random review – debbie tucker green’s knife-crime drama hits home
Kiza Deen excels in green’s heart-wrenching one-woman play about the killing of a black schoolboy - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarPinter Seven review – Danny Dyer and Martin Freeman on fire in glorious double bill
Dyer and Freeman excel as gunmen in The Dumb Waiter and Jamie Lloyd’s staging of A Slight Ache, with John Heffernan and Gemma Whelan, is a revelation - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarUntil the Lions review – Akram Khan’s modern masterpiece
Khan performs in his intensely beautiful take on the Mahabharata for the last time - Sarah Crompton
starstarstarstarstarOur Lady of Kibeho review – startling story of a heavenly 'visitation'
Royal & Derngate, NorthamptonKatori Hall’s astonishing drama, based on the alleged visions of three schoolgirls, explores the power of faith and miracles as Rwanda’s genocide looms - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarA Christmas Carol review – a real Dickens cracker
Sound, light and sets brilliantly convey Scrooge’s turn from miserliness to philanthropy in Neil Bartlett’s joyous adaptation - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarSweat review – breathtaking drama about life in the American rustbelt
Based on interviews with residents of small-town Pennsylvania, Lynn Nottage’s play vividly describes the betrayal and resentments of striking female factory workers in an era of industrial decline - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarMatthew Bourne’s Swan Lake review – a wild ride
The Royal Ballet’s Matthew Ball soars in Matthew Bourne’s enduring version of Swan Lake - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarThe Nutcracker review – in every sense a delight
It’s an unhappy Christmas for the mice again, but otherwise the Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker is dreamlike perfection - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarFiddler on the Roof review – Trevor Nunn's magnificent revival
With antisemitism on the rise, Tevye’s struggles with the tsar’s thugs are powerfully topical in this note-perfect production - Mark Lawson
starstarstarstarstarWendy and Peter Pan review – a blast of fairy dust
Ella Hickson’s adaptation of JM Barrie’s story is a funny and heartbreaking coming-of-age tale for its swashbuckling heroine - Mark Fisher
starstarstarstarstarThe Silver Tassie review – superb, fiery outing for Turnage's first world war masterpiece
This concert staging of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera based on Sean O’Casey’s play was forcefully conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth and sung by a consistently strong cast - Tim Ashley
starstarstarstarstarThe Watsons review – Austen heroine brought stunningly back to life
In Laura Wade’s bold and playful adaptation of Austen’s unfinished novel, the mutinous characters threaten to take control of the drama - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarJames Acaster review – a comedy genius at the peak of his powers
The standup refines his intricate tales with a note of personal poignancy for a set that will leave you drunk on its brilliance - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarWise Children review – Emma Rice’s joyous Angela Carter adaptation
Carter’s riotous novel about a south London theatrical dynasty bursts on to the stage in this life-enhancing show - Kate Kellaway
starstarstarstarstarMother Courage and Her Children review – shockingly contemporary
The audience becomes part of the action in this tremendous promenade production of Brecht’s antiwar, anti-capitalist play - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarI’m a Phoenix, Bitch review – wacky, warped and wonderful
Bryony Kimmings’ deeply personal show is an exhilarating ride via pop video, horror movie, art installation and therapy session - Miriam Gillinson
starstarstarstarstarWilliam Forsythe: A Quiet Evening of Dance review – rare and revelatory
This sublime show features breakdancing, birdsong and a duet that is an insight into the secrets of choreography itself - Sanjoy Roy
starstarstarstarstarMemorial review – Alice Oswald's exquisite elegy to Iliad's lost mortals
Helen Morse and a 200-strong chorus give a majestic ode to the everyday people whose stories are buried within Homer’s epic - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarTouching the Void review – thrilling, chilling drama reaches dizzy heights
David Greig finds humour amid the horror in this triumphant stage adaptation of the mountaineering memoir - Mark Lawson
starstarstarstarstarThe Habit of Art review – Alan Bennett’s profound play within a play
A stunning cast and unshowy direction do full justice to Bennett’s far-reaching play imagining a meeting between Auden and Britten - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarUnderground review – method in madness
