Eden, Hampstead Theatre Downstairs review - thoughtful commentary on people and principles
Hannah Patterson's new play is based on a true story, but stands firmly on its own two feet
"It's gonna be the best golf course in the world," a man in an Aertex shirt and a bright red baseball cap is assuring us. "The best. I guarantee it." You can tell he's the kind of person who thinks talking quickly and loudly is the same thing as being right.
Equus, Theatre Royal Stratford East review - thrilling physicality
Brilliant revival of the 1970s classic about pagan worship and repressed sexuality
There is no doubt that Peter Shaffer's Equus is a modern classic. But does that justify reviving this 1973 hit play in our current social circumstances? And what can it say to us today? The good news is that up-and-coming director Ned Bennett is at the helm of this version, and that he brings not only his individual vision to the piece, but also plenty of guts and balls and feeling: this is much more than a simple retread of John Dexter's legendary original, with its platform-hooved man-horses and starry casts here and in New York (Alec McCowen, Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hulce).
Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, Young Vic review - shards of power amidst much that is overwrought
Stephen Adly Guirgis play is best when most reflective
An entirely electric leading performance from the fast-rising Ukweli Roach is the reason for being for revisiting Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, back in London for the first major production since the late Philip Seymour Hoffman brought his acclaimed Off Broadway premiere of it to the Donmar in 2002. Since then, author Stephen Adly Guirgis has to be honest written better plays, not least the thrilling The Motherf**er with the Hat which doesn't try so hard to flag its bravura at every turn.
Tartuffe, National Theatre review - morality-heavy version of the comedy classic
Brexit provides an unwelcome motor for John Donnelly's Molière-with-a-twist
Here's a recipe for a successful National Theatre production: take a well-loved classical comedy, employ an outstanding young director and a talented writer (so much the better if they have a proven track record together) and cast gold-standard actors, including, if possible, someone with a screen presence. What could possibly go wrong? Well, unfortunately, just such a promising mix fails to gel in Tartuffe.
Shipwreck, Almeida Theatre review - Trump-inflected fantasia mixes the polemical and the poetic
Anne Washburn's shape-shifting play won't be confined, nor will the man at its thematic centre
Just when you think you may have heard (and seen) enough of Donald J Trump to last a lifetime, along comes Anne Washburn's ceaselessly smart and tantalising Shipwreck to focus renewed attention on the psychic fallout left by 45. How did we get here from there? Washburn certainly brushes up against the topic that animated a recent, similarly Trump-inflected play, Sweat.
Keith? A Comedy, Arcola Theatre review - Molière mined for Brexit-era laughs
Canny update of a 17th-century classic locates real laughs in today's censorious landscape
Breathe in the love and breathe out the bullshit. After the Arcola Theatre's founder and artistic director Mehmet Ergen read Keith? A Comedy, a wild spin on the quasi-ubiquitous (these days, anyway) Tartuffe by the critic and writer Patrick Marmion, the theatre moved to cast and stage the play in a matter of weeks.
Bodies, Southwark Playhouse review - shaky revival misses the mark
Last seen 40 years ago, James Saunders' four-hander never quite gets off the ground
Bodies is the latest in Two's Company's series of what they deem "forgotten masterworks", this one making a less-than-triumphant return to the London stage after almost 40 years away. Written by James Saunders in 1977, it opened at the Orange Tree in Richmond before transferring to the Hampstead Theatre and then on to the West End.
Only Fools and Horses, Theatre Royal Haymarket review - rollicking remake of much-loved TV sitcom
Lovely jubbly! The Trotters return to Peckham
It was TV gold-dust. The original seven series of Only Fools and Horses were broadcast on BBC One from 1981-1991, and a string of Christmas specials kept the show running until 2003. It was showered with awards and critical acclaim, and in 1996 the episode "Time on Our Hands" drew a record-breaking 24.3 million viewers.
All in a Row, Southwark Playhouse, review - soapy and shrill pity party
Clumsy drama tries to raise sympathy for parents with a profoundly autistic child
Time once again to roll out that line about the road to hell being paved with good intentions.