Five star - Latest Top Rated Stage Reviews from the Guardian

West Side Story review – hip-swinging, skirt-twirling love story gets gritty
The classic musical gets a bold makeover in this stylish and intimate production directed by Nikolai Foster - Mark Fisher
Mary Poppins review – stageful of sugar is a rapturous delight
Zizi Strallen is excellent as the buoyant nanny in Eyre’s chippy and enduring show, which also calls on Julian Fellowes, Matthew Bourne and Petula Clark - Michael Billington
Stewart Lee: Tornado / Snowflake review – joyously funny
With typical deftness, the standup has made his scintillating two-part show a hymn to political correctness and a giddy attack on lefty sensibilities - Brian Logan
Coppélia review – Francesca Hayward captivates
Francesca Hayward gets things off to a flying start as Ninette de Valois’s comic ballet makes an overdue return - Sarah Crompton
Drac & Jill review – a supercharged helping of festive filth
The cast sinks its teeth into this adult seasonal mashup of Dracula, Jack and Jill and The Sound of Music - Clare Brennan
Jagged Little Pill review – Alanis musical hits Broadway with a bang
Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody has brought Alanis Morissette’s music to the stage with a contrived yet hugely entertaining show - Alexis Soloski
Little Red Riding Hood review – my, what big imaginations they have!
Hiccup theatre’s clever take on the fairytale is full of music, puppetry, surprising twists, witty dialogue and madcap energy - Miriam Gillinson
Strange Tales review – a feast of eerie stories from Chinese folklore
From a man sneezing out frog-like creatures to a husband restored to life with the phlegm of a beggar, these supernatural fables are uncanny - Mark Fisher
The Boy Friend review – an exuberant jaunt to the Riviera
This pitch-perfect revival of Sandy Wilson’s 1953 musical is a positive invitation to dance - Michael Billington
The Wizard of Oz review – thrilling staging, tremendous performances
Dorothy turns eco-warrior, seeking justice in an unjust world, in this visually exciting production of the children’s classic - Mark Fisher
The Wind of Heaven review – a bewitching tale of faith and guilt
A Welsh teenager is hailed as the second coming in this fascinating revival of Emlyn Williams’ long-forgotten play - Michael Billington
Wild Goose Dreams review – endearing online-offline romance
Hansol Jung’s play brings the distracting, confusing noise of the internet to a funny and sensitive story of lonely hearts in Seoul - Miriam Gillinson
The Boy in the Dress review – Robbie Williams has a ball with David Walliams
A resplendent cast sing the praises of self-expression in Mark Ravenhill’s adaptation of the feelgood football novel - Michael Billington
John Kearns review – a toothy, tragicomic delight
Kearns delivers a day-in-the-drab-life of a man with dreams, toting suburban existentialism in a style all his ownΩ† - Brian Logan
Alston at Home review – master of dance creates a world of grace
On their final tour, Richard Alston Dance Company take it back to where it all began with a moving survey of their 25-year history - Lyndsey Winship
Oor Wullie review – help ma boab, it's a braw musical!
