Macbeth review – David Tennant thrills in this high-concept production
The staging is imaginative and expressive, and the audience is immersed in the action by hearing everything through headphones - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarStranger Things: The First Shadow review – breathtaking theatre
This origin story has all the dark mystery of the Duffer Brothers’ Netflix series and delivers one coup de theatre after another - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarWonka review – Timothée Chalamet’s Chocolate Factory prequel is a superbly sweet treat
Timothée Chalamet leads a beguiling cast in a backstory that rinses away all sourness from Roald Dahl’s embittered chocolatier - Peter Bradshaw
starstarstarstarstarOliver! review – tunes, glorious tunes and a thrillingly vivid production
James Brining’s exemplary staging solves every problem – the antisemitism, the coercive romance – that Lionel Bart’s joyous, beloved but difficult musical presents - Mark Lawson
starstarstarstarstarHamilton review – revolutionary musical hits the road with a blazing new cast
The new tour of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s blockbuster is delivered by an outstanding ensemble - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarHell’s Kitchen review – Alicia Keys jukebox musical is a marvel
The star helps craft a show-stopping semi-autobiographical off-Broadway musical that brings the house down - Lauren Mechling
starstarstarstarstarThe Black Saint and the Sinner Lady review – dancers take the audience with them on a wild jazz ride
The slinky grooves of Charles Mingus animate the expressive dancers of Clod Ensemble, who sweep up the crowd in a joyful celebration of movement - Lyndsey Winship
starstarstarstarstarPirates! review – buccaneering adventure and fizzing family fun
Though often more associated with abstract contemporary dance, Scottish Dance Theatre prove more than adept at bringing tales of daring on the high seas to a younger audience - Lyndsey Winship
starstarstarstarstarEdward Scissorhands review – Matthew Bourne’s tender hymn to difference and acceptance
Bourne’s sharp, tender dance production of the boy with scissor hands – a symbol for outsiders everywhere – feels more vital than ever - Sarah Crompton
starstarstarstarstarEdward Scissorhands review – Matthew Bourne’s dance blockbuster is a cut above
Tim Burton’s film is a natural fit for Bourne’s choreography and a bright young cast bring its bittersweet tale to fresh life - Lyndsey Winship
starstarstarstarstarScottish Ballet: Cinders! review – zippy gender-swap ballet is a festive treat
Audiences won’t know until they arrive if their Cinders is male or female in Scottish Ballet’s charmingly tweaked version - Róisín O'Brien
starstarstarstarstarSame Team: A Street Soccer Story review – high drama on and off the pitch
Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse’s tale follows a team of Scots women’s footballers, but its most powerful scenes move well beyond the game - Mark Fisher
starstarstarstarstarThe Fair Maid of the West review – songs, silliness and a musical ham
Isobel McArthur gives a giddy fresh spin to Thomas Heywood’s 16th-century romp which sends a Cornish landlady, in her repurposed bar, to sea - David Jays
starstarstarstarstarPandemonium review – Armando Iannucci’s furiously funny takedown of No 10
Boris Johnson and his successors Less Trust and Riches Sooner are satirised in a superb political pantomime directed by Patrick Marber - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarBeauty and the Beast review – energetic cast make five a festive stageful
Nick Lane’s witty and rounded adaptation stars a no-nonsense Rosabelle, and manages to convey fear and fun with pop hits - Mark Fisher
starstarstarstarstarCinderella: A Fairytale review – Ella and her prince bond over shared passion, not money or status
This production rows back on panto excess, but boisterous audience interaction and bright songs keep it lively - Mark Fisher
starstarstarstarstarMidnight Mole review – puppet’s cheery takeover of Chekhov’s garden
Set in the cherry orchard that Madame Ranevsky is preparing to leave, this story leads its young audience on a tactile adventure underground - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarPacific Overtures review – small Sondheim is beautifully done
Co-production with Osaka company brings 1976 study of American imperialism arriving in Japan to subtle, funny life - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarChicago review – masterful star-studded production kicks off Australian tour
With Anthony Warlow, Zoë Ventoura, Lucy Maunder and Peter Rowsthorn (of Kath & Kim), the jazz-age satire has dynamite moments – and a red hot ensemble - Rosamund Brennan
starstarstarstarstarDreaming and Drowning review – a visceral but lyrical look at anxiety and acceptance
Kwame Owusu’s language dances on the tongue of athletic performer Tienne Simon in this monologue about a young, sci-fi-loving gay man’s struggles to fit in and find love - Kate Wyver
