A stunning not to be missed evening spent looking at Hamlet with Dickie Beau.
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Powerful performances in a play about women in a war for independence in the Cameroons.
Loesser's other great show gets a pared down updated staging.
Florence Price: a composer who deserves her place in musical history
An evening of stunning modern dance, storytelling and originality from Ballet Rambert
A stunning performance of one of the most challenging Piano Concertos in the repertoire, by Pianist Barry Douglas
Elegance, expression and consummate artistry
How on earth does Ari Aster's brain work?
The laws of gravity are pushed to new heights.
Take a heartwarming and illuminating trip on love's merry gay round.
An outstanding evening of music-making with the CBSO on top-form and Composer, Clarinetist & Conductor extraordinaire, Jorg Widman (b.1973)
This year's Southwell Festival is launched with music to whet the appetite
A programme bursting with virtuosity and musical personality from Jess Gillam and friends
Sean Shibe and Manchester Collective lead an exhilarating safari into the unknown
A heart-warming story about the power of song.
A radical and fresh new take on an old favourite.
Some tentative Brahms followed by rousing Rimsky-Korsakov
Exciting music-making from the CBSO – but you needed your musical sunglasses
Evocative and thought provoking dance.
A thrilling concert marks the start of a fresh chapter for the CBSO under the baton of their charismatic new Chief Conductor, Kazuki Yamada. Now: this really is a man to watch!
Schubert – Quartet in G, D887 (1826)Dvorak – Quartet No 13, Op. 106 (1895) Our colleague, William Ruff, reviewed this outstanding performance by the Pavel Haas Quartet @ Birmingham Town Hall, the night before ourselves at Lakeside, Nottingham (April 27th, 2023). In terms of what we might have to say about the repeat of this remarkable programme in Birmingham, has already been perfectly & precisely expressed in William’s Review. Here’s a link to that Review: Pavel Haas Quartet. Lakeside, Nottingham. April …
Nottingham Pavel Haas Quartet Lakeside, Nottingham April 27 2023 5***** Review: William Ruff @ReviewsGate Consummate musicianship from the award-winning Czech quartet The Pavel Haas Quartet from the Czech Republic is one of the world’s leading chamber ensembles, bearing the name of the gifted Czech composer who died in Auschwitz in 1944. They have won a vast number of awards over recent years, including no fewer than five prestigious Gramophone awards. In fact, they’ve become one of the classical music world’s …
Iceland may be a small island but it produces big-hearted music-making
Thrilling playing by a fine visiting orchestra, with the added bonus of a perfect performance of a Beethoven Piano Concerto by Sir Stephen Hough
Fine performances in a first rate production of a terrific play.
A terrific sense of the conversational and of the intimate in this radiant and emotionally moving performance.
Memorable, moving play about sex, disability, friendship,predators and surviving.
80 years on a Brecht's assault on capitalism remains as potent today as it was in the time of Weimar.
An impressive account of a young man in the throes of a breakdown.
Classical elegance, romantic pastoralism and a very naughty bird!
An earnest and heartfelt musical dramatization of a terrible tragedy
Red-blooded emotion, soaring melody and vivid orchestral colour
Possibly more than you need to know about serial killers by MacVera.
A very long overdue revival of an opera that needs to be heard more
Brahms – Academic Festival Overture * Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No.2 * Brahms – Serenade No. 1 There is no doubt that Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto is a guaranteed crowd-puller – and rightly so; it is a magnificent work. And in this performance by Uzbeki pianist Behzod Abduraimov it was given a rapturous performance. This young man – he is only 33 – cast a spell over both audience and the players of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO). …
A rise up in story but a rise down in scares.
Private Lives with overdone battles - a fitfully funny production.
Delicious rom com set in Regency days
Another magnificent performance of this wonderful work
A true and disturbing tale.
A long day's journey possibly into light
Betty is a true delight, a rival in the porcine glamour stakes to Miss Piggy.
A superb Monday Lunchtime Concert and a glorious way to start the week.
Fascinating, puzzling tale of selkies and a family living by the sea.
Refreshing and energised; a mirror for our Age.
Musical insight combined with eco-friendliness
A fabulous evening of laughter,tears and sex.
Brilliantly directed staging of Korngold’s 1920s cult classic opera on exploration of loss
Can A24 keep Paul Mescal?
The weekend from hell with the Bliss family.
Lush romanticism and moments of power
A splendid first play by Danny Lee Wynter - funnyand provocative
An hour of concentrated loveliness from the ASMF
A performance of great technical accomplishment and power
Visionary staging of Philip Glass’s Egyptian classic
A powerful immaculately performed monologue.
Impeccably performed piece about where artificial intelligence could lead us.
A scintillating production which deserves to draw the town and pulls no punches
Strauss’s Ariadne may be bonkers but it’s beautiful too
Interesting well acted revival now with climate change overtones.
The Amatis Trio are outstanding advocates of two masterpieces of the repertoire
Two slashers fight it out. Read to see my horror film of the week.
Gripping true story about the aftermath of the first atomic bomb and the German scientists who failed to build one.
Opera North’s Vixen is 40 years old but as life-enhancing as ever
A vibrant slice of early 20th century music-making
A lavish and very well sung production
Pleasant comedy about would be sit-com writers.
The dangers of social media aimed at teenage audiences
A small-scale touring panto with a warm heart.
Crisp baroque elegance from Sinfonia Viva
A young piano star revealing beauty in unexpected places
Bitter sweet story of old age, dreams and one more trip to Venice beautifully acted.
Watery end to a wood spirit’s dream
The hammiest show in town - but a barrel of laughs.
An impactful mediation on a longtime friendship.
Shameful account of buck passing and failure impressively performed.
