Botticelli in the Fire, Hampstead Theatre review - history mash-up burns bright

Jordan Tannahill's queering of Renaissance art is riotously vulgar and unapologetic

Botticelli is a household name, but who knows the true story behind his most famous painting? The painter's 1480s masterpiece, The Birth of Venus, is one of the most striking images of Renaissance Florence – and has achieved iconic status. Because it has been minutely dissected by generations of art historians, it takes a bold playwright to smash through the scholarship and give a memorably fresh, in not necessarily accurate, account of its commissioning. Enter Jordan Tannahill, the Canadian polymath whose work spans theatre, film, dance, novels and everything else.

The Cunning Little Vixen, Welsh National Opera review - family night in the forest

★★★★★ THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN, WNO Janáček’s life cycle still fresh after four decades

Janáček’s life cycle comes up fresh and inspiring after four decades

Considering that Janáček’s Vixen is, among other things, an allegory of the passing and returning years, it’s appropriate that WNO continue to recycle David Pountney’s now nearly 40-year-old production, and that it comes up each time refreshed, with this or that altered or added detail, but quantum-like the same general image. This second night was like a mass family outing, perhaps because of the associated outreach event, the designs for which adorned the foyer.

Romesh Ranganathan, Brighton Dome review - transgressive, edgy and very likeable

★★★★ ROMESH RANGANATHAN, BRIGHTON DOME Transgressive, edgy and very likeable

The TV favourite hits the ground running at the start of his Cynic's Mixtape tour

One question springs immediately to mind on hearing that Romesh Ranganathan’s new stand-up show, The Cynic’s Mixtape, is touring: how does he find the time? Ranganathan has overtaken Jack Whitehall as Britain’s most media ubiquitous comic, with a deluge of TV shows and appearances, a column in the Guardian newspaper and even a recent autobiography. However, his TV CV is hit’n’miss, which leads to a second question: can he still cut it in the live arena?

CD: Tove Lo - Sunshine Kitty

★★★★ CD: TOVE LO - SUNSHINE KITTY Forthright relationship-centred lyricism

Forthright relationship-centred lyricism combined with elegant electronic pop to winning effect

Swedish singer Tove Lo appeared at a time when female physical sexuality was being used as a raw, blunt weapon in pop, when porno chic reached an apex in music videos. Half a decade ago was the time of Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” and Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball”, thus Lo’s overt displays of sexual bravado seemed part of the same and she had big hits with songs such as “Habits (Stay High)” and “Talking Body”.  Her output since, however, has proved her sensual agenda to be more than a passing foible.

Don Jo, Grimeborn review - conceptual style over musical substance

Queer take on Mozart shines interesting light on the story, but casts music in the shade

Described as a "performer-led re-devising’"of Mozart’s 1787 opera Don Giovanni - a tale of an arrogant and ruthless lothario who seduced countess women - Don Jo certainly played around with many of the norms we encounter in both sexual relationships and in the operatic genre.

Falsettos, The Other Palace review - affecting search for the new normal

★★★★ FALSETTOS, THE OTHER PLACE Affecting search for the new normal

This ambitious musical tackles the changing forms of family, romance and faith

William Finn and James Lapine’s musical – which combines two linked one-acts, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, set in late 1970s/early 1980s New York – picked up Tony Awards in 1992 for its book and score, and was nominated again in 2

Fleabag, Wyndham's Theatre review - superb swansong for modern classic

★★★★★ FLEABAG, WYNDHAM'S Final outing for Phoebe Waller-Bridge as her iconic creation

Final outing for Phoebe Waller-Bridge as her iconic creation

We're saying goodbye to a much treasured friend. Fleabag will live on, of course – other actresses have and will inhabit the role – but Phoebe Waller-Bridge, its creator, has said this short run at Wyndham's Theatre is the last time she will perform the character on stage.

The Collection: Nina Leger trans. Laura Francis - daring, direct and richly imagined

Challenging the language of desire to construct a playfully original female gaze

Jeanne – employment, age and appearance unknown, motives unknowable – is building a collection of penises. In street after street, she feigns dizziness; on the inevitable approach of a man eager to lend his help, she leads him to a hotel room. After the encounter, she does not retain any recollection of this man’s face, body or name; in the intricate interior of her memory palace, only the textured details of the penis, the "shape, the form, the particular warmth, the density, the smell", are carefully preserved.

Euphoria, Sky Atlantic review - teenage nervous breakdown

★★★★ EUPHORIA, SKY ATLANTIC Gen-Z drama pushes the envelope of sex, drugs and emotional turmoil

Gen-Z drama pushes the envelope of sex, drugs and emotional turmoil

Being a teenager used to be fun, allegedly, but for the young cast of HBO’s controversial new hit series Euphoria it looks more like a nightmare ride through a theme park of bad trips.