starstarstarstarstarTambourines review – another reason to love Trajal Harrell
Inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the celebrated US choreographer feels her pain in his new work - Sarah Crompton
starstarstarstarstarA Woman Walks into a Bank review – tricksy Russian tragicomedy with a talking cat
Roxy Cook’s award-winning debut is a whimsical, layered meta-tale about the clash of old Soviet ways and modern, capitalist culture - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarEddie Izzard: The Remix review – Noah’s Ark, jazz chickens and the Death Star canteen
Pausing her political campaigning to revisit the routines that made her name, Izzard seems to be enjoying herself as much as we are - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarThe Snow Queen review – bold, imaginative and richly musical
Young Gerda is sent on an epic quest across mythical Scotland by steam train, cross-country skis, fishing boat and unicorn in Morna Young’s version - Mark Fisher
starstarstarstarstarThe Seagull review – Sigrid Thornton and Toby Schmitz star in contemporary take on Chekhov
Andrew Upton’s adaptation transplants the play’s ensemble to Australia in the early 2000s, where they discover the cost of art and thwarted dreams - Dee Jefferson
starstarstarstarstarShe Stoops to Conquer review – a jolly good Christmas comedy
There are perfectly pitched performances with just the right touch of pathos as Oliver Goldsmith’s play gets a festive staging - Miriam Gillinson
starstarstarstarstarA Little Princess review – richly vibrant reverse Cinderella story
Riches-to-rags tale is set against the backdrop of Indian independence, amplifying the injustice and adding extra texture to this rewarding show - Mark Fisher
starstarstarstarstarThe Mongol Khan review – a spectacular, swashbuckling tale of succession
A colossal cast of singers, dancers, acrobats and contortionists take your breath away in this epic and moving story of betrayal and parental sacrifice - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarNutcracker review – a radically reimagined warm embrace of a show
Starring Action Man and a boy called Clive, Drew McOnie’s immersive cabaret version of the festive ballet is up there with reinventions by Mark Morris and Matthew Bourne - Sarah Crompton
starstarstarstarstarRosalie Minnitt: Clementine review – a frilly-bonneted comedy for today
In this giddily inventive show, Minnitt plays a woman trying to bag a beau before her sentence to spinsterdom is declared - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarTwo Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) review – charming romcom is a treat
Two-hander musical matches its wide-eyed hero and sardonic heroine with just the right mix of sugar and sour - David Jays
starstarstarstarstarThe Scouse Dick Whittington review – all-singing delight for adults
Traditional tale is recast as a daft quest across Europe, built on a giddy score powering through hits from Bon Jovi to Kraftwerk - Mark Fisher
starstarstarstarstarOil review – Brooke Satchwell and Charlotte Friels magnetic in Ella Hickson’s ambitious epic
The audacious play leaps through space and time to tell the geopolitical story of crude oil through the lens of a mother and daughter as they reckon with their complicity - Fiona Murphy
starstarstarstarstarNineteen Gardens review – gripping account of an illicit affair’s aftermath
Social disparities are highlighted in Magdalena Miecznicka’s satirical study of the power play between two former lovers - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarHot Orange review – hoop dreams and true love in bittersweet teen drama
Amal Khalidi and Tatenda Naomi Matsvai’s play for over-13s touchingly evokes two friends’ passions and pressures - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarThe Box of Delights review – the RSC makes merry with Masefield’s fantasy
This is a well-crafted, brilliantly acted version of John Masefield’s classic novel about an orphan who travels through time - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarNutcracker review – a Christmas dream of love that goes with a swing
A hunky Action Man opens up a sequin-clad life for the protagonist of Drew McOnie’s jazzy, out-and-proud take on Tchaikovsky’s ballet - Lyndsey Winship
starstarstarstarstarMachinal review – spare yet shocking revival of 1920s play on female criminality
An excellent cast give the story of Ruth Snyder, a woman executed by electric chair in 1928 for killing her husband, a cleverly inventive, chillingly modern update - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarRhinoseros review – absurdist fable gets a Welsh twist as villagers sling the mud
Manon Steffan Ros has translated Ionesco’s play into Welsh for this technically ambitious and compelling production - Gareth Llŷr Evans
starstarstarstarstarNorthern Rascals: Shed review – everyday realities are danced out within four confining walls
The set is a claustrophobic flat, the clothes are baggy, the prop is a gaming console … this three-part show lets us peer into its characters’ lives - Lyndsey Winship
