Five star - Latest 5 Star Stage Reviews from the Guardian

Israel Galván: La Consagración de la Primavera review – Stravinsky with a flamenco stamp
The maverick choreographer makes his mark on The Rite of Spring in this elementally austere exercise in anxiety and loose-cannon footwork - Sanjoy Roy
Perfect Show for Rachel review – a total delight
From a control desk, director Rachel O’Mahony pushes buttons for songs, scenes and games in a fun, carefully crafted show staged by Zoo Co - Miriam Gillinson
Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World review – a theatrical revelation
Javaad Alipoor’s meditation on the grim fate of Iranian singer Fereydoun Farrokhzad develops into a thrilling investigation of the internet - Catherine Love
Shirley Valentine review – hilarious and heartrending revival of a romantic classic
Sally Reid is superbly deadpan in this devastating production of Willy Russell’s play about a woman who catches a glimpse of the life she could be living - Mark Fisher
Light of Passage review – Crystal Pite’s magnificent dance of life
The Canadian choreographer has turned 2017’s acclaimed Flight Pattern into a full-length work that brims with massed energy and profound humanity - Sarah Crompton
My Neighbour Totoro review – dazzling staging of the Studio Ghibli classic
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production has astonishing puppetry, magical music and huge emotional impact - Arifa Akbar
The Doctor review – a repeat prescription for acute intellectual stimulation
Robert Icke’s combative 2019 play about medical ethics, identity politics and antisemitism returns to the West End to divide and challenge audiences - Arifa Akbar
Iphigenia in Splott review – a shattering modern classic that distils all our troubles
Gary Owen’s magnificent one-woman monologue brings Greek tragedy to Cardiff and reveals the terrible emotional costs of our societal shortfalls - Arifa Akbar
Kim Noble: Lullaby for Scavengers review – strange, tender and endlessly funny
The notorious comic and performance artist explores loneliness and the human/animal divide in an intricately assembled scrapbook show - Brian Logan
Much Ado About Nothing review – hilarious, heartfelt show is everything
Daneka Etchells is the most compelling Beatrice you might ever see in an exceptional production of the romantic comedy - Nick Ahad
Phaedra and Minotaur review – Kim Brandstrup’s ravishing new work puts Ariadne centre stage
Brandstrup’s superbly danced reimagining of the Minotaur myth is paired with mezzo Christine Rice’s impassioned Phaedra in Britten’s cantata - Sarah Crompton
Learning to Fly review – a riveting, remarkable hour of theatre
Consummate storyteller James Rowland revisits his childhood friendship with an elderly neighbour and shares heart-tugging experiences - Catherine Love
Medea review – Adura Onashile exudes awesome authority in bloody tragedy
Liz Lochhead’s Scots verse spits wit and venom as male power meets female determination with operatic intensity, in this National Theatre of Scotland staging - Mark Fisher
Age Is a Feeling review – an astonishing dive into the future
Haley McGee performs a funny and wistful solo show that chronicles turning 25 and explores the decades ahead - Mark Fisher
Jordan Gray review – a standup superhero
In her show Is It a Bird? the comic has the audience on their feet with a nuanced and deeply funny hour of music and jokes - Rachael Healy
All of Us review – Francesca Martinez’s urgent call for radical empathy
Personal, political and polemical, this intensely moving play about disability and austerity challenges preconceptions - David Jays
Whistle Down the Wind review – outstanding production of the Lloyd Webber musical
Tom Jackson Greaves thrillingly fuses movement with music in his revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Louisiana-set take on the classic 60s film - Clare Brennan
Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads review – a burning portrait of racism in Britain
Two decades since the debut of Roy Williams’s play set in a pub during an England v Germany World Cup qualifier, the script is as hot as ever - Anya Ryan
Billy Elliot the Musical review – the boy who just wants to dance is back in an electric new production
Nikolai Foster’s new version is more like a play with dance and songs, giving ideas around love and loss, community and isolation, passion and violence room to breathe - Miriam Gillinson
Crazy for You review – spine-tingling musical is a giddy thrill
