Five star - Latest Top Rated Stage Reviews from the Guardian

A Strange Loop review – Michael R Jackson’s thrilling Broadway triumph
The audacious and uproarious musical, which leads this year’s Tony nominations, is a meta masterpiece about a Black queer writer writing about a Black queer writer - Gloria Oladipo
Age of Rage review – ancient Greek tragedy explodes into our times
While the emotional complexities remain, Van Hove’s high-octane makeover featuring unrelenting pyrotechnics and riveting performances is a visual epic - Arifa Akbar
Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends review – a glorious all-star memorial service
Judi Dench, Rob Brydon, Imelda Staunton and Bernadette Peters joined the cast for this superb tribute to a genius - Mark Lawson
Scènes de ballet/A Month in the Country/ Rhapsody review – an outstanding Ashton triple bill
In a showcase of works from across their founding choreographer’s career, the Royal Ballet prove their mastery of his technical and dramatic complexity - Sarah Crompton
Henry VI: Rebellion / Wars of the Roses review – thrilling games of thrones
With their portrait of a wobbling monarchy and egotistical leadership, these rare stagings are particularly topical - Mark Lawson
Murder on the Orient Express review – a first-class ride all the way
Henry Goodman gives us every inch of Hercule Poirot’s dandiness and comedy in this exemplary adaptation of Christie’s ingenious murder mystery, but also gets every note of the character’s vast intelligence and pain - Mark Lawson
Now Is Good – a joyous musical with a makeover at its heart
Tim Firth’s show about a father and son converting a bank into a home is perfectly constructed and performed - Clare Brennan
Rambert review – Ben Duke’s new work is both funny and profound
The mysterious, melancholy Cerberus is the centrepiece of a triple bill worthy of the company’s superb dancers - Sarah Crompton
Now Is Good review – mirthful musical celebration of community life
Tim Firth pays tribute to his eccentric father with a cheerfully anarchic tale of cross-generational trust - Mark Fisher
The Father and the Assassin review – gripping tale of the man who killed Gandhi
Anupama Chandrasekhar artfully unpicks the forces of history with a tale of violence and colonialism that echoes into today - Claire Armitstead
Rambert review – whirlwinds of wow
The company’s touring triple bill is a showcase of individual brilliance that testifies to the sure creative hand of director Benoit Swan Pouffer - Lyndsey Winship
Constellations review – a stirring love story with infinite possibilities
This intricate production of Nick Payne’s high-concept romance poses existential questions with elegance and levity - Helen Meany
Ballet Black review – powerful pairing from the trailblazing troupe
The rich abilities of the dancers are beautifully showcased in the double bill of Say It Loud and Black Sun - Lyndsey Winship
Nothello review – clever and joyful, Shakespeare upended
Desdemona’s twins step forward to speak out against the racist tropes that led to their parents’ tragedy in this inclusive, urgent production - Mark Fisher
Passion review – thrilling singing in a rousing Sondheim reboot
Ruthie Henshall and Kelly Price shine in a sophisticated and intimate staging of Stephen Sondheim’s 1994 musical - Mark Fisher
Orlando review – make a date for Virginia Woolf’s puckish time traveller
Smart, funny adaptation of Woolf’s exploration of multiple selves is pint-sized but faithful, and Taylor McClaine is excellent as the titular lead - Arifa Akbar
Juniper and Jules review – this funny and sweet romance is a must-see
Featuring scintillating performances, Stephanie Martin’s play sidesteps schmaltz with bold and sharply original verve - Arifa Akbar
Matsena Productions / House of Absolute review – intense, raw dance
This double bill brings a dramatic response to racial harassment and an affirmation of female power. Together, they showcase the vibrant talent in these two British companies - Lyndsey Winship
The White Card review – the liberal art world’s blindness to privilege
A strong cast makes Claudia Rankine’s exploration of the ‘invisibility of whiteness’ and the source of US racism compelling - Clare Brennan
