The Man in the White Suit, Wyndham's Theatre review - sparks but no combustion in this chemistry farce

★★★ THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT, WYNDHAM'S THEATRE Sparks but no combustion in this chemistry farce

An Ealing comedy film becomes an intermittently entertaining play

A hit comedy about a textile scientist? It might sound unlikely, but Ealing Studios’ 1951 sci-fi satire, starring Alec Guinness, was one of the most popular films of the year in Britain. Now, Sean Foley hopes to repeat its success with his new West End stage version, which tweaks the formula to go big, broad and occasionally Brexit-referencing – with varying results.

Big the Musical, Dominion Theatre review - sweet if wildly overstretched

★★★ BIG THE MUSICAL, DOMINION THEATRE Sweet if wildly overstretched

Onetime Broadway flop has more charm in London but still needs work

The work isn't finished on Big, if this stage musical of the beloved 1988 Tom Hanks film is ever to, um, make it big. A Broadway flop in 1996 where it was among the last shows directed by the late, much-admired Englishman Mike Ockrent, the material finds a sweetness in its West End incarnation that eluded it Stateside.

The Son, Duke of York's Theatre review - a piercing drama of depression

★★★★ THE SON, DUKE OF YORK'S THEATRE Piercing drama of depression

Florian Zeller’s play of family anguish receives a much-deserved West End transfer

A tale of teenage depression and its family resonances, Florian Zeller’s The Son has a devastating simplicity. It’s the final part of a loose trilogy, following on from the playwright’s The Father and The Mother, but the new play eschews the obliquely experimental structure of its predecessors for something much more direct.

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 Night of the Iguana, Noël Coward Theatre review - Clive Owen and Lia Williams burn bright

★★★★ THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, NOEL COWARD THEATRE Clive Owen and Lia Williams burn bright

Star cast deliver a terrific revival of Tennessee Williams's last masterpiece

One of the glories of contemporary London theatre is its revivals of classic American drama. Year after year, audiences are able to revisit and enjoy the great landmarks of postwar American playwriting from greats such as Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Sam Shepard and David Mamet (recently joined by the likes of Lynn Nottage).

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, London Palladium review - bright, brash, largely irresistible

★★★★ JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, LONDON PALLADIUM Bright, brash, largely irresistable

A giddy Sheridan Smith is back centre-stage but watch out for newcomer Jac Yarrow, too

Cheeky and broad and (for the most part) as entertaining as seems humanly possible, this embryonic entry from the collaborative pen of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber is back at its onetime London home, the Palladium. It's a production far surpassing any of the various London and Broadway Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoats I have come across over the last 30 years or m

Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Harold Pinter Theatre review - smart stagecraft, skimpy script

★★★ CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN, HAROLD PINTER THEATRE Smart stagecraft, skimpy script

Melly Still brings her singular theatricality to bestselling novel on stage

Better than the 2001 film but likely to disappoint devotees of the book, Captain Corelli's Mandolin onstage works best as a reminder of the identifiable stagecraft of its director, Melly Still. Playful, non-literal, and often endearingly physical (the human goat all but steals the show), Still's approach to this tale of love during wartime overrides a reductive and sometimes comically cliché script from Rona Munro full of lusty Italians singing Verdi and the like.

Dark Sublime, Trafalgar Studios review – sci-fi tribute is less rocket, more Reliant Robin

★★ DARK SUBLIME, TRAFALGAR STUDIOS Sci-fi tribute is less rocket, more Reliant Robin

Navigating the script is a bit like going in a car with a driver who's just passed their test

This lovingly lo-tech visit to galaxies far far away is a curious proposition, which, while neither dark, nor sublime, does have its moments. Framed as a tribute to Seventies sci-fi in all its polyester-clad absurdity, it in fact reveals itself to be an exploration of the parallel emotional worlds we all inhabit, with hat-tips to Star Trek and Blake 7 along the way.