Somerset House Hofesh Shechter’s dancers loom like Bedlam inmates out of the darkness. Blink nervously and they’re gone - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarPericles review – musical Shakespeare adaptation is a joy
The first fruit of the National’s new community theatre programme was a richly sung version with brilliant performances from a cast of hundreds - Miriam Gillinson
starstarstarstarstarHuff review – a hard-hitting tour de force
Shape-shifting Cliff Cardinal excels in this visceral tale of addiction, violence and abuse - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarFreeman review – stunning political theatre show is a revelation
Camilla Whitehill and Strictly Arts explore institutional racism and mental healthcare in a fast-paced hour - Bridget Minamore
starstarstarstarstarThe Approach review – a stunning study of everyday relationships
Mark O’Rowe’s compelling new work draws breathtaking performances from Aisling O’Sullivan, Cathy Belton and Derbhle Crotty - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarSheeps: Live and Loud Selfie Sex Harry Potter review – sorrowful, silly, utterly sublime
The comedy trio return in stunning style, weaving rage, hurt and absurdity into one gleefully funny sketch show - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarMidsummer review – joyful tale of wild sex and terrible hangovers
In David Greig’s delightfully expanded revival of a fringe show from 2008, a couple look back on an eventful night long ago - Kate Wyver
starstarstarstarstarThe Spinners review – goddesses on a quietly stunning odyssey
The three Fates of Greek mythology preside over human destiny from a cosmic sweatshop in this captivating piece of dance-theatre - Anna Winter
starstarstarstarstarUlster American review – riotous black comedy of ambition and identity
In David Ireland’s brilliantly brutal satire, things get horribly out of hand when two men and a woman meet to discuss putting on a West End play - Mark Fisher
starstarstarstarstarJoking Apart review – Ayckbourn’s delicate balance
The playwright directs a terrific revival of his 1978 play centred around a happy couple who want for nothing… - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarLove Chapter 2 review – unwavering confidence from Sharon Eyal
Extreme precision and general mystification coexist in Eyal’s resonant follow-up to OCD Love - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarEast Wall review – Hofesh Shechter's dance army lays siege to Tower
The Israeli choreographer led youth groups in an exhilarating open-air performance to celebrate the gory, glorious history of the city’s East End - Sanjoy Roy
starstarstarstarstarThe Lehman Trilogy review – Mendes is on the money with astonishing saga
This engrossing play about the banking family provides a history of western capitalism and an acting masterclass from Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miles and Adam Godley - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarAvignon festival review – shock, awe and 10 hours of Don DeLillo
Thomas Jolly presents the spectacular Thyestes, Milo Rau explores a real crime in La Reprise and Julien Gosselin leaves audiences in a trance - Andrew Todd
starstarstarstarstarSS Mendi: Dancing the Death Drill review – tragic history stunningly sung
Gbolahan Obisesan’s retelling of a disaster in which more than 600 South Africans died is poignantly beautiful and sharply angry - Bridget Minamore
starstarstarstarstarThe Jungle review – vital drama of hope and despair at the Calais camp
This vivid recreation of life in the sprawling refugee camp is a priceless piece of theatre that enlarges our understanding while appealing to our emotions - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarThe Reason I Jump review – a revelatory insight into autism
Children’s Wood and North Kelvin Meadow, GlasgowNational Theatre of Scotland’s pioneering play transports the audience into the individual worlds of autistic performers - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarThe Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives review – a swaggering spectacular
Femi Elufowoju Jr directs an arresting version of Lola Shoneyin’s novel about marital power-play and sexual envy - Arifa Akbar
starstarstarstarstarAkram Khan: Xenos review – a work of defining greatness
Khan’s final solo performance, as an ex-soldier reliving trench warfare, is a dazzling test of endurance - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarThe House of Bernarda Alba review – an ingenious and powerful feminist parable
Patricia Cornelius’s Australian adaptation of Lorca’s classic puts the wounds that men inflict on women centre stage - Alison Croggon
starstarstarstarstarTranslations review – a flawless take on Friel's culture-clash masterpiece