The week in theatre: Middle; Prima Facie; Much Ado About Nothing
A couple struggle to connect – or touch – in David Eldridge’s latest; Jodie Comer owns the courtroom; and Lucy Bailey directs a sparkling new Much Ado - Susannah Clapp
The Dan Daw Show review – consent, kink and pushing comfort zones
Dan Daw explores bodies, power and submission in a show that is intense, tender and comes complete with trigger warning… - Sarah Crompton
Oklahoma! review – an invigorating take on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic
This modern, sexy and unsettling show injects thrills into a familiar musical, making it feel newly minted - Miriam Gillinson
Chloe Petts review – cheery comedy confronting thorny issues
Skilful standup’s Covid-delayed debut, Transience, takes the heat out of fraught conversations about gender and is well worth the wait - Brian Logan
The White Card review – a subtle debate about art and privilege
Claudia Rankine’s tense and timely play about an art collector puts white liberalism under the microscope - Mark Fisher
Calvino Nights review – irresistible theatre that sharpens the senses
Based on Italo Calvino folk tales, Kneehigh founder Mike Shepherd’s bounteous show features burning instruments, puppetry and political outrage - Chris Wiegand
Translations review – Brian Friel’s tale of two cultures has universal impact
Caitríona McLaughlin’s taut new production of Friel’s colonisation drama is a timeless study of change and identity - Helen Meany
The Hope River Girls review – bold teen show transcends target market
Vicki Manderson choreographs a quietly intense show about a disorder that causes a group of girls to dance uncontrollably - Mark Fisher
Jerusalem review – Mark Rylance’s riveting return as ‘Rooster’ Byron
Problematic gags limit the power of Jez Butterworth’s layered drama about myths and Englishness but the lead performance still astonishes - Arifa Akbar
Electric Rosary review – spooky cyber-sister spurs startling visions
Is a council-funded robot nun the answer to prayers at a convent in crisis? Tim Foley’s prize-winning play proves ingenious and thrilling - Catherine Love
Jack Docherty: Nothing But review – fantasy and tragedy at the Edinburgh fringe
As he tells the story of a one-night stand from 30 years ago, the comic explores youthful dreams and midlife disappointment - Brian Logan
Prima Facie review – Jodie Comer on formidable form in roaring drama
The Killing Eve star makes a masterful West End debut in Suzie Miller’s play about sexual assault and the legal system - Arifa Akbar
Alan Partridge: Stratagem review – two hours of tremendous silliness
In a joyful return to the stage, Steve Coogan’s deathless alter ego delivers a motivational lecture he keeps on derailing - Brian Logan
Royal Ballet triple bill review – daredevil effervescence and virtuosity
Steven McRae returns from injury to the role he’d made his own in Frederick Ashton’s Rhapsody, while two other Ashton works make up an evening of playful combinations and beautifully delineated emotions - Lyndsey Winship
The Corn Is Green review – an inspirational heart-warmer in praise of good education
Emlyn Williams’ 1938 play is a kind of Billy Elliot of the Valleys: the old-fashioned but hugely entertaining and affecting story of a Welsh miner’s son who escapes his class-bound home town with the help of a bold schoolteacher - Arifa Akbar
BalletBoyz: Deluxe review – it’s impossible to look away
Xie Xin and Maxine Doyle call the shots in a double bill of great flow and swagger - Sarah Crompton
The Deb review – big laughs and big pop choruses by Megan Washington in small-town coming of age musical
Cousins from different worlds become best friends in show brimming with sweetly funny beats - Cassie Tongue
The Minutes review – Tracy Letts delivers a biting American allegory
The playwright also stars in his latest Broadway production, a dark-hued drama about a town council meeting - Alexis Soloski
Pina Bausch: Orpheus and Eurydice review – piercing sadness
Dancers and singers share the lead roles in Tanztheater Wuppertal’s lucid version of the myth, set to Gluck’s score - Chris Wiegand
Jane Eyre review – who is the true ‘mad woman in the attic’?
