Five Star

Five Star
  • Empty
    Tron, GlasgowEmpty is like a tedious night at party full of teenage drunks. It bashes on from one act of domestic destruction to the next, but nothing changes, writes Mark Fisher - Mark Fisher
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  • Warnings
    St Pancras Church Crypt, LondonAll is not what it seems in Warnings, a torturous production that feels like ­being buried alive for 90 minutes with no possibility of clawing your way out, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Medea
    Playhouse, Oxford: A company that has done much good work takes a misstep with this deeply unengaging Medea, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Peter Pan
    Curve, LeicesterThis charmless Peter Pan adds clumsy flying but loses the original's sense of loss and grief, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Glasshouse
    Tobacco Factory, BristolPonderous metaphors and overambitious themes give this climate-change play no chance with the sceptics, writes Elisabeth Mahoney - Elisabeth Mahoney
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  • Who Broke Fred Goodwin's Windows?
    Sweet Heart Theatre, Edinburgh Lyn Gardner is less than impressed by Guardian feature writer Stephen Moss's attempt at producing and appearing in his own play - Lyn Gardner
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  • Diaspora
    Playhouse, Edinburgh An excruciatingly turgid 100 minutes that feels like a cross between a travelogue and a very earnest educational video, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • The School for Scandal
    Pleasance, EdinburghA host of big-name comics embarrass themselves in this under-rehearsed and desperately unfunny version of Richard Sheridan's 1777 comedy of manners, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Blondes
    Udderbelly's Pasture, EdinburghDenise Van Outen's 'celebration' of golden goddesses comes off more like character assassination, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Too Close to the Sun
    Comedy Theatre, LondonThis out of tune musical fails to explain the importance of Ernest Hemingway, writes Michael Billington - Michael Billington
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  • Medea/Medea
    Gate, LondonIt's like having teeth pulled slowly without anaesthetic, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Amongst Friends
    Hampstead, LondonThere are some brittle one-liners but this preposterous comedy opts for kitchen-chic realism rather than something more surreal and edgy, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Underdrome
    The Roundhouse, LondonIt's a mystery how artist-in-residence Darren Johnston could have produced something so inconsquential, says Judith Mackrell - Judith Mackrell
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  • Soho Streets
    Soho, LondonThis wild goose chase appears to have been conceived on the back of a postcard and executed in 24 hours, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Purgatorio
    Barbican, London: Initially, the scene looks set for some kind of upmarket kitchen-sink drama, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Horne and Corden
    Royal Albert Hall, LondonHorne and Corden who are going down - and fast. Surely they can't sink further, says Brian Logan - Brian Logan
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  • Scar Stories
    BAC, LondonPatrizia Paolini's meandering style is more soporific than intriguing, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Dirty Dusting
    Royal Court, LiverpoolThis comedy sets the bar so low it's incredible that thos involved can limbo dance beneath it - Alfred Hickling
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  • The Naked Truth
    Perth TheatreMark Fisher is unconvinced by a play about female female bonding – and pole dancing - Mark Fisher
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  • Obama On My Mind
    Hen and Chickens, LondonThis campy election campaign musical doesn't get Lyn Gardner's vote - Lyn Gardner
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  • Hippolytus
    Riverside Studios, LondonThis version of Euripides' tragedy seems caught in a no-man's-land between reverence and modernity, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • The Taming of the Shrew
    Novello, LondonMorrison's revival is no laughing matter - not in its tedious Carry On Shakespeare buffoonery, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Where There's a Will
    Rose, Kingston A production of hammy acting, missed timing and overall laboriousness, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Romeo & Juliet Docklands
    The Space, LondonThe real tragedy of this misguided revival is that a youngster may see it and be put off Shakespeare for life, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Well
    Apollo, LondonWell? Not particularly after seeing Lisa Kron's play about her relationship with her mother, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • The Little Prince
    Hampstead, LondonIf you want to be patronised, head straight to Anthony Clark's turgid musical, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Amazonia
    Young Vic, London This is one of the most misguided Christmas shows ever - despite an erotic coupling between girl and fish, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Romeo and Juliet
    With concerns about gang, gun and knife crime currently to the fore, it is little wonder to find a new production of Romeo and Juliet highlighting this theme, writes Elisabeth Mahoney - Elisabeth Mahoney
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  • Edinburgh festival: The Factory
    Pleasance CourtyardBy way of dramatising a historical atrocity, Badac Theatre commit a theatrical atrocity - Brian Logan
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  • Edinburgh festival: Pericles Redux
    Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghShakespeare retold proves an exhaustive and irritating experience, finds Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Edinburgh festival: The Time Step
    Pleasance, Edinburgh: This twisted tale of a dysfunctional family is too preposterous to be engaging, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • High School Musical Live on Stage
    1 star An artful attempt to separate you from your cash, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Grand Slam
    This creaky two-hander about a wild-card entry to Wimbledon is something of a double fault, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Swindle and Death
    1 star A satire with good intentions hits wide of the mark, writes Mark Fisher - Mark Fisher
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  • Relocated
    1 star A gothic thriller form for a theme of child abuse is hideously inappropriate, writes Michael Billington - Michael Billington
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  • Dickens Unplugged
    1 star This rehash of a great writer's works tries very hard to be mediocre and succeeds magnificently, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Topless Mum
    1 star A potentially entertaining examination of media and manipulation is botched by stilted dialogue and a tortuous plot, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • What's Wrong With the World?
