Guardian Australia critics pick the best live stage experiences of the year, including Beetlejuice, The Talented Mr Ripley and a nude ode to literatureGuardian Australia’s staff and reviewers spent many hours in the dark this year and have re-emerged w…
Continue ReadingA transcendent new take on King Lear, a thrilling Evita and a show at Glasgow’s revamped Citizens that reduced one viewer to a ‘blubbering wreck’ are among your highlights• More on the best culture of 2025Hull New theatre Continue reading…
Continue ReadingA meet-cute between Humanity and Earth, a mod ballet and Nick Mohammed’s career-best standup set – our critics pick the best stage shows of the year10. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold FryStaging a bestselling book that has already been adapted into a…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonThe comedian’s compelling show explores gender politics in modern India, singledom and self-improvementModesty: “I don’t speak for all women …” Swagger: “… but I do speak for many.” Prashasti Singh’s Divine Feminine shuttles between…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, London Lauren Lyle and Alexander Arnold make a compelling pair in a surprising drama about a one night standIt is set on a summer morning in Edinburgh during the festival but David Ireland’s two-hander, first staged as a reading at the fr…
Continue ReadingSurprise is a key ingredient of standup but Jack Rooke and Joseph Morpurgo explore the potential of dusting down their hit 2015 shows for rare revivalsBands tour classic albums in their entirety. Movies are re-released to mark big anniversaries. Great …
Continue ReadingApollo theatre, LondonMischief Theatre return to the am-dram battlefield, turning the Victorian tale into a blizzard of bruised egos and expertly timed farceIn the interval, I hear a newcomer to Mischief Theatre’s enduring “goes wrong” concept ask if t…
Continue ReadingNorwich Theatre RoyalThere are eye-popping designs, playful puns and musical flourishes as Joe Tracini’s story unfolds on its own madcap shorelineHere is a sun-kissed panto to dispel any dreams of a white Christmas. Joe Tracini’s script is set in the s…
Continue ReadingPark theatre, LondonGleefully leaning into all the cliches and groansome laughs, Dan Patterson and Jez Bond’s musical vampire romp is supremely sillyIf ever there was a show where the title came first, you’d guess it was this one by Dan (Whose Line Is …
Continue ReadingYork Theatre RoyalPaul Hendy’s panto includes some silly surprises, well-handled audience interaction and a twinkling dameAnyone remember the bit in Sleeping Beauty with the velociraptor named Kevin? Me neither. But an incongruous dinosaur sidekick is …
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