Instantly infectious melodies, superb choreography and irresistible comedy are met with astonishing performances in this lovable show - Arifa Akbar
Trajal Harrell: Porca Miseria review – a work of profound emotion
The American dance-maker brings the audience to tears with a highly textured ritual of remembrance for a dying person - Sarah Crompton
Kunstkamer review – this fiendishly complicated ballet is astonishing
Australian Ballet, Arts Centre, MelbourneLong lines of dancers jitter like marionettes and the principal artists shine in this bold Dutch work that thrums with a dark energy - Tim Byrne
Two Palestinians Go Dogging review – devastatingly human portrait of conflict sears itself on the mind
Set two decades into the future, in Palestinian territories that are still occupied, Sami Ibrahim’s play is a startlingly bold tragicomedy and a furious call to action - Arifa Akbar
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
The Meaning of Zong review – a masterful meditation on the legacy of slavery
Giles Terera’s lyrical and inventive drama about a brutal episode in British history brims with urgency, pain and triumphant pride - Gareth Llŷr Evans
Anna Karenina review – this striking, steamy, seductive ballet is a masterpiece
The Australian Ballet, SydneyYuri Possokhov’s beautiful and distilled version of Leo Tolstoy’s epic tale sees the magnificent Robyn Hendricks in the titular role, alongside rising star Callum Linnane as Count Vronksy - Elissa Blake
The Homecoming review – Pinter’s wickedly funny drama with a warped fairytale twist
On a spectacular set creating Nosferatu-like shadows, Keith Allen expertly negotiates patriarch Max’s rapid turns in a bleakly humorous production exploring relationships - Ryan Gilbey
Diary of a Somebody review – stunning drama from Joe Orton’s journal
The playwright’s relationship with Kenneth Halliwell is given new clarity in a play that is both hilarious and chilling - Ryan Gilbey
Straight Line Crazy review – Ralph Fiennes enthrals as the man who shaped New York
Fiennes heads an electrifying cast in David Hare’s dynamic portrait of Robert Moses, an aggressive yet visionary urban planner who refused to back down - Mark Lawson
Wonder Boy review – a school play with soul-stirring super powers
With brilliant performances, eye-popping visuals and a gloriously profane script by Ross Willis, this is an unforgettable tale of adolescence - Chris Wiegand
Splintered review – queer Caribbean cabaret is a fantastic night of festivity and foolery
A charismatic trio of emcees use music, comedy and interviews in a political show that is flamboyant and brimming with joy - Anya Ryan
Anna Karenina review – Tolstoy meets Baz Luhrmann in a magnificent spectacle
With hula hoops and giant birthday cake, this show bashes the narrative with disco glitz, but keeps Anna’s tragic journey right at its centre - Nick Ahad
A Number review – Lennie James and Paapa Essiedu scintillate as father and sons
The powerhouse duo’s effortless chemistry and emotional realism brings Caryl Churchill’s cloning tragedy blazing into new life - Arifa Akbar
Doubt: A Parable review – Monica Dolan dazzles in a drama of surefire brilliance
An unruly nun’s quest for the truth about an accused priest leads her into a moral maze in this riveting study of truth and ideology - Arifa Akbar
Gandini Juggling: Life review – a joyful love letter to Merce Cunningham
This dazzling show recreates the choreographer’s work through the pure geometry of balls, hoops and clubs - Sarah Crompton
The Tragedy of Macbeth review – Denzel Washington delivers a noirish nightmare
Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand hit top form in Joel Coen’s austere reimagining of Shakespeare’s Scottish bloodbath - Peter Bradshaw
Hannah Gadsby – Body of Work: a joyful guide to blasting Netflix and messing with Christian bakers
The Australian comedian has opted for a feel-good show, but without any easy sentimentality - Steve Dow
The Play What I Wrote review – Tom Hiddleston has a laugh in farce masterclass
The A-lister provided joyous shock on opening night, as Morecambe and Wise’s screen routines return to the boards - Mark Lawson
West Side Story review – Spielberg’s triumphantly hyperreal remake
Stunning recreations of the original film’s New York retain the songs and the dancing in a re-telling that will leave you gasping - Peter Bradshaw
Giselle review – the stuff of dreams from the Royal Ballet
Six hundred performances of Giselle and counting, the Royal Ballet’s peerless dancers continue to make this once revolutionary work their own - Sarah Crompton