Chris Bush’s gripping new adaptation – the centrepiece of a Brontë festival – adds an interesting psychological twist - Mark Fisher
Scottish Ballet: The Scandal at Mayerling review – bold and brutal
Emotional intensity and physically demanding choreography combine in this reworking of Kenneth MacMillan’s ballet - Róisín O'Brien
The week in theatre: The House of Shades; My Fair Lady; The Breach
Anne-Marie Duff’s aspiring singer transfixes in a didactic family saga; My Fair Lady feels strangely vacant. Plus, a stifling tale of dysfunctional siblings - Susannah Clapp
Athena Kugblenu review – class act flips conventional thinking on its head
The daughter of an aspirational mum and an overqualified dad, Kugblenu ruminates on privilege, parenthood and Nigella recipes - Brian Logan
Antigone review – an explosive hour of fireworks
The music and visual effects dazzle in this 2018 update of Sophocles’ tragedy from the Classical Theatre of Harlem - Arifa Akbar
Kabul Goes Pop review – a fizzing tribute to bubblegum songs of hope
This uneven but refreshing debut by Waleed Akhtar is inspired by the rise and fall of Afghanistan’s first pop TV show - Ammar Kalia
My Fair Lady review – perfectly elegant, ever so sedate
Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins are back in a time capsule of nice frocks, great tunes and comic bickering – but it’s solid not spectacular - Arifa Akbar
Dubbo Championship Wrestling review – musical doesn’t quite land the smackdown
There’s sharp jokes and good choreography in this ambitious musical about a small-town wrestling scene that could benefit from some thoughtful revisions - Cassie Tongue
Snatched review – former Corrie star’s solo show is sharp and funny
Melissa Johns articulates how she learned to navigate an ableist world as a woman with one and a half arms - Kate Wyver
Grease review – room-filling energy, nostalgia and first-rate tunes
The unreconstructed sexism remains but so too do the big song and dance numbers in a production featuring Peter Andre - Lyndsey Winship
The House of Shades review – Anne-Marie Duff gives a toxic tour de force
Beth Steel’s ambitious new play follows the Webster family over decades, with Duff as a thwarted singer - Arifa Akbar
Shades of Blue/ Warrior Queens review – compelling and contemporary
Fear and intimidation play out in the Matsena brothers’ raw, impassioned new work, while Julia Cheng’s female warriors strike a pose - Sarah Crompton
Maggie May review – deft dementia drama underscores the power of memory
Eithne Browne gives a superb depiction of the bewilderment brought on by Alzheimer’s in Francis Poet’s sharp-witted play - Mark Fisher
First Touch review – sexual abuse blights the beautiful game
Nottingham PlayhousePlaywright Nathaniel Price’s aim is true in a predatory pitch-side tale from the 1970s - Mark Fisher
Chris Rock: Ego Death review – taking the temperature of a ‘near-destroyed’ America
Royal Albert Hall, LondonThe standup returns to the stage on fine form, though one might wish The Slap was addressed, not glossed - Brian Logan
Unchain Me review – Dostoevsky inspires secret mission on the streets of Brighton
dreamthinkspeak’s timely new production on inequality and abuse of political power offers its audience a choice: complicity or compliance? - Arifa Akbar
Men review – Alex Garland unleashes multiple Rory Kinnears in wacky folk-horror
Garland’s latest is like a scary-movie remake of Dick Emery, with excellent performances from Kinnear in a number of different roles, and Jessie Buckley - Peter Bradshaw
The Bookies review – a collective gamble against stacked odds
The staff at a betting shop, and their sole punter, find their hands forced in this quirky escapist comedy - Mark Fisher
House of Ife review – buried secrets unearthed by grief
A family gathers following a son’s death to tackle unfinished business provoked by cultural tensions and an absent father, in Beru Tessema’s absorbing play - Arifa Akbar
Ballet Hispánico review – Latinx bite, humour and vogueing in heels
The New York company makes a long-awaited English debut with a colourful and lively triple bill that interrogates Latinx stereotypes while celebrating self-actualisation - Lyndsey Winship
Barry & Joan review – all-singing all-dancing vaudevillians get their moment in the sun
Nostalgic insight into the theatrical world of the Granthams, an eccentric couple from the golden era of entertainment - Leslie Felperin
