The Chairs, Almeida Theatre review - a tragi-comic double act for the ages

★★★★ THE CHAIRS, ALMEIDA A tragi-comic double act for the ages, in new Ionesco translation

A new translation is uproariously funny, if a little too clever for its own good

By all accounts, whenever The Chairs is dusted off for a new production it manages to resonate for audiences, as would any half-decent play laughing in the face of the futility of existence. And this cheeky, charming, often uproarious new spin on Eugène Ionesco’s "tragic farce" has landed at just the right time.

Wuthering Heights, National Theatre review - too much heat, not enough light

★★★ WUTHERING HEIGHTS, NATIONAL THEATRE Too much heat, not enough light

Emma Rice's punk-rock reworking of the classic is brilliant - when it's good

“If you want romance,” the cast of Emma Rice’s new version of Wuthering Heights say in unison just after the interval, “go to Cornwall.” They’re using the modern definition of romance, of course – Emily Brontë’s novel is full of the original meaning of "romantic", much wilder and more dangerous than anything Ross Poldark gets up to.

Hamlet, Shakespeare's Globe review - melancholy mash-up lacks chemistry

★★ HAMLET, SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE Melancholy mash-up lacks chemistry

Scattergun subversion is undermined by psychological miscalculations

Hamlet isn’t often played for laughs. When David Tennant took the comedic approach in the RSC’s 2008 production, it was testament to his mercurial genius that his performance brilliantly conveyed the manic grief of a young man whose world was disintegrating around him.

Purple Snowflakes and Titty Wanks, Royal Court review – fearless, frank and feminist

★★★★ PURPLE SNOWFLAKES AND TITTY WANKS, ROYAL COURT Energetic debut monologue explores eating disorders, personal identity and sex

Energetic debut monologue explores eating disorders, personal identity and sex

Irish teenager Saoirse Murphy has a dirty mouth. And she’s not afraid to use it when talking to the nuns at her convent school.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Piccadilly Theatre review - spectacular escapism

★★★★ MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL, PICCADILLY THEATRE Spectacular escapism

Baz Luhrmann's jukebox fantasy is the perfect antidote to Covid gloom

One of the many theatrical casualties of Omicron in December was the official UK opening of Moulin Rouge!, the stage version of Baz Luhrmann’s indelible 2001 film that has already racked up 10 Tony Awards for its 2019 Broadway production (albeit in a depleted season).

Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story, Jermyn Street Theatre review - True Crime musical gets West End showcase

★★★ THRILL ME: THE LEOPOLD & LOEB STORY Child killers seduce us with charisma and song

Child killers seduce us with charisma and song

There's a lot of True Crime stuff about, so it's hardly a surprise to see Stephen Dolginoff's 2003 off-Broadway musical back on the London stage, a West End venue for the Hope Theatre's award-winning 2019 production. Whether one needs to see a pair of charismatic child killers given a platform to explain their crimes while the victim, Bobby Franks, is merely a name, his face as absent as it was after the acid was poured all over it – well, you can make your own judgement about that.

David Suchet - Poirot And More, A Retrospective, Harold Pinter Theatre review - the much-loved actor looks back

★★★ DAVID SUCHET - POIROT AND MORE, A RETROSPECTIVE The much-loved actor looks back

Sir David Suchet takes us from school days to sleuth days

In the 80s, An Audience With... gave a television studio to an actor who then recounted stories culled from a life in entertainment. The best subjects were the natural raconteurs with plenty to say - Billy Connolly, Barry Humphries, the incomparable Kenneth Williams - and it's a testament to the format's longevity that Adele did one as recently as November.

Force Majeure, Donmar Warehouse review - fissures in a marriage

★★★ FORCE MAJEURE, DONMAR WAREHOUSE Too many easy laughs in ski-resort trauma

Ski-resort trauma is played too much for easy laughs

It sounds like the title of a play by Rattigan. No such luck: “Force Majeure” – a legal term with which all too few will be familiar, in which circumstances beyond anyone’s control cancel a contract – is how Ruben Östlund’s 2014 film Turist is known beyond Sweden (an American remake with Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, not good by all accounts, has much the best title, Downhill).

Folk, Hampstead Downstairs review - thoughtful play about folklorist Cecil Sharp

★★★ FOLK, HAMPSTEAD DOWNSTAIRS Nell Leyshon's play-with-music asks questions of a legacy

Nell Leyshon's play-with-music asks questions of a legacy

Cecil Sharp, heritage hero or imperialist appropriator? If you attended school in the first half of the 20th century, you would have sung from his collections of English folk songs, and probably gritted your teeth and performed the country dances he recorded, too.