Brian Friel’s play about the infinite mysteries of language is richly realised in a meticulous Ian Rickson production, with excellent performances from a strong cast - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarLife and Fate review – a remarkable epic of Soviet horror and heartbreak
Sergey Kuryshev shines as a nuclear scientist stuck in a moral maze in this vivid staging of Vasily Grossman’s sprawling novel - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarNothing Like a Dame review – Judi Dench and Maggie Smith trade brutal banter
Dench, Smith, Eileen Atkins and Joan Plowright engage in a round-table war of theatrical anecdotes in this outrageously funny film - Peter Bradshaw
starstarstarstarstarThe Split review – Abi Morgan’s shiny lawyers show life in all its wondrous mess
Nicola Walker stars in this gorgeously slick, witty and thoroughly grown-up tale of high-end divorce lawyers by the Bafta-winning writer - Lucy Mangan
starstarstarstarstarHarry Potter and the Cursed Child review – thrilling Broadway transfer is magic
JK Rowling’s wildly popular stage show has been brought to life again with audacious production design and crowd-pleasing wonder - Alexis Soloski
starstarstarstarstarManon review – touching greatness, three times over
the Royal Ballet’s Francesca Hayward, Natalia Osipova and Marianela Nuñez all touch greatness in the coveted role of Kenneth MacMillan’s tragic heroine - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarBallet British Columbia triple bill review – the new classical
The Canadian company takes traditional training to bold new places in works by director Emily Molnar, Crystal Pite and Sharon Eyal - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarFlight of the Conchords review – an intense hit of comic bliss
Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement return with hilarious dialogue and new songs that easily scale the dizzy heights of their best work - Brian Logan
starstarstarstarstarJuliet and Romeo review – star-crossed lovers try couples therapy
In Ben Duke and Lost Dog’s smart, wryly subversive and sexy dance-theatre piece, Juliet and Romeo didn’t die in that tomb. Worse … they grew old together - Judith Mackrell
starstarstarstarstarGiselle review – exquisite Francesca Hayward is on her way to greatness
The ballerina brings an illusion of spontaneity to the choreography while mining a wealth of emotion from this gothic ghost story’s fantastical plot - Judith Mackrell
starstarstarstarstarViktor review – Pina Bausch's pleasure-seekers haunt Rome
Tanztheater Wuppertal revive their founder’s striking evocation of death, sex and corruption in the eternal city - Judith Mackrell
starstarstarstarstarThe Brothers Size review – magical and bracing portrait of southern masculinity
Bijan Sheibani’s revival of Moonlight writer Tarell Alvin McCraney’s drama brilliantly explores the complexities of brotherhood - Bridget Minamore
starstarstarstarstarHamilton review – a delicious treat for heart and head
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash Broadway musical about one of America’s founding fathers now breaks new ground in the West End - Susannah Clapp
starstarstarstarstarThe Jungle review – intimate tragedy from across the Channel
Testimony from Calais refugees makes vital drama in a compelling but unsentimental document of our times - Susannah Clapp
starstarstarstarstarHamilton review – revolutionary musical a thrilling salute to America's immigrants
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rollercoaster of a show boasts outstanding performances and charts the life of the US founding father with political passion and nimble wit - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarCanzoniere Grecanico Salentino review – pizzica masters stomp into rapture
Hailing from Puglia and smoothly updating the region’s folk traditions, the seven-piece band expertly blended trance-inducing dance with exhilarating rhythms - Robin Denselow
starstarstarstarstarThe Jungle review – devastating yet uplifting story of the migrant crisis
This extraordinary play set in the Calais Jungle is vivid and complex in its portrayal of human resilience in the face of humanitarian catastrophe - Lyn Gardner
starstarstarstarstarThe Little Match Girl review – a Christmas cracker
Corey Claire Annand bewitches as a freezing waif in Arthur Pita’s quirky, imaginative update of the Hans Christian Andersen classic - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarThe Wizard of Oz review – follow this yellow brick road
A superb staging of the L Frank Baum classic works its magic in plain view with picture-book clarity - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarImperium review – Robert Harris's Cicero epic is a Roman triumph for the RSC
Mike Poulton’s two-part adaptation of Harris’s trilogy is an exhilarating and timely political drama about a democracy descending into tyranny - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarThe Suppliant Women review – an astonishing Greek chorus finds its voice