Life Is a Dream review – this roaring tale of revenge is extraordinary
Wils Wilson’s perception-bending production highlights the artifice of a prince’s world, exposing the thin veneer of riches and respectability - Mark Fisher
The Dante Project review – bold, beautiful and utterly engaging
Wayne McGregor, Thomas Adès and Tacita Dean’s dream-team Divine Comedy is a fitting farewell to its star, Edward Watson - Sarah Crompton
Brief Encounter review – sparkling revival of Emma Rice’s forbidden romance
This polished production brings Rice’s innovative adaptation of the classic film to life, with an electric central partnership and personality to spare - Anya Ryan
Liz Kingsman: One-Woman Show review – wicked, whip-smart skewering of Fleabag and co
Kingsman spoofs the look-at-me egotism that sometimes animates solo shows, as she heaps meta layer upon layer in a tour de force - Brian Logan
Dracula: The Untold Story review – a wild gothic thrill ride
For a tale of the undead, Imitating the Dog’s inventive blend of live theatre and tech is bursting with life - Nick Ahad
East Is East review – magnificent revival of culture-clash classic
Ayub Khan Din’s comedy still resonates in its depiction of a hostile environment – Salford in the 70s – while its sharp wit and warm characterisations are exhilarating - Arifa Akbar
Frozen review – stunning musical extravaganza creates its own magic
Beyond the visual thrills and powerful ballads, this adaptation brings an unexpected depth to the relationship between two tortured sisters - Arifa Akbar
(Not) the End of the World review – a terrifying, daring look at climate hypocrisies
The multiverse in Chris Bush’s Kein Weltuntergang, directed by Katie Mitchell, lays bare our contradictions and complicity in the climate crisis - Gareth Llŷr Evans
Patricia Gets Ready (for a Date With the Man That Used to Hit Her) review – bold and brilliant
Angelina Chudi gives a powerful performance as she tackles the contradictory, confusing experience of meeting an abuser - Mark Fisher
Cinderella review – not so much a ball as a blast
Bewitching melodies abound as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s terrifically OTT but warm and inclusive musical finally arrives - Chris Wiegand
Anything Goes review – Sutton Foster dazzles in Cole Porter’s fizzing tonic for our times
Blissful songs and dance and spirited performances from a virtuoso cast make a preposterous plot into a delightful musical escape - Lyndsey Winship
Gin Craze! review – raucous fun with a dark chaser
April De Angelis and Lucy Rivers bring 18th-century London to scabrous life in their boozy new musical satire - Clare Brennan
Coppelia: A Mystery review – superb adventure veers from sweet to sinister
This delightful promenade show uses pretty-as-a-picture design, undercut with creepy asides, to bring ETA Hoffmann’s famous tale alive - Mark Fisher
The Comedy of Errors review – glorious fun in the RSC’s garden
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s outdoor production grabs every possible gag in this tale of twins and doppelgangers - Mark Lawson
South Pacific review – a roof-raising Rodgers and Hammerstein triumph
It’s a story bordered by violence and bigotry, but this vibrant production emphasises the anti-racist message of the 1949 Broadway hit - Mark Lawson
All of This Unreal Time review – Cillian Murphy confesses all in pounding sound and blinding light
In a grimy and intense film installation, the actor unleashes a torrent of regret, superbly scripted by Max Porter - Kate Wyver
The Father review – Anthony Hopkins superb in unbearably heartbreaking film
Hopkins gives a moving, Oscar-winning turn as a man with dementia in a film full of intelligent performances, disorienting time slips and powerful theatrical effects - Peter Bradshaw
Royal Ballet: Balanchine and Robbins review – Vadim Muntagirov’s Apollo is simply divine
The Russian always had technique, now he’s got belief in this terrific all-American programme also taking in work from the 1960s set to music by Tchaikovsky and Chopin - Lyndsey Winship
Bo Burnham: Inside review – this is a claustrophobic masterpiece
With electro-pop social commentary, bleak humour and sock-puppet debates, the comic delivers an astonishing lockdown creation - Brian Logan
Boland: Journey of a Poet review – a profound portrayal of Eavan Boland’s life
Drawing on her early writings, Colm Tóibín captures the essence of the late Irish poet in this transformative production - Clare Brennan
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