starstarstarstarstarChristmas shows: Evita; Peter Pan review – from Argentina to Neverland, a search for connection
The action feels distanced in Nikolai Foster’s coolly striking new production of the Lloyd Webber-Rice musical, while turmoil stalks the Darling household in Cardiff - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarZoetrope review – skeletons rattle up a surreal Christmas show
Lea Anderson’s show for children, staged by National Dance Company Wales, presents the story of evolution as an absurdist cabaret - Lyndsey Winship
starstarstarstarstarUlster American review – Woody Harrelson and Andy Serkis perfectly awful in anarchic comedy
David Ireland’s explosive satire turns into farce as two buffoons parading as progressives team up with a dramatist played by Louisa Harland - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarRock’n’Roll review – Tom Stoppard’s blast from the past
Stoppard’s 2006 play asks important ideological questions with typically fizzing wordplay but its growling, feral energy comes too late - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarCold War review – Conor McPherson follows doomed love across eastern bloc
Luke Thallon and Anya Chalotra are the lovers in this adaptation of Paweł Pawlikowski’s 2018 film, with Polish folk music and Elvis Costello songs - Ryan Gilbey
starstarstarstarstarViggo Venn: British Comedian review – BGT champ is a clown prince enjoying his moment
Hi-vis hijinks are here aplenty as the Britain’s Got Talent winner revisits his triumphant routines - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarWendy: A Peter Pan Story review – an awfully modern adventure
Gaming imagery blends with traditional adventure scenery in an exuberant present-day adaptation of JM Barrie’s novel - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarGlacier review – wild-swimming tale paddles in the shallows
Alison Spittle’s story of three women who meet and reconvene annually for a Christmas Day dip is fun nonetheless - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarThree Acts of Love review – pain and pleasure in a trio straight from the heart
These one-act plays covering passion, acceptance and obsession are connected by a seasonally warming theme about community - Mark Fisher
starstarstarstarstarThe Enormous Crocodile review – Roald Dahl’s dastardly reptile stalks the stage
This production for over-fours has clever touches, lively performances and splendid puppets but the songs and the story grow monotonous - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarThe Homecoming review – Pinter’s timeless study of toxic masculinity
Playing a man meeting his daughter-in-law for the first time, Jared Harris brings out the dark comedy in Pinter’s snapshot of misogyny - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarLucy Beaumont: The Trouble & Strife! review – bottomless brunches and butlers in the buff
The Hull comic continues to riff brilliantly on her home city’s quirks but you wish she’d reveal more of the ‘small angry woman’ she describes herself as - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstar£1 Thursdays review – nightclubbing, sex talk and big decisions
A mix of sweet observations about female friendship and cheeky brazenness about sex, Kat Rose-Martin’s play finds two young women at a crossroads in their lives - Kate Wyver
starstarstarstarstarJack and the Beanstalk review – a spirited panto with droll touches
It may not attempt anything new but there are eye-catching costumes, catchy songs, some sparkling performances and a droll script by Anna Jordan - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarLunar Halo review – Sigur Rós soundtrack arresting images and smooth moves
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan show extraordinary finesse but the theme of bodies and technology rarely coheres into anything substantial - Lyndsey Winship
starstarstarstarstarArabian Nights review – warming festive treat with bags of scrappy charm
Part panto, part Arabian version of EastEnders, writer Sonali Bhattacharyya, and a winning cast have cobbled together a fizzing modern-day fable about the power of storytelling - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarMacbeth review – Ralph Fiennes’ monstrous monarch wages war in a warehouse
Staged in a hangar-like venue strewn with the charred remnants of battle, Simon Godwin’s intelligent production puts violent conflict to the fore - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarThe House of Bernarda Alba review – Harriet Walter rules as Lorca gets a refurb
Adapted by Alice Birch and directed by Rebecca Frecknall, this is a stylised study in control and daughterly disobedience - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarCinderella review – festive fairytale adds a sprinkling of socialism
Our heroine is a straight-talker who is not bothered about the ball but still finds romance in Annie Siddons’ lively musical version - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarPinocchio review – no wooden acting in an action-packed musical voyage