Aeschylus speaks directly to us in David Greig’s electrifying adaptation - Susannah Clapp
starstarstarstarstarNetwork review – Bryan Cranston is mad as hell in blazing staging of Oscar winner
The Breaking Bad star is magnetic as a raging anchorman in writer Lee Hall and director Ivo van Hove’s extraordinary version of the prophetic satire - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarThe Second Woman review – stunning endurance theatre takes aim at patriarchy
Nat Randall suffers through 100 breakups over 24 hours in an utterly compelling production - Stephanie Convery
starstarstarstarstarTaylor Mac review – explosive, spectacular, heartbreaking 'dandy revenge'
It took 24 hours over four nights for Mac to complete his queer retelling of American history, and it was still too short - Steph Harmon
starstarstarstarstarLyon Opera Ballet: Trois Grandes Fugues review – breathtaking battles with Beethoven
In a magisterial triple bill, Lucinda Childs, Maguy Marin and Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker let us hear, see and feel the composer’s classic in exhilarating ways - Judith Mackrell
starstarstarstarstarRocío Molina: Fallen from Heaven review – a feminist flamenco scream
At once lyrical, raunchy and impeccably danced, Molina’s fiercely provocative work is unforgettable - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarThe Tin Drum review – a banging hit
Kneehigh are on top form in Carl Grose’s audacious Günter Grass adaptation - Susannah Clapp
starstarstarstarstarSpringsteen on Broadway review – joy and glory as the Boss unveils his flaws
Walter Kerr theatre, New YorkThe rock superstar kicks off a four-month residency with two spellbinding hours of stories, reimagined hits and a dissection of his own legend - Laura Barton
starstarstarstarstarYoung Frankenstein review – glorious gags as Mel Brooks bolts together a monster hit
Garrick theatre, London The horror-movie spoof is gleefully reanimated for the stage with even more jokes, superb set-pieces and barnstorming parody songs that stick a pitchfork into good taste - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarCompany Wayne McGregor: Autobiography review – dance as philosophical process
Wayne McGregor turns his life story into dance in a mesmerising, inimitable show based upon his own genetic code - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarThe Wife review – Glenn Close is unreadably brilliant as author's spouse plunged in late-life crisis
As the apparently-perfect wife of a Nobel prize-winning writer, Close gives arguably her best ever performance in an adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s novel - Peter Bradshaw
starstarstarstarstarFollies review – a stupendous Sondheim revival
Imelda Staunton leads an evening of star turns in this bittersweet dissection of midlife regret - Kate Kellaway
starstarstarstarstarFollies review – Sondheim's showbiz stunner returns in breathtaking style
Imelda Staunton is unforgettable in Dominic Cooke’s ingenious revival of a musical that perfectly fuses splendour and poetic sadness - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarTaylor Mac's Hir is more than a comedy about gender. It proves the potential of theatre
The New York playwright lightens the weight of gender theory, places it in a family home, and then detonates it. Shrapnel flies everywhere - Kate Hennessy
starstarstarstarstarThe Stepmother review – money and power in a man’s world
Githa Sowerby’s superb 1924 play, with Ophelia Lovibond in the title role, reminds us that being a woman of means isn’t always enough - Kate Kellaway
starstarstarstarstarLoot review – Joe Orton's savage farce now even funnier and filthier
From the necrophilia to the suggestion Christ was framed, the playwright’s most dangerous work – performed without the censor’s cuts for the first time – shows Orton wasn’t just out to shock - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstar+/- Human review – Is this the future of artificial intelligence? Bring it on
Random International’s installation, Zoological, features a flock of airborne spheres that glide and swoop and dance and swarm above and among us. What a mind-boggling show - Jonathan Jones
starstarstarstarstarThe Second Violinist review – Enda Walsh's fairytale opera is dark but dazzles
Enda Walsh and composer Donnacha Dennehy’s exhilarating blend of opera, theatre and film is a study in heartbreak with a hint of Bluebeard’s Castle - Helen Meany
starstarstarstarstarGirl from the North Country review – Dylan's songs are Depression-era dynamite
Old Vic, London: A superb cast use Bob’s back catalogue to glorious effect in Conor McPherson’s astonishing cross-section of hope and stoic suffering in Depression-era Minnesota - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarTrajal Harrell: Hoochie Koochie review – strike a pose and light a fuse
