Five star - Latest 5 Star Stage Reviews from the Guardian

Kyle Abraham’s When We Fell review – study of stillness and isolation in black and white
The choreographer’s unhurried movements are rendered exquisitely on film by cinematographer Ryan Marie Helfant for New York City Ballet - Lyndsey Winship
Romeo and Juliet review – National Theatre's first film is an ingenious triumph
Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley are captivating as the star-crossed lovers in a wondrous, adventurous production - Arifa Akbar
William Forsythe: The Barre Project review – a half-hour of perfection
With Tiler Peck leading the line with absolute control, William Forsythe’s Zoom-coordinated new work reaps the benefits of creative limitations - Lyndsey Winship
Typical review – Richard Blackwood is mesmerising in poetic tragedy
This superb play draws on the final hours of Christopher Alder, who died in police custody in Hull in 1998 - Arifa Akbar
Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra review – an engrossing celebration of artistic creation
Wayne Blair and Nel Minchin’s beguiling documentary deepens the already magical experience of watching the Indigenous dance company perform - Luke Buckmaster
Weg met Eddy Bellegueule review – a four-way triumph
Playing multiple roles, four young actors dazzle in Eline Arbo’s superb staging of Édouard Louis’s brutal coming-of-age novel - Susannah Clapp
Bluey's Big Play review – magical adaptation brings unbridled joy to kids (and parents)
A glorious celebration of everything you love about the show has been woven into a touching new story – for real life - Jason Reed
Oleanna review – brutal and brilliant revival of pre-#MeToo masterpiece
Rosie Sheehy and Jonathan Slinger are captivating in David Mamet’s 1992 two-hander about a university student and professor in a battle of power, privilege and consent - Arifa Akbar
High Man Pen Meander review – gorgeous homage to Edwin Morgan
In this exquisite film we go backstage at Glasgow’s Tron to hear and see the poet’s work performed with beguiling theatricality - Mark Fisher
Nate: A One Man Show review – outrageous and electrifying comedy
Natalie Palamides’s drag king show remains both raucous and subtle, as it explores grey areas around consent - Brian Logan
The Picture of Dorian Gray review – Eryn Jean Norvill dazzles in ambitious, whip-smart production
Kip Williams directs the actor through 26 different characters in a tirelessly inventive performance that taps into our collective fears and obsessions - Cassie Tongue
Royal Ballet Live: Within the Golden Hour review – a tonic for the soul
Even on a laptop, the Royal Ballet’s latest mixed bill is a joy to behold - Sarah Crompton
A dazzling, shocking indictment of America: What the Constitution Means to Me review
This funny, tragic and deeply unsettling one-woman tour de force shows who the US constitution serves – and who it lets down. The statistics alone are horrifying - Arifa Akbar
Uncle Vanya review – coronavirus gives Chekhov a shot in the arm
The pandemic supercharges the atmosphere in this film version of Ian Rickson’s recent stage production - Susannah Clapp
Faith Healer review – this virtual Friel is the stuff of miracles
Michael Sheen, Indira Varma and David Threlfall are magnificent in Matthew Warchus’s enthralling livestreamed production of Brian Friel’s 1979 play - Clare Brennan
Mangrove review – Steve McQueen takes axe to racial prejudice
The notorious 1970 prosecution that exposed police harassment of black Britons is brilliantly evoked as part of the director’s Small Axe project - Peter Bradshaw
Incidental Moments of the Day review – a feast for Covid historians
In Richard Nelson’s third play about a US white liberal family Zooming through the pandemic, the Apples are forced to confront whether they are racist - Mark Lawson
I Hate Suzie review – Billie Piper is nude, lewd and joyously off the rails
Chaos reigns as Suzie Pickles’ life and acting career are turned upside down by a compromising phone hack, in this scabrously funny drama penned by Piper and Lucy Prebble - Lucy Mangan
Ghost Light review – a feast of dreams from the National Theatre of Scotland
Hope Dickson Leach’s magical, flickering film of past and postponed works is a dazzling theatrical relay race - Mark Fisher
I Saw the World End review – how a bomb changed life on Earth in a flash
Marking 75 years since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, stage designers Devlin and Weston have made a film of immense power – but it won’t be seen as it was meant to - Jonathan Jones
Strasbourg 1518 review – Jonathan Glazer's cathartic spasm of protest for our times
The Under the Skin director’s short film – inspired by a mass-hysteria outbreak of dancing in the 16th century – speaks to our own feelings about lockdown - Peter Bradshaw
Hamilton review – Broadway hit is now a breathtaking screen sensation
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical is smart, witty, funky and leaves us reflecting on America’s past and future - Arifa Akbar
Pass Over review – Spike Lee directs Antoinette Nwandu’s masterful tragedy
Lee’s 2018 film of Nwandu’s powerful play, written as a response to the shooting of Trayvon Martin, resonates after the George Floyd killing - Arifa Akbar
Wilkie Branson: TOM review – a sublime, slow-burn study of isolation