    The joke is on us in this shambolic, gimmicky piece from Station House Opera, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Seven Deadly Sins
    1 star A night being roasted in hell would be more fun than watching this tedious display of exhibitionism, writes Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Instructions for Modern Living
    This mix of film, live soundscape and monologue is old hat, says Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • Treasure Island
    1 star Lynn Gardner wishes she could keelhaul whoever thought this bland show would make good family viewing - Lyn Gardner
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  • A Midsummer Night's Dream
    1 star When will young companies learn that a space does not make a play, asks Lyn Gardner - Lyn Gardner
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  • The President's Holiday
    1 star Penny Gold's turgid play almost bores Lyn Gardner to death - Lyn Gardner
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  • The Faerie Queen
    1 star This modern fairytale's set and costumes were created from recycled materials, says Lyn Gardner, but the whole thing is junk - Lyn Gardner
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  • Jack and the Beanstalk
    1 star Lyn Gardner thought Jonathan Harvey's panto would be a scream, but oh no it isn't ... - Lyn Gardner
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  • Rent
    1 star It's meant to be Rent remixed, says Michal Billington. More like reductive re-hash. - Michael Billington
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  • Don Quixote
    1 star This production turns Cervantes' book into a sleazy slice of modern Spain. Lyn Gardner laments a theatrical misadventure of epic proportions. - Lyn Gardner
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  • We the People
    Globe, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • We the People
    1 star Eric Schlosser has turned the making of the American constitution into the dullest play of the year, says Lyn Gardner. - Lyn Gardner
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  • Peter Schaufuss Ballet: Satisfaction
    1 star Sanjoy Roy finds lots of jumping jacks but little flash in this Rolling Stones ballet. - Sanjoy Roy
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  • Bigger Than Jesus
    1 star The title of Rick Miller's show must refer to the Canadian comedian's ego, concludes Lyn Gardner. - Lyn Gardner
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  • Limbo: Stories from 7/7
    1 star The blurring of fact and fiction makes a muddle of this account of the London bombings, says Lyn Gardner. - Lyn Gardner
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  • Small Miracle
    1 Star Tricycle, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • I Have Been Here Before
    1 star Playhouse, Nottingham - Lyn Gardner
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  • The Patriot
    Mark Fisher finds little to like about a dreary drawing-room drama of big speeches and small ideas. - Mark Fisher
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  • Union Dance
    1 star Sanjoy Roy finds a fatal lack of composition and aimlessness in a two-part production entitled Heaven and Earth. - Sanjoy Roy
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  • Dido and Aeneas
    1 star The beautiful, much-hyped opening scene in the pool cannot save Sasha Waltz's over-peopled take on Purcell, says Judith Mackrell. - Judith Mackrell
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  • Ricochet Dance Productions
    The Place, London - Judith Mackrell
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  • Stan Won't Dance
    Stan Won't Dance - Sanjoy Roy
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  • Chanbara
    1 star Pleasance Grand - Lyn Gardner
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  • Jack the Lad
    1 star C, Chambers Street - Lyn Gardner
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  • El Conquistador!
    1 star / Theatre/ Traverse, Edinburgh - Lyn Gardner
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  • A Right Royal Farce
    King's Head, London - Michael Billington
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  • Cruising
    1 star Bush, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • The Evocation of Papa Mas
    Corn Exchange, Brighton - Lyn Gardner
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  • Celtic Tiger
    Wembley Arena, London - Sanjoy Roy
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  • Hilda
    1 star Hampstead, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • The Jesus Guy
    CPT, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • The Best of Friends
    Hampstead, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Two Way Mirror
    Courtyard at Covent Garden, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Free-Fall
    Brunton, Musselburgh - Mark Fisher
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  • Jeffrey Dahmer is Unwell
    King's Head, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Caesar Twins and Friends
    1 star Comedy, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Blue Man Group
    New London, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Romeo and Juliet
    Birmingham Rep - Lyn Gardner
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  • The Knight of the Burning Pestle
    Barbican, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Made in Sweden: Premiere Space 05
    1 star Linbury, London - Judith Mackrell
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  • What We Did to Weinstein
    Menier Chocolate Factory, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Dirty Works
    1 star Underbelly, Edinburgh - Lyn Gardner
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  • National Hero
    1 star Pleasance, Edinburgh - Lyn Gardner
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  • Tim Minchin
    1 star Gilded Balloon - Phil Daoust
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  • Twelfth Night: the Musical
    Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh - Lyn Gardner
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  • Haunted
    1 star C Chambers Street, Edinburgh - Lyn Gardner
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  • Behind the Iron Mask
    1 star Duchess, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Romeo and Juliet
    Playhouse, Derby - Alfred Hickling
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  • The Wiremen
    Gaiety, Dublin - Karen Fricker
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  • The Importance of Being Earnest
    1 star Bristol Old Vic - Lyn Gardner
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  • Immodesty Blaize and Walter's Burlesque
    1 star Arts, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • F***ing Asylum Seekers
    Cochrane, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Four Nights in Knaresborough
    Riverside Studios, London. - Lyn Gardner
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  • Wilde Tales
    Southwark Playhouse, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Shakespeare 4 Kidz Macbeth
    1 star New Players, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • The Lunatic Queen
    1 star Riverside, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Acorn Antiques
    Theatre Royal Haymarket, London - Michael Billington
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  • The Erotica Project
    1 star Greenwich Playhouse, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Tim Fountain: Sex Addict
    1 star Royal Court, London - Michael Billington
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  • Meeting Mary
    1 star Jermyn Street, London - Lyn Gardner
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  • Kafka's Dick
    1 star Playhouse, Derby - Alfred Hickling
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  • Ney: Flames of Passion
    1 star Peacock Theatre, London - Sanjoy Roy
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  • Stone City Blue
    1 star Theatr Clwyd, Mold - Alfred Hickling
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