The New York-based choreographer shows how his daring fusions have transformed the face of dance - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarAvailable Light review – a masterclass in movement
Lucinda Childs’s collaboration with Frank Gehry and John Adams remains illuminating 35 years on - Luke Jennings
starstarstarstarstarHamlet review – an all-consuming marvel
Andrew Scott’s prince proves a brilliant communicator as Robert Icke’s acclaimed Almeida production transfers to the West End - Kate Kellaway
starstarstarstarstarAshton at the Royal Ballet review – miraculous moves and romantic rapture
The company’s founder choreographer Frederick Ashton is celebrated in a sensational triple bill that captures his spirit and style - Judith Mackrell
starstarstarstarstarJulius Caesar review – a powerful examination of rhetoric
Shakespeare is rooted in our era of fake news in artistic director Robert Hastie’s outstanding first production for the Crucible - Clare Brennan
starstarstarstarstarMr Burns: The Simpsons meets a post-apocalyptic world in a dizzyingly clever production
In the aftermath of some future disaster, a group of strangers reach for a shared language. The result is comic, melancholy and deeply unsettling - Cassie Tongue
starstarstarstarstarZoë Coombs Marr, Adrienne Truscott and Ursula Martinez combine forces to eviscerate critics
With Wild Bore, three comedians at the top of their game deliver a meta exploration of criticism and performance that is truly, outrageously funny - Jane Howard
starstarstarstarstarThe Gabriels review – moving portraits of the dissolving American dream
Richard Nelson’s trilogy about a beleaguered Democrat family combines the personal and the political – and suggests a contemporary Chekhov - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarThe Ferryman review – Jez Butterworth pulls another rabbit from the hat
Magic runs through Butterworth’s brilliant new play, directed by Sam Mendes, with a fine stage debut from Paddy Considine - Susannah Clapp
starstarstarstarstarThe Ferryman review – Butterworth and Mendes deliver shattering tale of passion and violence
Paddy Considine stars as a reformed IRA activist in the Jerusalem playwright’s deeply involving and abundant new work - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarConsent review – justice under interrogation
Nina Raine adroitly tackles barristers’ struggles with the truth as the audience becomes the jury in a rape case - Susannah Clapp
starstarstarstarstarThe Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? review – Damian Lewis shines in Albee's bestial classic
Lewis plays an architect in love with a goat in Edward Albee’s tragedy about uncontrollable sexuality – with Sophie Okonedo equally riveting as his wife - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarDon Juan in Soho review – David Tennant seduces all
Tennant is dissolution personified in Patrick Marber’s brilliant update of his 2006 take on Molière - Kate Kellaway
starstarstarstarstarKillology five-star review – stunning tale of virtual torture and the terror of love
A computer game that rewards players for creative killing is at the centre of Gary Owen’s raw and heartbreaking three-hander - Lyn Gardner
starstarstarstarstarRoman Tragedies review – Ivo van Hove's superb Shakespeare marathon
Six hours of Shakespeare in Dutch flies by in Van Hove’s outstanding critique of the way we consume news - Kate Kellaway
starstarstarstarstarAn American in Paris five-star review – Minnelli musical becomes theatrical gold
Christopher Wheeldon’s superb show is a riot of colour and movement, with irresistible dance routines and a wealth of Gershwin classics - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarThe Roman Tragedies review – Ivo van Hove's magnificent take on the spectacle of politics
The condensed staging of Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra is as electrifying and relevant as ever - Lyn Gardner
starstarstarstarstarWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? review – Staunton ignites Albee's marital battle
Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill are both superb as they trade insults and toy vindictively with their guests in a first-rate revival of an astonishing play - Michael Billington
starstarstarstarstarHamlet review – Andrew Scott is a truly sweet prince
Scott brings total empathy to the title role in Robert Icke’s inspired production - Susannah Clapp
starstarstarstarstarSaul review – Barrie Kosky slays giant expectations in triumphant return to Adelaide
Modern operatic take on the near-300-year-old dramatic oratorio promises to sear itself upon the imaginations of audiences - Max Opray
starstarstarstarstarMatthew Bourne’s Early Adventures review – fully formed from the off
Works from the choreographer’s early career show all his trademark wit, originality and eye for detail - Luke Jennings
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