A moving tale of interracial love and how black lives matter
Vocal gems from The Orlando Consort's farewell tour
A warm but rather safe tribute to fandom and friendship.
Two sisters struggle with their past and the world of religious sects.
Well intentioned and blessedly brief tale of sisters in love.
A stimulating programme played with charisma and insight
Patchy but funny comedy about life upon the wicked stage.
Fascinating,civilised,informative and well acted play.
A masterful examination into previous tragedies.
The perfect example of a play that goes wrong - badly wrong.
Ramshackle but interesting play loaded with laughs.
Pianist Petr Limonov opens a window on the sublime
Utterly beguiling account of living life as one wants to live.
Has Brendan Fraser just locked his Oscar win?
Nothing is what you think it is in a gripping tale of two men who meet in a pub toilet.
The Lehman Trilogy returns recast but remains spellbinding.
A glorious celebration of an iconic English composer
A queer romance based on a true story.
Popcorn with opera as the mighty Metropolitan New York comes to local cinema.
An exuberant and joyous dance piece for young and not-so-young alike. …
The 2023 thriller to beat.
Powerful, unforgettable and deeply disturbing.
Rare repertoire dazzlingly played by a young star cellist
Fine revival of an interesting, stimulating and well performed play.
Plenty of Oo la la! in this pleasant comedy
Passionate commitment brought to two very personal works
Hilarious, over the top, frequently bitter and lavishly dressed gay rant
You may have the time of your life. That is twice I have not.
Baffling, Befuddling, Bewildering, Bonkers, Bizarre
Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty (now 10 years old) has lost none of its magic
Nobody does it better - a canary like no other.
An inspired sister act manic piece of clowning
An entertaining trip down memory lane.
Hard working cast, terrible play.
Compelling tale of political conformity’s sacrificial victim
A first rate cast and direction of a disturbing and flawed musical.
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason: a young artist with a very bright future
An extensive examination into universal issues.
The NYO brings energy and enthusiasm to an evening of joyful music-making
‘Classic tale of woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown’
A spectacular and hilarious Panto. Oh yes it is!
Sarah Beth Briggs: a pianist of charisma and refinement
A Carol like no other splendidly staged and performed.
Philip Lee dazzles in the title role but look out for the cow in this not quite a pantomime
Do not bet against James Cameron.
Playing of brilliance, emotional depth and transparency by the Fidelio Trio
Interesting concept which isn't executed as successfully as it could have been.
2022's Die Hard Rip Off
What happens when you don't have health insurance. A comedy with lots to make you think.
An outstanding performance of a little known violin concerto by Nielsen, and a mostly excellent Shostakovich Fifth Symphony
A show with big hair and a big heart - Fantabulosa
A concert to put you in the mood for the festive season
Richmond has a bobby dazzler of a pantomime.
Fun show packed with unmemorable songs
A 40th anniversary concert to remember: John Wilson’s ear-opening, virtuoso Sinfonia of London
A sprawling, enthralling epic story about Irish and Jewish nationalism - and bombs.
Playing to nourish both head and heart from Steven Osborne
Heart-warming sentiment on the side of the angels in opera adaptation of classic Christmas film.
A Happy Holidays show for those who like shows like this.
A magical festive delight that invites us to see the worlds as it is, but with wonder.
Stimulating, inventive and provocative tale about growing up.
A concert that, despite its subject matter, too often failed to take flight
High drama and red-blooded emotion from Maxim Vengerov and the Romanian Philharmonic
And now for something completely different - or,as the blurb says, deck the halls with Dickens and Doyle.
Disappointing staging of a fine Shaw play.
A mixed evening of music, by turns engaging and sometimes over-intellectual.
Dazzling,diverting and brilliantly performed theatre of the absurd play.
Dazzling pianism in Hannes Minnaar’s night-themed programme
Life may be but this one woman show is not.
El Gran Teatro Del Mundo: civilised musical conversation and generosity of spirit
Pantomime of earthly delights in Handel’s late baroque extravaganza
A two star play in a four star set.
High octane, colourful performances from the RLPO and Isata Kanneh-Mason
A challenging evening of remembrance.
East and west combine to produce a thrilling artistic synergy
A futile search for how to grow a black tulip.
A well sung revival of a sturdy production
Opera North’s Orfeo ed Euridice may be semi-staged but there’s no skimping on emotional power
Stunning performance by the Belgian National Orchestra under Conductor Roberto González-Monjas, and pianist Paul Lewis
Testosterone is bursting out all over in this brash, loud, well sung revival.
An intense and richly realised piece of music theatre.
With La Traviata Opera North presents a music drama that thrills, delights and moves to tears
Lively performances by beleaguered ENO with a topsy-turvy mingling of “serious” and comic
A gem of a play beautifully performed
A stunning, revelatory performance of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto by CBSO Principal Clarinet, Oliver Janes
The dynamic Leonkoro Quartet: a young ensemble with the brightest of futures
The latest in the Brockley Jack Studio’s short run pieces is a moving tale about overcoming grief in quite the most unusual way and the strangest of places. It is a monologue performed with great sensitivity by Brendan Dunlea as Paddy, an Irish farmer whose son Kieran h as committed suicide leaving him and his wife bereft. What they do is, their son having left money, is use it to travel and one of the places they end up in …
Carry On Earnest - an evening to forget.
A beguiling tale of three continents.
A dance musical that doesn’t always deliver the dance
Henshall in fine form in splendid new play part of the James series.
Bebe Cave worth watching as the deeply distressed potentially suicidal Imi.
A celebration of old and new in a stimulating Manchester Collective programme
A two hander that holds the interest throughout.
A welcome addition to the London fringe theatre scene.
S spellbinding road trip round the South Africa tourists don't go to.
A timely tale but almost impossible to comprehend what the cast is saying.