Eliza Blair plays the puppet-child on an adventure of self-discovery in this slightly muddled yet well-performed version of Collodi’s story - Mark Fisher
starstarstarstarstarCinderella review – pop-powered Hammersmith panto looks sharp
Vikki Stone’s playful fairytale is staged with fabulous costumes and high-energy songs but falls short of delirious comedy - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarTrevor Noah: Off the Record review – zapping comedy cliches back to life
Routines about rude Parisians and airline seats should have passed their tell-by date long ago – but Noah’s skill reanimates the fun - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarThe Lightbulb Princess review – sparkling electrickery for kids
Sarah Punshon’s Christmas story for over-fours is about the importance of making – and saving – electricity - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarGhosts review – Ibsen’s intense tragedy by candlelight
Joe Hill-Gibbins directs his own version of the psychodrama, creating a potent atmosphere with designer Rosanna Vize - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarRambert: Death Trap review – a double bill of despair from Ben Duke
The 2017 piece Goat, made in the aftermath of London terror attacks, loses its way but last year’s Cerberus is a powerful account of grief - Lyndsey Winship
starstarstarstarstarThe Witches review – frights played for fun in rollicking musical
Roald Dahl’s villains are given a makeover with a gag-filled script by Lucy Kirkwood and a couple of storming numbers - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarNight Shift review – interconnected stories of isolation and intimacy
Combining spoken dialogue with BSL this innovative production shines a light on the unsung heroes who keep the economy running while the world sleeps - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarFascinating Aïda review – caustic comments and filthiness 40 years on
From a killer song about cosmetic surgery to ditties on doppelgangers and dogging, Dillie Keane, Adèle Anderson and Liza Pulman are still going strong - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarVan Huynh Company: Re:birth review – a swirling portrayal of the exhaustion of exile
The UK-based Vietnamese dancer and choreographer stages a piece inspired by the horror and dislocation of war with experimental vocals from Elaine Mitchener - Lyndsey Winship
starstarstarstarstarDo I Love You? review – laughter and pain in John Godber’s northern soul comedy
Three struggling twentysomethings find solace in dance in the writer-director’s well performed if not quite satisfying new work - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarBalletBoyz: England on Fire review – riotous tour through a nation’s soul
This ‘psychic landscape of Albion’ deploys a huge ensemble to send its dancers spinning through a patchwork of national mythology - Sanjoy Roy
starstarstarstarstarBranwen: Dadeni review – epic musical is a landmark in Welsh theatre
This Welsh-language retelling of an ancient myth is a huge endeavour, with great performances and lots of promise - Gareth Llŷr Evans
starstarstarstarstarTo Have and to Hold review – fond family comedy from the writer of One Man, Two Guvnors
Richard Bean’s new play touches on ageing and alienation, care and family love, but focuses on making us laugh - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarA Forgotten Man review – watchable account of central figure in Swiss wartime guilt
Laurent Nègre’s stagey film is also a free adaptation of Thomas Hürlimann’s play on the same subject, and may have worked better in the theatre - Peter Bradshaw
starstarstarstarstarKnocking on the Wall review – delightful domestic surprise in Ena Lamont Stewart revival
The third play in this programme of work by Scotland’s first major modern female playwright redeems an otherwise underpowered evening - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarZona Franca review – a fleet-footed favela dance party
With incredible moves from Rio’s Cia Suave, Alice Ripoll choreographs a joyful celebration of young lives - Lyndsey Winship
starstarstarstarstarLizzie review – ferocious rock opera revisits 1892 double murder case
Strong voices, polished direction and pop choreography boost this uneven account of Lizzie Borden, accused of killing her father and stepmother - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarThe Interview review – Martin Bashir’s Princess Diana deceit in closeup
A crisp and jarringly satirical play presents the 1995 Panorama documentary as a forerunner of today’s fake news - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarThe Time Traveller’s Wife review – eternal romance is a bumpy ride
Joss Stone and Dave Stewart’s strangely forgettable score does little to lift this musical but there are some wonderful set pieces - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarSputnik Sweetheart review – Haruki Murakami’s love triangle staged in style
