Code of Silence, ITVX review - inventively presented reality of deaf people's experience

★★★ CODE OF SILENCE, ITVX Rose Ayling-Ellis maps out her muffled world in a so-so heist caper

Rose Ayling-Ellis maps out her muffled world in a so-so heist caper

In the guided tour of Britain’s cathedral cities that is the primetime TV detective series, the spotlight has now landed on Canterbury. Code of Silence frequently inserts a dramatic aerial shot of the city, its streets radiating out from the towering ecclesiastical landmark at its centre, to remind us where we are.

Donald Rodney: Visceral Canker, Whitechapel Gallery review - absence made powerfully present

★★★ DONALD RODNEY, WHITECHAPEL GALLERY Absence made powerfully present

Illness as a drive to creativity

Donald Rodney’s most moving work is a photograph titled In the House of My Father, 1997 (main picture). Nestling in the palm of his hand is a fragile dwelling whose flimsy walls are held together by pins. This tiny model is made from pieces of the artist’s skin removed during one of the many operations he underwent during his short life; sadly he died the following year, aged only 37.

Is There Anybody Out There? review - autobiographical documentary on disability

★★★★ IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE? Autobiographical documentary on disability

Ella Glendining makes an impressive debut with her portrait of life with physical difference

Ella Glendining has made an impressive documentary debut with the autobiographical essay, Is There Anybody Out There? Born without hip joints and very short thigh bones, we first encounter her as a perky, confident little girl walking in the woods near her home, in video footage filmed by her parents. They were aware from the first pregnancy scan that she was different and have done an exemplary job of ensuring that she had as happy a childhood as possible.

A Voyage Round My Father, Theatre Royal, Bath review - Rupert Everett excels in a play showing its age

★★★ A VOYAGE ROUND MY FATHER, THEATRE ROYAL, BATH Rupert Everett excels

John Mortimer creates a dazzling vehicle for a star, alongside one-dimensional supporting characters

Like theatre itself, the law finds its voice in stories, performance and spectacle. Any law student will, from that very first induction lecture, become suffused in a culture that is informed by and in turn informs theatre, some classes more like an evening at the Old Vic than an afternoon at the Old Bailey.

Imposter 22, Royal Court Theatre review - ace on representation, less so on structure

Big-hearted and necessary play fails to deliver fully on its huge promise

The Royal Court’s collaboration with Access All Areas (AAA) may not be theatre’s first explicit embrace of the neurodiverse community on stage: Chickenshed has five decades of extraordinary inclusive work behind them and Jellyfish, starring Sarah Gordy at the National Theatre, was one of my highlights of 2019.

The Little Big Things, @sohoplace review - real-life story movingly realised onstage

★★★★ THE LITTLE BIG THINGS, @SOHOPLACE An original British musical delivers

An original British musical delivers, and then some

It's rare that a new musical or play opens in the West End with as much positive word-of-mouth as The Little Big Things. Social media has been ablaze over the last few weeks, with critics and bloggers sneaking into previews and authoritative big names hailing a new hit long before the official press night.

It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure, Soho Theatre review - disability-led comedy hits hard

★★★★ IT'S A MOTHERF**KING PLEASURE, SOHO THEATRE Disability-led comedy hits hard

FlawBored's meta-theatrical show comforts and then goes in for the kill

Just when you’ve relaxed a little, privilege duly checked and confident that you won’t be guilt-tripped for nipping into that disabled loo a few years ago at the National (c’mon, the interval was nearly over and needs must), FlawBored drop a bomb into the narrative. The temperature in the room plummets, a real coup de théâtre is effected and I'm still processing it.

A Christmas Carol, RSC, Stratford review - family show eases back the terror and winds up the politics

 A CHRISTMAS CAROL, RSC Old favourite finds contemporary relevance in sanitised staging

The RSC Christmas show delivers exactly what it promises

Life is full of coincidences and contradictions. As I was walking to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Chancellor of the Exchequer was on his feet in the House of Commons delivering yet another rebalancing of individual and collective resources. On reading a couple of fine essays in the excellent programme, I saw the acknowledgement of the production’s sponsor, Pragnell.

Marvellous, @sohoplace review - silly, singular and sentimental

New West End theatre opens with a bio-drama that is joyfully silly - but a bit relentless

Opening a theatre should be a celebration, says Nica Burns, the West End power behind this new theatre which is situated next to Tottenham Court Road tube. The co-owner of Nimax Theatre group, she has come up with an elegantly gleaming 600-seat theatre in the round as part of the urban regeneration of the scuzzy top of Charing Cross Road.

The Solid Life of Sugar Water, Orange Tree Theatre review - two-hander gets a punchy refresh

★★★★ THE SOLID LIFE OF SUGAR WATER, ORANGE TREE Two-hander gets a punchy refresh

Jack Thorne's wickedly funny play offers plum roles to two riveting disabled actors

This is not a play for the squeamish: here be blood and cum and unsavoury descriptions of genitalia, male and female, that make you wonder why humans relish sex so much. And it’s all played out in the close quarters of the small in-the-round space of the Orange Tree.