The Scottish comic-strip transfers to the stage in a witty show addressing cultural anxieties about belonging, driven by a rock, gospel and bhangra score - Mark Fisher
Darbar festival review – blazing celebration of Indian dance
The Temple of Fine Arts explode with energy and Nahid Siddiqui captivates with her lightness and gravity - Sanjoy Roy
Candida review – Shaw's comedy of fizzing words and extreme passion
This production of Shaw’s remarkable play about a poet and a priest in love with the same woman induces giddy delight - Michael Billington
White Christmas review – a sparkling, snow-topped sensation
With firecracker performances and singalong sounds, this version of the Bing Crosby classic glistens with sexy razzmatazz, but tenderness lies beneath the shiny surface - Kate Wyver
Hunger review – hope and heartbreak on the breadline
Adapted from Knut Hamsun’s first-person novel, Fay Lomas’s production is an empathetic and frightening look at a writer whose senses begin to turn on him as he falls into poverty - Miriam Gillinson
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe review – magical escape from the perils of war
Aslan is more substitute Churchill than surrogate Christ in Sally Cookson’s brilliantly inventive production of CS Lewis’s wartime fable - Michael Billington
The Prince and the Pauper review – trading-places twins double the fun
Sisters Danielle and Nichole Bird create a dreamlike mirror image in a superbly staged production, alive with music, wit and spectacle - Mark Fisher
The week in theatre: Dear Evan Hansen; Touching the Void; #WeAreArrested – review
A dazzling West End debut lights up a newly arrived Broadway hit - Susannah Clapp
Hello and Goodbye review – Athol Fugard’s powerful sibling drama
Athol Fugard’s tale of siblings’ ambiguous reunion - Clare Brennan
& Juliet review – the bard goes bubblegum
A fun, feminist makeover of Romeo and Juliet chooses life – with a great pop soundtrack - Gregory Robinson
Acosta Danza: Evolution; Dorrance Dance: Myelination and other works – review
The Cuban star returns with a buoyant showcase of his Havana-based company, while Michelle Dorrance takes tap to another level - Sarah Crompton
The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Yael Stone and Noni Hazlehurst excel in gasp-inducing black comedy
Martin McDonagh’s play reveals a deep, unspeakable vulnerability under Paige Rattray’s direction - Cassie Tongue
Hello and Goodbye review – Athol Fugard's dark reunion gets under the skin
Fugard’s profound examination of a South African family ripped apart by a workplace accident is devastatingly brilliant - Catherine Love
The Season review – musical romcom hits a feelgood festive note
Electrifying performances light up a glittering New York Christmas story in this warm-hearted, tuneful two-hander - Mark Lawson
Packer & Sons review – John Howard is a brutish Kerry Packer in generation-spanning play
Staged just blocks from News Corp’s HQ, Tommy Murphy’s play describes how boys become Australian moguls: by being rammed into their fathers’ moulds - Kate Hennessy
A Christmas Carol review – Dickens on Broadway is a festive tearjerker
Jack Thorne’s Broadway transfer of the Christmas classic is sentimental but moving and boasts a host of surprises - Alexis Soloski
Acosta Danza review – Cuba moves in a new direction
Carlos Acosta’s Havana-based troupe makes no wrong steps in charming, evocative and sharply technical mixed bill - Lyndsey Winship
Dear Evan Hansen review – high-school musical captures agonies of youth
Sam Tutty shines as the lonely student who fabricates a friendship with a dead boy, but this award-winning musical has plot holes - Michael Billington
Dorrance Dance review – tip-top tap gets into the groove
Michelle Dorrance’s superb pieces range from rubber-legged slapstick to brilliantly musical moves - Lyndsey Winship
Emanuel Gat: Works review – moving, mysterious dance is a delight
Relationships between the Israeli choreographer’s idiosyncratic dancers play out on stage in a surreal and touching show - Lyndsey Winship
Spiderfly review – a tantalising tale of tangled relationships
Writer John Webber shows edgy promise with this story of a woman’s contrasting encounters with two men - Michael Billington
Little Wimmin review – off-kilter cocktail of am-dram and anarchy