Luck Just Kissed You Hello review – scorching truth-telling in deathbed drama
Wayne Jordan directs a sombre revival of Amy Conroy’s play exploring gender identity and family dynamics - Helen Meany
I Wanna Be Yours review – romance across a cultural divide
Eva Scott and Usman Nawaz deliver winning performances in this smart but ponderous tale of ill-fated love - Mark Fisher
Schalk Bezuidenhout review – a fun introduction to a genial misfit
The South African storyteller’s expressive presence and assured comedy chops ensure easy laughs - Brian Logan
Middle review – marital and midlife reckoning brings gags and gripes
Gentle comedy leavens David Eldridge’s sequel about a couple mired in the swamps of regrets and resentments - Arifa Akbar
Much Ado About Nothing review – gaiety abounds in the Globe’s great garden party
Lucy Bailey’s ambling production of Shakespeare’s comedy, set in Italy on the eve of Mussolini’s defeat, exudes pastoral elegance and feels like the start of summer - Arifa Akbar
Macbeth review – Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga soar but there’s magic missing
Sam Gold’s inventively staged take on the classic tragedy has its moments but there’s something missing at the centre - Alexis Soloski
The Misfortune of the English review – a stinging exploration of boyhood and patriotism
Based on real events, Pamela Carter’s drama follows British schoolchildren on a walking tour in prewar Nazi Germany - Miriam Gillinson
I Am No Bird review – stripping back the Brontës’ chocolate-box history
This anarchic show casts off the corsets to capture just what made these literary sisters so striking - Mark Fisher
Shechter II: Contemporary Dance 2.0 review – young steppers pulse to a clubby score
Hofesh Shechter’s hardworking junior company move through Latin, locking, electronic beats and Bach - Lyndsey Winship
Keli review – music, mining and a maelstrom of emotions in brass band drama
Working-class history and a young woman’s story combine in this audio drama from the Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh - Arifa Akbar
Barry Humphries: The Man Behind the Mask review – basking in nostalgia
While an impish spirit remains, the comic behind Dame Edna Everage follows the well-worn template of celebs recounting their life stories - Brian Logan
Downton Abbey: A New Era review – cheerfully risible second helping of snobby melodrama
The second – and hopefully last – film spun off from Julian Fellowes’s successful TV series is as hammy, silly, and undeniably entertaining as ever - Peter Bradshaw
Funny Girl review – Beanie Feldstein struggles in Broadway revival
The actor brings pathos (and celebrity) as the vaudeville legend Fanny Brice in the much-hyped musical revival – but not the singing chops - Adrian Horton
Maria Callas: Letters and Memoirs review – Monica Bellucci’s homage to a superstar
The Italian actor delivers an elegant but eccentric show that can’t quite decide who it’s for: opera aficionados or initiates - Arifa Akbar
Wars of the Roses review – a little too much shock and awe
The RSC’s battery of technical effects evokes the chaos of warfare, but the characterisation gets lost in the tumult - Clare Brennan
Punchdrunk: The Burnt City review – spectacle eclipses story in siege of Troy epic
This immersive retelling of Greek tragedies is stylish and atmospheric but lacks narrative momentum and its scattered scenes can be frustratingly arcane - Arifa Akbar
Grimeboy review – a pair of battling MCs become allies
Casey Bailey’s moving, emotionally honest grime musical grows in power and has its own poetic, street-smart presence - Arifa Akbar
National Dance Company Wales review – comedy and menace with rumbling tums and giant steps
A triple bill from this bright young company features entertainingly noisy body parts, a hint of disaster and some absurdist chaos - Lyndsey Winship
Opolis review – generation-gap drama plunges deep into virtual world
The possibility of trading bad memories for good drives tension in this disconcerting play by Ali Pritchard - Mark Fisher
The Taxidermist’s Daughter review – Kate Mosse’s gothic mystery stuffed with visual thrills
Mosse’s adaptation of her blood-soaked novel delivers on chills but could do with more substance amid the sound and fury - Mark Lawson
The Hound of the Baskervilles review – tongue-in-cheek sleuthing
The canine curse is given a comic makeover, sapping the story of its terror but bringing laughs and charming energy from the cast of three - Arifa Akbar
