Category: West End
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I managed to pack in more than 70 theatre visits this year and saw some cracking plays. And some that didn't quite ignite. My favourite plays of 2024 (In no particular order – links through to written or video reviews): Oedipus, Wyndhams Theatre (booking until 2 Jan 2025) Laughing Boy, Jermyn Street Theatre Shifters, Duke…
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'This is dreadful,' the old man sat next to me said rudely during Oedipus at the Wyndhams Theatre. I vigorously ignored him. It wasn't dreadful, far from it. In fact, I was gripped by Robert Icke’s production, which stars Mark Strong as the eponymous character and Lesley Manville as his wife, Jocasta. Writer/director Robert Icke…
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Waiting For Godot is a play I love; I studied it for A-level, so I'd buy tickets regardless of the casting, but the combo of Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati was definitely an added draw. It is a play that tends to attract starry casts – I've seen productions with Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and…
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Heather Agyepong (Des) Tosin Cole (Dre) in Shifters, Duke of York's Theatre. Photo: Marc Brenner Shifters is the latest play to transfer from London's fertile fringe theatre scene into the West End. I didn't manage to see it when it premiered at the Bush Theatre, so I was grateful for the second chance to…
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Julius D'Silva, Archie Backhouse, Forbes Masson, Alan Cox, Daniel Boyd and David Yelland in Farm Hall, Theatre Royal Haymarket – Photo: Alex Brenner Last year saw two plays in London based on the real story of a group of Germany's top scientists who were rounded up at the end of the Second World War and…
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There's been a lot of buzz on social media about The Constituent at the Old Vic, and on paper, it holds a lot of promise. But did it live up to expectations? Anna Maxwell Martin plays Monica, a back-bench opposition MP who is having new security cameras and a panic button fitted at her constituency…
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Director Jamie Lloyd is behind this new production of Romeo & Juliet with Spider-Man Tom Holland as the star name. He's a director whose work I love, particularly for the way he takes familiar plays and makes you see them differently. Could he work his magic on this Shakespeare classic and make me like a…
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Player Kings at the Noel Coward Theatre is Henry IV parts 1 & 2 squished together to create just under four hours of Shakespeare with one interval. Ian McKellen is the big star name, playing Falstaff with Richard Coyle as Henry IV and Toheeb Jimoh as Hal. Prince Hal's behaviour is presented as influenced by…
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For Black Boys… (ensemble). Photo: © Johan Persson For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy is a play of experiences told as a seamless stream of stories. But the play itself has its own story. This is the second West End run for Nouveau Riche's production in just over…
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Tanya Reynolds and Samuel Adewunmi in A Mirror at the Trafalgar Theatre – photo by Marc Brenner The wedding between Layla and Joel is back on, having found a new venue at the Trafalgar Theatre. Sam Holcroft's play A Mirror, which won rave reviews when it opened at the Almeida Theatre, has brought its lies…