Their tongues firmly in their cheeks, Figs in Wigs’ boisterous parody ranges from pun-filled comedy skits to cocktail-making in hazmat suits - Kate Wyver
Stella review – a moonlight marvel for children
Filskit’s theatre show for young audiences features clowning, aerial tricks and an engaging tale of friendship - Chris Wiegand
The Season review – chutzpah and charm in New York romcom
Newcomers Jim Barne and Kit Buchan have written a classic Christmas romance - Clare Brennan
The Sleeping Beauty review – the Royal Ballet take your breath away
Yasmine Naghdi conquers physics in a fairytale production with intricate and intense performances - Lyndsey Winship
Count Arthur Strong review – fuzzy logic and cosmic nonsense
At every turn, the confused ‘astronomer-in-chief’ gives us something to marvel at – from crap ventriloquism to the films of ‘Dustbin Hoffman’ - Brian Logan
High Fidelity review – Nick Hornby's vinyl nerd back in the groove
A delightfully tuneful adaptation of the Broadway musical returns the unlucky-in-love record-shop owner to his London roots - Michael Billington
Ghost Quartet review – an intoxicating night of ghosts and stars
On a set that looks like an abandoned attic, four characters sing of love, loss and bears, in Dave Malloy’s unearthly song cycle - Kate Wyver
Radio & Juliet / Faun / MсGregor + Mugler review – Radiohead, gangs and OTT dazzle
Edward Clug strips back Shakespeare, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui riffs on Nijinsky and Wayne McGregor teams up with Manfred Thierry Mugler in this rich Russian triple bill - Lyndsey Winship
Midnight Movie review – pain relief in the demise of others
Two avatars get lost in the world of weird online videos - Gregory Robinson
Gypsy review – Sondheim staged with surprising tenderness
The classic musical about performance, in all its chaotic glory, gets a warm-hearted production from Jo Davies - Miriam Gillinson
Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer review – game of chess is a cold war thriller
Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer’s 1972 match is a proxy war in this intriguing but overcomplicated chess drama - Michael Billington
Fairview review – a daring challenge to the white gaze
Directed by Nadia Latif, this Pulitzer prize-winning play by Jackie Sibblies Drury is definitely one to see – and argue over - Michael Billington
Peter Pan review – Barrie classic staged with plenty of pixie dust
Making Wendy younger gives a different dynamic to Deborah McAndrew’s engaging adaptation, with Baker Mukasa’s spontaneous Peter - Mark Fisher
Midnight Movie review – a striking look at online liberation
Saturating the senses with sound, light and sign language, this imaginative experience explores whether the web can free us from our ‘glitching’ bodies - Arifa Akbar
An Act of God review – the Almighty returns to Earth and she's mad as hell
Zoe Lyons is a pyjama-clad deity with wrath-management issues and a retinue of doubtful angels in David Javerbaum’s enjoyable comedy - Brian Logan
Jack Dee: Off the Telly review – new targets, same old grump
Attacks on Extinction Rebellion and smashed avocado keep Dee in default pissed-off mode, but there are a few inspired moments - Brian Logan
Wild Goose Dreams review – an internet liaison complete with visions
Two lonely Koreans meet online in this new production by Michael Boyd - Clare Brennan
Royal Ballet: Coppélia review – hello, dolly!
Francesca Hayward sparkles in this twee revival, a luminous presence in an inconsequential story about a lifesize doll - Lyndsey Winship
My Brilliant Friend review – Elena Ferrante's twisting tale of heroines for our age
Niamh Cusack and Catherine McCormack perform the central roles with magnetic force in this frenetically comic adaptation of Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet - Claire Armitstead
The Arrival review – fraternal reunion pits nature against nurture
Bijan Sheibani’s writing debut about two half-Iranian brothers relies on a puzzling backstory, yet vivid staging and beautiful performances fill it with vitality - Michael Billington
Cinderella review – woke meets trad at pop panto
Prince Charming? You must be joking – but this show will still leave families and festive fun-seekers satisfied - Brian Logan
Ardal O'Hanlon review – shrugging off the ghost of Father Dougal
