Fellow Travellers, Paramount+ review - four-decade saga of power, politics and gay love

Plush TV treatment of Thomas Mallon's bestselling novel

Derived from the similarly-titled novel by Thomas Mallon and directed by Ron Nyswaner, Fellow Travellers tracks the course of its protagonists through several decades of 20th Century American history. It’s also an account of changing attitudes to homosexuality, and how gay culture emerged from the shadows and went mainstream.

Charlie Porter: Bring No Clothes - Bloomsbury and the Philosophy of Fashion review - dress to impress

★★★★ CHARLIE PORTER: BRING NO CLOTHES - BLOOMSBURY AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF FASHION An ode to clothes and their social importance

Porter pens an ode to clothes and their social importance in this compelling text on textiles

It’s not hard to miss the fact that Bloomsbury is back in fashion at the moment. This summer, it felt like everyone’s Instagram story showed a trip to Charleston (the home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant). In the last month alone, the Charleston Trust has opened a new exhibition site, and Charlie Porter’s Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and the Philosophy of Fashion has been published.

Dead Dad Dog, Finborough Theatre review - Scottish two-hander plays differently 35 years on, but still entertains

★★★★ DEAD DAD DOG, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Nostalgia rather than political satire drives charming revival 

A play that will speak to any middle-aged Londoner with roots elsewhere

I know, I was there. Well, not in Edinburgh in 1985, but in Liverpool in 1981, and the pull of London and the push from home, was just as strong for me back then as it is for Eck in John McKay’s comedy Dead Dad Dog.

The Foreigners' Panto, BOLD Theatre review - no laughing matter

Immigration madness given a panto makeover

The starting point of this musical comedy – using a panto format to take a deep dive into the UK's immigration law – comes from such a good place that one feels a real heel for criticising it. But however much I wanted to like Shani Erez's ambitious work for BOLD Theatre, I really couldn't.

The story within a story follows a group of immigrants to “Britaim” as they stage a panto – what could be more British? – to show their love and knowledge of UK culture.

Group Portrait in a Summer Landscape, Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh review - a maze of ideas

The Scottish independence referendum is just one of the strands that Peter Arnott attempts to weave together in an unconvincing Chekhovian drama

The title of Peter Arnott’s new play – a co-production with the Pitlochry Festival Theatre, and now partway into a ten-day run at Edinburgh’s Lyceum Theatre – might conjure a painterly image of contented friends and family in an idyllic rural setting.

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.

Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play, Young Vic review - committed and important play let down by heavy-handed writing

★★ UNTITLED F*UCK M*SS S**GON PLAY, YOUNG VIC A gruelling watch, but message hits home

Satirical comedy-drama labours its points across an uninterrupted two hours

Seldom can a title have given so much away about the play to follow, not just in terms of the subject matter but also in terms of the sledgehammer approach to driving home its points. Kimber Lee, who won the inaugural Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2019, International Award, certainly does not say anything once if she can say it twice or thrice nor leaves any ambiguity about every element of her stance regarding Orientalism.

Infamous, Jermyn Street Theatre review - Lady Hamilton challenges the patriarchy and loses

 INFAMOUS, JERMYN STREET THEATRE Caroline and Rose Quentin perfectly cast in mother and daughter play

A clever, sexy, confident woman woos the aristocracy but is disowned when she needs help

Towards the end of the 18th century, Lady Emma Hamilton (like so much in this woman's life, hers was a title achieved as much as bestowed) was the “It Girl” of European society.