Part dance performance, part film, this solo show is a note-perfect portrayal of the all-consuming nature of loneliness - Lyndsey Winship
A Separate Peace review – Stoppard gem earns an ovation from the sofa
David Morrissey headed up a cast united on Zoom for a show that took on poignant new meaning and exuded theatrical joy - Mark Lawson
Revisor review – astonishing take on Gogol demands to be seen again
Choreographer Crystal Pite and theatre-maker Jonathon Young combine their worlds for a riveting piece - Sanjoy Roy
The Upstart Crow review – authentically Shakespearean right down to the puffling pants
David Mitchell is engaging and confident as Ben Elton brings his hit TV sitcom to the stage – it’s the definite article - Mark Lawson
The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff review – an extraordinary portrait of a working-class hero
Set against the upheaval of world events, music from folk trio the Young’uns and animation combine to tell the story of the young anti-fascist activist - Clare Brennan
Uncle Vanya review – Toby Jones triumphs in perfect Chekhov
Ian Rickson’s exquisite production is enlivened with expertly weighted humour and a modern beat - Arifa Akbar
Onegin review – Natalia Osipova thrills with ecstatic, lovestruck obsession
The Russian ballerina is exhilarating to watch in John Cranko’s 1965 take on Pushkin’s novel, partnered by Reece Clarke in the title role - Lyndsey Winship
Les Misérables review – just hear these people sing!
With a cast that never misses a note, the West End’s longest-running musical proves a haunting and thrilling inspiration - Miriam Gillinson
Familie review – Milo Rau's soulful hymn to life on the brink of death
An acting family play the members of a family about to take their own lives in this unnerving and heartbreaking celebration of the ordinary - Mark Fisher
The Vote 2019 review – James Graham's polling-station stunner
Simon Russell Beale, Mark Gatiss and Catherine Tate were on hilarious form in this new version of the state-of-the-nation comedy - Mark Lawson
Squirrel review – this small wonder is full of surprises
Tim Bell and Kate Cross’s remarkable production mixes Bauhaus-style designs and jazz in an irresistible treat for under-fives - Chris Wiegand
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
Little Baby Jesus review – Arinzé Kene's thrilling teens triumph
Standup, storytelling and poetry combine in this brilliant show about an inner-city trio on the verge of adulthood - Miriam Gillinson
Fierce festival review – a daring whirl of theatrical thrills
Aided by hula hoops, raw chicken and animatronic dogs, the performers in this six-day series of shows embarked on a quest for emotional connections - Gareth Llŷr Evans
Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads review – a modern classic that displays a sense of danger
Set in a London pub during an England v Germany football match, the topical take on racism and nationalism shows Roy Williams’s 2002 play hasn’t dated - Mark Lawson
On Bear Ridge review – a potent study of loss
Writing, acting and design combine brilliantly in Ed Thomas’s post-apocalyptic new play - Clare Brennan
Lughnasa FrielFest review – art over troubled borders
The annual celebration of the work of Brian Friel - Clare Brennan
Hard to Be Soft: A Belfast Prayer review – a potent dance of rage and resilience
Oona Doherty’s empathetic embodiment of machismo and feminine swagger makes visible the violence and vulnerability of her hometown - Anna Winter
The Doctor review – Robert Icke offers brilliant diagnosis of modern ills
Juliet Stevenson delivers one of the peak theatrical performances of the year in Icke’s striking reimagining of Schnitzler - Michael Billington
Oedipus review – Robert Icke's take exerts thriller-like grip
An updating of Sophocles’ classic, set on election eve, has such political resonance you can imagine Boris Johnson not far away - Mark Fisher
Kate Tempest review – this isn't a gig, it's a reckoning
The performance poet absorbs all of the uncertainty and anger of our times, and pours it into ferocious, apocalyptic music that both wounds and heals - Kate Wyver
Malory Towers review – Emma Rice takes Blyton to the top of the class
With a diverse cast bringing an affectionate subversiveness to Enid Blyton’s postwar school tales, Rice’s musical is huge fun and surprisingly contemporary - Arifa Akbar
Tao of Glass review – golden odyssey through Philip Glass's music
Phelim McDermott’s sublime collage of theatrical fragments is the fantastical, tearjerking fruition of a lifelong dream - Sanjoy Roy
Life of Pi review – Martel’s tall tale brought to astonishing life
Lolita Chakrabarti’s superbly acted adaptation of Yann Martel’s Booker-winner makes dazzling use of its interplay of illusions - Clare Brennan
Life of Pi review – triumphant tiger burns bright in a stunning show
Transformative puppetry, design and direction, and a great human lead, make this adaptation of Yann Martel’s book unmissable - Mark Fisher
The Turn of the Screw review – a beautiful and unsettling piece of theatre
Louisa Muller’s production of Britten’s opera explores its ambiguities with great subtlety. Among a strong cast, Sophie Bevan is outstanding as the Governess - Tim Ashley
