London Theatre Reviews

'Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical' review - Arinzé Kene shines as the reggae superstar

How to demystify the icon that is Bob Marley, to separate the man from the mantles placed upon him: reggae superstar, Black hero, poetic advocate of peace and love, ganja-smoking Rasta inspiration, or cool dude splashed across T-shirts and posters in student halls? It's a struggle that this intermittently powerful new show both tackles head on and embodies in its own flawed form.Lee Hall's book is at its weakest when it follows the jukebox bio-musical model, racing breathlessly through Marley's...

'The Shark is Broken' review - A murky 'Jaws' backstory with impressive visuals and familial bond

This 2019 Edinburgh Festival smash has belatedly arrived on the West End, trailing wreathes of glory and with onward American destinations presumably in its sights. So I hope it's not overly churlish of me to admire the venture in principle while pointing out that Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon's three-hander, with Shaw himself leading the cast, is hardly the first north-of-the-border sensation to look somewhat exposed in the altogether different glare of the West End. Put another way, The Shark is...

'Love and Other Acts of Violence' review - a pacy drama spirals with a contrived ending

Emotions come fast, sometimes funny and more often downright furious in Cordelia Lynn's Love and Other Acts of Violence, which is two-thirds of a major play before going off the rails in a final sequence - an Epilogue which is arresting to look at but thematically hamfisted, even superfluous. The first so-called "proper" play to open at the Donmar Warehouse in 18 months (their much-acclaimed Blindness was a sound installation), this nervy and unnerving one-act is terrifically acted by its cast...

'The Tragedy of Macbeth' review - Saoirse Ronan stuns in Yaël Farber’s raw Almeida Theatre production

Before the Wyrd sisters utter a word, we know something sinister is afoot. A dark stage features a wheelchair, an oxygen tank, a water spigot, and a wheelbarrow of black boots with a ghostlight illuminating the scene. As the still-life awakens, we're greeted with a tableau of a war-torn country, complete with soldiers and the title Scot picking up his rifle. Something wicked this way comes indeed. Director Yaël Farber's pulsating and achingly current take on Shakespeare's tragedy makes the...

'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' review - a haunting dark comedy that's relevant to today

Hearing the line "in England, they don't care if you live or die" in The Beauty Queen of Leenane sent my mind whirring. As societies emerge from their chrysalis into Covid's world, receiving less government help has now become a reality for millions of families. Many across the country are now faced with looking after elderly relatives, as well as their own families, while still looking for work and a way to return to a sense of "normalcy."And even though The Beauty Queen of Leenane is set in...

'East is East' review - Ayub Khan Din's play continues to resonate 25 years on

How time flies: I remember being at once entranced and moved by East Is East, when Ayub Khan Din's debut play first appeared in 1996 in a 60-seat central London studio space before moving on to two larger London venues and then Leslee Udwin's highly engaging 1999 film. Since then, the same material has never quite landed in the same way, at least for me: a 2014 revival, starring Khan Din himself as the paternal scold at the play's bruising centre, misfired, and so, to a lesser degree, does Iqbal...

'The Mirror and the Light' review -a compelling play benefits from Ben Miles' exquisite performance

In Hilary Mantel's 2020 novel The Mirror and The Light, the conclusion of her epic trilogy fictionalising the rise and fall of Tudor courtier Thomas Cromwell, the final stages of the story draw together what has up to that point been a sprawling and sometimes disjointed-feeling narrative into a whole that coheres only in hindsight — ours, and Cromwell's. Now that it's all done, we can see the missed opportunities, overlooked hints, the signs the wind was changing. The 2021 stage adaptation of...

'Metamorphoses' review - a collaborative approach offers a fresh take on Ovid

The quartet of actors appear dressed in white for most of the 90 minutes of Metamorphoses, which reopens the Globe's indoor Sam Wanamaker space for the first time since March 2020 and very entertainingly, too. But playgoers would be better advised to take their cue from a red stage floor hinting at the carnage and bloodshed that soon come interspersed amid the deceptive good cheer. Yes, there's an unexpected audience singalong to, of all songs, "American Pie," but the show is more aptly defined...

'Hamlet' review - Cush Jumbo's biting Dane shines in a production that lacks vision

Like many shows, this Hamlet was long delayed by the pandemic. But Cush Jumbo, now a US TV star thanks to The Good Wife and The Good Fight, gives such a commanding lead performance - crystal clear in intention and riveting delivery - that it absolutely feels worth the wait. Which makes it all the more frustrating that the production surrounding her is so vague and meandering, occasionally enlivened by some good supporting turns, but lacking an overall vision. It plods along while Jumbo itches to...

'What If If Only' review - Caryl Churchill's newest play proves small can be mighty

In between two mammoth outings (The Normal Heart at two hours 45, Hamlet at three hours 15), I caught Caryl Churchill's new play What If If Only, which is roughly the length of the interval of those epics. In fact, it was due to be even shorter - it's gone up to 20 minutes from the originally announced 14 - but the indomitable Churchill proves that small can be mighty, particularly when your work is so innately, and potently, theatrical.The opening stage direction is simply "Someone on their...