Jane Eyre, National Theatre at Home review - a fiery feminist adaptation

★★★★ JANE EYRE, NATIONAL THEATRE A fiery feminist adaptation

Sally Cookson's take on Brontë is innately theatrical and ferociously resonant

The National Theatre’s online broadcasts got off to a storming start with One Man, Two Guvnors – watched by over 2.5 million people, either on the night or in the week since its live streaming, and raising around £66,000 in donations.

System Crasher review – a compelling portrait of childhood violence and pain

★★★★ SYSTEM CRASHER Compelling portrait of childhood violence and pain

Nora Fingscheid’s social realist drama about a troubled 9-year-old is as tough as it is tender

Benni, the central character in German writer-director Nora Fingscheidt's haunting new film, has a life of tragedy and violence. She’s the product of a dysfunctional family and an abusive childhood that has left her rage-ridden and incapable of controlling her anger. 

Sex Education, Series 2, Netflix review - the teen sex show we deserved

★★★★ SEX EDUCATION, SERIES 2, NETFLIX The teen sex show we deserved

Happy Valentines: this humdrum holiday is the perfect occasion to stream the most affirming sex comedy in years

Netflix’s Sex Education has returned to our screens and streams. The show made waves last year for its refreshing take on the teen comedy-drama. It took on abortion, consent and female pleasure — subjects strikingly absent from our actual high school educations.

Rosamund Lupton: Three Hours review - gripping thriller with a Macbeth twist

★★★★ ROSAMUND LUPTON: THREE HOURS Gripping thriller with a Macbeth twist

A progressive school is under attack in Somerset: will the children survive?

This is not a drill. Lock down, evacuation. An active school shooter is on the loose, actually more than one: two or three men in balaclavas with automatic shotguns. But this isn’t a high school or college in the USA – it’s in Somerset, England. A progressive co-ed school, founded in the 1920s, known for its liberal values, its lack of religious affiliation and its privileged pupils. A haven of political correctness. Who would want to attack it?

Teenage Dick, Donmar Warehouse review - a fearlessly acted, well-intentioned mess

★★★ TEENAGE DICK, DONMAR WAREHOUSE A fearlessly acted, well-intentioned mess

Mike Lew's riff on Shakespeare needs more art to go with its heart

If good intentions were everything, Teenage Dick would be the play of the year. As it is, this British premiere at the Donmar of an Off Broadway entry from summer 2018 grants centre-stage, and not before time, to two disabled actors, one of whom  the mesmerically fearless Daniel Monks  plays the Shakespeare-inspired figure of the title.

Dear Evan Hansen, Noël Coward Theatre review - this social outcast will steal your heart

★★★★ DEAR EVAN HANSEN, NOËL COWARD THEATRE This social outcast will still your heart

A stirring new musical tackles missed connections in the internet age

Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen is an institution in the States, running on Broadway since 2016 and currently on its second year of a national tour.

Groan Ups, Vaudeville Theatre review - adding ambition and emotion to the mix

★★★ GROAN UPS, VAUDEVILLE THEATRE Mischief Theatre's latest stretches them in new ways

The ever-likable Mischief Theatre's latest stretches them in new if still-unfinished ways

If ambition were all, Groan Ups would get an A*. Marking the first of a very welcome three-show residency at the Vaudeville Theatre, this latest from the cheerfully unstoppable Mischief Theatre tethers the japery we have come to expect from the team behind The Play That Goes Wrong   mishaps aplenty, verbal hi-jinks   with a newfound interest in the human psyche.

Education, Education, Education, Trafalgar Studios review - politics and pupils, mayhem and music

★★★★ EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION, TRAFALGAR STUDIOS Politics and pupils, mayhem and music

The future of education seen from 1997 and 2019

It's the 2nd May 1997, the morning after the night that swept New Labour into power. We’re in the staffroom of a school somewhere in Britain and the teachers are jubilant. They've been glued to their TV sets for the results and have shagged and drunk through the night to crawl in with hangovers and pouchy eyes to face the day with a particular brand of frazzled optimism.