Rachel Bloom review – contagious joy and brutal truths from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star
The exhilarating comedian known for her hit Netflix series puts on an addictive night of comedy and song - Kate Wyver
Pam Tanowitz Dance: Four Quartets – review
Tanowitz’s distinctive choreography is a ravishing interpretation of TS Eliot’s poem - Sarah Crompton
Four Quartets review – TS Eliot's poems brilliantly danced
With unfussy, Cunningham-influenced movement alongside Kathleen Chalfont’s readings, Pam Tanowitz has distilled Eliot’s essence - Lyndsey Winship
Be My Baby review – poignant, powerful and still pertinent
Young mothers are forced to give up their babies for adoption - Clare Brennan
American Psycho the Musical review – slick, sexy and highly disturbing
A murderous romp that will have you snort laughing before it punches you in the gut - Nadine von Cohen
Hugh Jackman live review – he really is the Greatest Showman
The renaissance man’s song-and-dance spectacular skips merrily through his acting career with celebrity pizzazz and unashamed sentimentality - Mark Fisher
Rosmersholm review – Atwell and Burke are breathtaking in Ibsen masterpiece
Duncan Macmillan’s deft but daring tweaks underline the majesty of this sexually charged study of faith and heartbreak - Michael Billington
Small Island review – Levy’s Windrush epic makes momentous theatre
Andrea Levy’s story of first-generation Jamaican immigrants in postwar Britain has been skilfully adapted and staged with hurtling energy - Michael Billington
This Is My Family review – terrifically funny musical is a triumph
James Nesbitt and Sheila Hancock star in Tim Firth’s touching comedy about a dysfunctional group of relatives - Mark Lawson
The Curry House Kid review – Akram Khan’s memories of serving drunk white racists
This touching, bruising documentary delved into the dance icon’s traumatic past – and how it drove him to turn his rage into extraordinary art - Chitra Ramaswamy
Eighth Grade review – brilliant coming-of-age debut
Bo Burnham’s first feature film is a note-perfect tale of a shy teenager’s struggle with our internet-obsessed culture - Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
Jekyll & Hyde review – this teenage riot is furious and fearless
Evan Placey transforms the lead characters into women in a provocative version embraced by a brilliant young cast - Gareth Llŷr Evans
Kunene and the King review – poignant two-hander illuminates post-apartheid South Africa
John Kani beautifully captures the complex divides of race, class and politics in a remarkable and moving new play - Michael Billington
What the Constitution Means to Me review – a five-star Broadway triumph
Heidi Schreck’s funny, impactful and breathlessly exciting ode to the constitution is one of the year’s best shows - Alexis Soloski
Romeo and Juliet review – stunningly swoonsome study of wide-eyed love
Lauren Cuthbertson and Matthew Ball sumptuously express the recklessness of youth in Kenneth MacMillan’s fine ballet - Lyndsey Winship
Medea review – a funny, brutal and raw masterpiece
Simon Stone’s smart and harrowing retelling of Euripides is performed by a flawless ensemble - Natalie Haynes
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
Pinter 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
Until the Lions review – Akram Khan’s modern masterpiece
Khan performs in his intensely beautiful take on the Mahabharata for the last time - Sarah Crompton
Our 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
A 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
Sweat 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
Matthew 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
The 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
Fiddler 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
Wendy 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
The 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
The 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
James 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
Wise 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
Mother 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
I’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
William 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
Memorial 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
Touching 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
The 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
Underground 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
Pericles 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
Huff review – a hard-hitting tour de force
Shape-shifting Cliff Cardinal excels in this visceral tale of addiction, violence and abuse - Clare Brennan
Freeman 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
The 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
Sheeps: 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
Midsummer 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
The 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
Ulster 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
Joking 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
Love 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
East 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
The 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