Princess Essex review – Anne Odeke gives spark to Black British history lesson
This one-woman play steers through characters with charm, but is held back by a story that is less than the sum of its parts - Arifa Akbar
Red Ellen review – sketchy treatment of a heroic politician
Caroline Bird’s drama about the Labour MP Ellen Wilkinson gives us the bullet points of an extraordinary life but slips into melodrama - Clare Brennan
Mystery Sonatas/for Rosa review – an enigmatic endurance test
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s tribute to five inspirational Rosas captivates – until it outstays its welcome - Sarah Crompton
Scandaltown review – smut and silliness in modern Restoration comedy
Mike Bartlett’s rambunctious capers with types including Lady Susan Climber and Matt Eton MP are great fun if not exactly stinging satire - Arifa Akbar
Queen Lear review – all-female acting troupe do a village Shakespeare
This heartwarming documentary about local villagers touring rural Turkey is full of transformative encounters and communal enjoyment - Phuong Le
Bliss review – relentlessly grim drama haunted by the ghosts of war
Hunger and disease stalk Russia in the aftermath of conflict in this play based on a story by Andrey Platonov - Kate Wyver
A Hero of the People review – Ibsen watered down in Wales
While there are some strong performances and the conceit is intriguing, this modern-day version of the classic fails to convince - Gareth Llŷr Evans
First Touch review – an attempt to give sexual abuse the red card
A young footballer is groomed by his coach in a new play lacking the intensity and drama of the beautiful game at its best - Clare Brennan
Dom Juan review – Molière’s lothario gets lost in translation
Marking the French playwright’s 400th anniversary, this chaotic bilingual comedy lacks clarity - Miriam Gillinson
Julius Caesar review – the revolution is rerouted in scattered Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s Globe, LondonLess a tense examination of a failing republic, or even of women in power, there is little electricity or danger here - Kate Wyver
Five Characters in Search of a Good Night’s Sleep review – disjointed bedtime stories
ViSiBLE Theatre Ensemble’s play underexplores the effects of insomnia on its characters, who deliver a series of fragmented monologues gues - Arifa Akbar
The Osmonds: A New Musical review – an awful lot of Osmond for your buck
The musical based on a book by Jay Osmond hints at unsettling moments in the brothers’ televised childhood before reality is swept under the carpet - Miriam Gillinson
Habibti Driver review – predictable east-meets-west cabbie comedy
An Egyptian-British father and daughter tussle over culture clashes in an underpowered Wigan-set drama saved by its smart design - Clare Brennan
Habibti Driver review – culture-clash comedy never revs up
Shamia Chalabi and Sarah Henley’s ‘East meets Wigan’ drama is at its best on the subject of cars and women’s independence - Mark Fisher
The Straw Chair review – a shocking 18th-century story of injustice
This slow-moving drama inspired by the life of Lady Grange explores the historical control of women and changing attitudes to mental health - Arifa Akbar
Marys Seacole review – mystifying drama about caring through the ages
Despite strong performances, Jackie Sibblies Drury’s play zigzags so much that it overshadows the remarkable life at its centre - Arifa Akbar
Bonnie & Clyde review – outlaws robbed by a generic rootin’-tootin’ musical
This tale about the partners in crime is unsure of the point it’s trying to make but the cast hurl themselves in with winning enthusiasm - Ryan Gilbey
American Buffalo review – David Mamet returns to Broadway with a thud
Circle on the Square Theatre, New YorkLaurence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell bring star power to this umpteenth revival but there’s a staleness they struggle to overcome - Alexis Soloski
For You I’d Wait review – Bataclan attack is dangerous territory for a musical
Sophie Golby and Tom West stray too far from home in their soft-rock musical about the 2015 Paris terror attacks, let down by repetitive numbers with tourist-board lyrics - Ryan Gilbey
The Breach review – a shocking and perplexing tale of abuse and power
Questions of consent, violation and trauma go unanswered in this stolid staging of Naomi Wallace’s oblique drama - Arifa Akbar