In an endearing but gentle show, the comedian tries to leave his Father Ted alter ego behind - Brian Logan
Canterville Ghost review – spirited haunted-house shenanigans
This take on Oscar Wilde’s story of a family moving into their spooky new home is a child-friendly blend of gothic horror and quirky comedy - Miriam Gillinson
Thursford Christmas Spectacular review – a sugar rush of festive cheer
A fever-dream of outrageous talent and suffocating joy, this glittering extravaganza needs to be seen to be believed, albeit just the once - Kate Wyver
Rob Beckett review – class-based laughs from a cheeky chappie
The perky comic provides plenty of material and eye-rolling at how the other half live but some of the jokes flatline - Brian Logan
My Mother Said I Never Should review – signs of the times
Silence is both golden and frustrating in Charlotte Keatley’s play about four generations of women featuring deaf actors - Clare Brennan
Unknown Rivers review – Odimba is a writer to watch
Chinonyerem Odimba’s subtle play is a celebration of female friendship, given an intimate production by Daniel Bailey - Michael Billington
Frozen II review – a charming return but the thaw's setting in
Beloved heroine Elsa has a great new song as she heads into the enchanted forest in this funny, likable but underpowered sequel. Is it time to let her go? - Peter Bradshaw
Fern Brady: Power and Chaos review – a scattergun blast of cynicism
The Scottish comic hits some acerbic highs with an oddly episodic set that hops from politics to porn to parenthood - Brian Logan
My Mother Said I Never Should review – half-spoken truths of women and girls
Sign language adds new dimensions to Charlotte Keatley’s popular play about four generations of women - Catherine Love
One Under review – heartrendingly tender and enigmatic portrait of grief
Winsome Pinnock’s 2005 play that has been reimagined to focus on mental health asks urgent questions but yields few answers - Catherine Love
Tim Minchin review – a triumphant comeback that is short on laughs
In his first tour for eight years, the Australian polymath offers up a three-hour spectacular tracing the story of his life - Brian Logan
Shook review – young offenders take forlorn lessons in fatherhood
Samuel Bailey’s moving play is carried along by its characters’ wisecracking – and reveals anguish hidden underneath - Arifa Akbar
Easy review – an unfiltered snap of teenage agonies
Robyn Wilson is superb as a 16-year-old facing a daunting rite of passage in Amy Blakelock’s poignant one-woman play - Miriam Gillinson
Cyrano review – Peter Dinklage sings through patchy musical update
A new take on the romantic comedy boasts music from the National and a stellar turn from Glee’s Blake Jenner but there are stumbles throughout - Alexis Soloski
Pale Sister review – Colm Tóibín and Lisa Dwan's twist on Antigone
The acclaimed writer’s version of the Greek tragedy focuses on her sister Ismene, with plenty of modern relevances - Helen Meany
Northern Ballet review – dancing with dreams and facing fear
Works by Kenneth Tindall, Mlindi Kulashe and Morgann Runacre-Temple give these dancers a chance to get their bodies around abstraction - Lyndsey Winship
Sydney and the Old Girl review – Miriam Margolyes excels as a mother at war
Dark comedy peeks through the relationship between a malevolent mum and her paranoid middle-aged son in Eugene O’Hare’s Pinteresque play - Michael Billington
Murder in the Cathedral review – Eliot staged in a sacred space
Jasper Britton is outstanding as Thomas Becket in Scena Mundi’s revival, but the church acoustics make the rest of the cast hard to hear - Michael Billington
Rambert2 review – exciting and fearless fresh-faced dancing
A group of young prestige dancers from all over the world throw themselves utterly into a uneven triple bill - Lyndsey Winship
A Museum in Baghdad review – the tale of two women trying to preserve Iraq's treasures
Hannah Khalil’s ambitious play struggles to dramatise questions of power and gender - Clare Brennan
The Future Bursts In; Birmingham Royal Ballet: Mixed Programme – review
Hip-hop, waltzes and t’ai chi share the stage in a restless, male-led tribute to Merce Cunningham - Bidisha
Chemistry review – a warm story of love in the face of mental illness
Depression provides the tough backdrop for an intense affair in Jacob Marx Rice’s smart, flawed and compellingly acted play - Michael Billington