The enigmatic 1999 novel about three entwined lives is sleekly adapted by Bryony Lavery and sharply directed by Melly Still - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarMonster Show review – trans take on Frankenstein is a stomping experiment
Dressed as the creature, Hester Stefan Chillingworth live-dubs the 1931 movie and reframes the narrative - Kate Wyver
starstarstarstarstarKing Lear review – Kenneth Branagh’s fast and feverish tragedy
At two hours with no interval, the actor-director’s production hurtles past at such speed that the depths of the play are too rarely realised - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarTo Wong Foo the Musical review – fabulous fantasia keeps it frothy
Adapted from the 1995 film, this musical about three drag queens stuck in a US small town is low on tension but has plenty of heart – and wigs - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarCowbois review – playing with expectations in the wild west
Gender identity comes to town in writer-co-director Charlie Josephine’s atmospheric but slow-going tale of a disruptive stranger - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarRomeo & Juliet review – slow jams, Asda bags and trackie tops in a Manchester love story
Nicholai La Barrie’s production edits out some of Shakespeare’s characters, but amps up the modern-day relevance of this play about a divided community - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarEvita review – oh what a circus as musical gets bizarre update
Argentina’s Eva Perón is reimagined as a modern-day influencer in an incoherent production lacking context - Miriam Gillinson
starstarstarstarstarThe Snow Queen review – flurry of fun needs more sense of adventure
Working best as an origin story, this new adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale is poignant but lacks danger - Chris Wiegand
starstarstarstarstarRuby Wax: I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was review – wandering towards wellness
This one-woman play aims to dramatise Wax’s globe-trotting spiritual quest but gets sidetracked into anecdote - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarI Should Be So Lucky, The Musical review – missing the Hit Factory
Show built around Stock Aitken Waterman’s songs flies so long as the pop classics are playing - Nick Ahad
starstarstarstarstarDanny and the Deep Blue Sea review – Aubrey Plaza sinks in her stage debut
The White Lotus star struggles alongside Girls’ Christopher Abbott in an overcooked relationship two-hander from John Patrick Shanley - Adrian Horton
starstarstarstarstarHarmony review – Barry Manilow’s Broadway musical lacks magic
The period musical about a German singing group stumbles to the big stage after a troubled decades-long journey, arriving a little worse for wear - Jesse Hassenger
starstarstarstarstarMates in Chelsea review – filthy-rich farce lets the upper classes off lightly
A trust-fund kid losing his family castle to an oligarch provides enough satire for some strong performances, but the concept is overstretched - Kate Wyver
starstarstarstarstarBrenda’s Got a Baby review – pregnancy deadline drama doesn’t quite deliver
Ama wants a baby before her 30th birthday in this unstructured play from Jessica Hagan that doesn’t know if it is serious or trying to make us laugh - Anya Ryan
starstarstarstarstarPhantasmagoria review – scary story forgets the fear factor
Unsettling ideas about sinister political forces are debated in a haunted house. It’s timely subject matter, but fails to create any sense of tension - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarBackstairs Billy review – anodyne comedy about the Queen Mother and her servant
Penelope Wilton plays the isolated royal and Luke Evans is her courtier in a light production that never gains much depth - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarI Need That review – Danny DeVito makes an awkward return to Broadway
A funny performance from the actor is the only saving grace of Theresa Rebeck’s messy comedy drama about a hoarder - Gloria Oladipo
starstarstarstarstarMaud Le Pladec: 27 Perspectives review – dizzying deconstruction of a Schubert symphony
A loose, casual dance based on an artist’s interpretation of a Cézanne painting via a Pete Harden score is full of ideas that often feel out of sync - Lyndsey Winship
starstarstarstarstarThe Inquiry review – drama about a Whitehall cover-up hints at deeper stories left untold
Despite fine acting, Harry Davies’ political thriller about a contaminated water scandal fails to plumb the depths of its characters - Mark Lawson
starstarstarstarstarMycelial review – underground community of sex workers fight for change
Stories from across the world intertwine through activism in an ambitious production, but the delicate threads never quite mesh - Catherine Love
starstarstarstarstarTalking About the Fire review – anti-nuclear lecture is a puzzling dud
Chris Thorpe’s one-man show is more of a scrappy routine than a meaningful call for disarmament - Arifa Akbar
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