAL THEATRE Starry argument ends poorly

Debut play about the parliamentary ruling class is timely, but ultimately unsatisfying

In the current feverish atmosphere at Westminster, with arguments about Brexit becoming increasingly shrill, the time is right once more for political theatre: serious plays about serious issues. Oddly enough, however, while television has effectively dramatized the current crisis, in films such as Channel 4's Brexit: The Uncivil War, theatre seems to take a more oblique approach by setting its stories in the past.

Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear the Musical, National Theatre review – gleefully subversive family musical

★★★★ MR GUM & THE DANCING BEAR, NATIONAL THEATRE Subversive family musical

Madcap and menace as Andy Stanton adapts his cult children's books for the stage

A great hunk of rotting meat hangs centre stage, suspended over a rusty wheelbarrow. A figure in a bloody butcher’s apron picks through the stalls, searching for cans of ‘xxxtra cheap lager’. From the direction of the band, sinister Wurlitzer sounds begin to stir the air.

Peter Gynt, National Theatre review - towering protagonist, middle-way production

★★★★ PETER GYNT, NATIONAL THEATRE Toweing protagonist,  middle-way production

James McArdle's lead, strong ensemble and David Hare's Ibsen adaptation compel

Like Hamlet and both parts of Goethe's Faust, with which it shares the highest peak of poetic drama, Ibsen's Peer Gynt is very long, timeless enough to resonate in a contemporary setting and sufficiently ambiguous in its mythic treatment of the