Seagulls review – Chekhov musical makes Nina a singer-songwriter
Beth Hyland attempts to shift the male-and-his-muse gaze in her story about misogyny in the music industry - Catherine Love
Lou Sanders review – feminism, desire and a 12-month 'man ban'
Sanders is genial company in her new hour, Say Hello to Your New Step-Mummy, but this isn’t a big-hitting show - Brian Logan
Little Red Riding Hood review – sweet-toothed dances with Wolf
Northern Ballet’s retelling for young children gives the baddy a craving for sugar rather than flesh - Chris Wiegand
The Antipodes review – Annie Baker searches for the sting in the tale
Baker probes the relevance of stories in her new play, seemingly set at a strategy meeting, but the concept runs out of steam - Michael Billington
Tales from the Lodge review – schlocky country cabin scares
A group of grieving friends gather at a remote lakeside and start telling spooky stories in this effective comedy-horror - Leslie Felperin
The Snow Queen review – rowdy show drowns out Andersen's wonder
Spectacle trumps subtlety as Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of lost innocence is stifled by a topical plot and noisy percussion - Mark Fisher
Jim Jefferies review – filthy comic leaves a nasty stench
Glimpses of wit float to the surface in this sex-and-excrement bonanza … but are quickly flushed away by tedious misogyny - Brian Logan
Svetlana Zakharova review – Bolshoi ballerina cuts chic shapes as Chanel
A stylish riff on Coco Chanel’s place in ballet history and a regal mocking of Handel make a double bill where style outshines insight - Lyndsey Winship
The Wolf of Wall Street review – how can criminal decadence be this bland?
In this immersive show we are promised a globetrotting night of drugs and sex … but are left loitering in a living room - Kate Wyver
Escape from Planet Trash review – a Christmas B-musical misadventure
Groan-worthily unfunny jokes litter this blooper reel of a show about the last people left on Earth - Kate Wyver
Jack and the Beanstalk review – bright and cheery but lacking heart
What used to be one boy’s coming-of-age struggle with a tyrannous ogre is now a free-for-all - Mark Fisher
Land Without Dreams review – the future gets stuck in the mud
Despite Temi Wilkey’s best efforts, including rolling in slime, Tue Biering’s play can’t decide whether it is a critique of utopianism or a plea for our future - Michael Billington
& Juliet review – pop mogul Max Martin's bizarre jukebox bonanza
Songs of the prolific Swedish tunesmith are shoehorned into a silly Shakespeare-derived story for this misguided West End musical - Michael Billington
Stray Dogs review – Russian poet's struggle against Stalin
Anna Akhmatova is forced to choose between artistic integrity and saving her son in Olivia Olsen’s play - Arifa Akbar
The Amazing Johnathan Documentary review – less than amazing
The cult stage magician – who may or may not have been faking a heart condition – proves an evasive subject in this tiresome film - Peter Bradshaw
Ballet Cymru review – fuelled by sheer positivity
It’s hard not to warm to this bright Welsh company, but some of the more experimental works were confused in design and execution - Lyndsey Winship
Reputation review – one woman's words against a Hollywood bully
This new musical by Alick Glass carries its fight against 30s movie plagiarism with pleasant songs, but lacks the showbiz sparkle to land a killer punch - Michael Billington
The Green Fairy review – absinthe musical lacks spirit
Cliche-drenched lyrics and a lightweight storyline put a cork in the emotional reckoning at this unremarkable story’s heart - Kate Wyver
Frankenstein review – Shelley's story malfunctions under weight of new ideas
VR headsets and a gender switch give National Youth Theatre’s exuberant production a modern twist, but the storytelling feels gimmicky - Arifa Akbar
God’s Dice review – Baddiel drama has science, spirituality but no spark
In his debut play, starring Alan Davies, David Baddiel gambles on a mash-up of physics and midlife crisis - Arifa Akbar
Jack Whitehall review – puerile, inauthentic and by-numbers jokes
The comic, who doesn’t seem to have any interest in people or the world, puts on a weak show with anecdotes that ring untrue - Brian Logan