Shadowlands opens with the author C. S. Lewis, best known for The Chronicles of Narnia , wrestling with the question that underpins much of his work: why would an omnipotent, all-loving Christian God permit suffering and evil in the world? The play recounts the true story of how the celebrated children’s writer, Christian apologist and medieval scholar encountered both the rapture of love and the devastation of loss when, in middle age, he met the brilliant young American divorcee, Joy Davidman. For Lewis, still marked by the early death of his mother and constrained by the Church’s strictures against divorce, the relationship was at once emotionally perilous and theologically troubling. Yet what began as a meeting of minds deepened into a profound and transformative love, compelling him to confront fears he had long kept at bay. When Joy falls ill and later dies, his faith is tested in ways that render abstract arguments painfully immediate. The struggle to reconcile divine love with...

If the weather is bleak and sodden, The Mill at Sonning offers the perfect antidote to the winter doldrums: a generous meal, a nice glass of wine and a riotously absurd comedy by Michael Cooney. In Cash on Delivery , Eric Swan has been fraudulently claiming benefits to which he is not entitled. When he finally resolves to put matters right, events spiral spectacularly out of control in ways he could never have foreseen. The mechanics of farce are familiar to seasoned theatregoers, yet the satisfaction of watching someone else's unravelling remains undimmed. A host of Sonning favourites return to the stage in this production. Steven Pinder is superb as the slippery schemer ensnared in his own labyrinth of lies, while James Bradshaw shines as the endearingly flustered lodger and Swan’s unwilling accomplice in the ever-expanding tangle of deceit. Natasha Gray brings warmth and bite to Eric’s exasperated, long-suffering wife, and Harry Gostelow is absolutely spot on as the hopelessly ...

If you approach this latest instalment of the celebrated satire hoping for the familiar skewering of vacuous politicians and the serpentine cunning of civil servants, prepare for disappointment. The targets have shifted, and not always to satisfying effect. Jim Hacker, once the affable and occasionally perceptive dupe of earlier days, is now a retired prime minister in his twilight years, ensconced in the Oxford college he founded. His comfortable existence is abruptly threatened after a series of politically incorrect remarks place him at risk of eviction. In crisis, he summons his former adversary, Sir Humphrey Appleby, for assistance. Yet his true sparring partner is not Appleby but Hacker’s young care worker, a graduate of his college armed with an unmarketable degree in English and impeccable politically correct credentials. She endures the self absorption of both men with indulgent patience, as the comedy trains its fire largely on their antiquated attitudes. This incarnation of ...

‘Sweet Mambo’ is the penultimate piece choreographed by Pina Bausch before her death in 2009. It is now receiving its premiere at Sadler’s Wells, with seven of the original nine dancers still in the cast. Their continued presence is a remarkable tribute both to their stamina and to the lasting appeal of Bausch’s choreography. Sadler’s Wells has now staged twenty-one of her twenty-two works. Mounting the production at this venue posed particular technical difficulties, notably the recreation of the wind-blown curtain design by Peter Pabst. For the most part, the result justifies the wait. The vast swathes of fabric dominate the stage, generating striking visual effects that at times overshadow the movement which frequently seems more like performance art than dance theatre. In 'Sweet Mambo', Bausch draws on the meta tropes prevalent at the time in which the work was made. Performers address the audience directly and dissolve the fourth wall by stepping into the auditorium. Once ...

Terence Rattigan worked on his play Man and Boy from 1954 until its first production in 1963. It was intended as a statement of his continued relevance in a British theatre transformed by the arrival of figures such as John Osborne in the late 1950s. Set in the 1930s in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash, the play is a pointed critique of capitalism at its most ruthless. At its centre is Gregor Antonescu, a figure of unrelenting ambition and amoral callousness. Even Patrick Bateman from American Psycho appears to be a rather low-level hustler by comparison. In this current version of Rattigan’s drama, Antonescu is even willing to pimp out his own son. His venal materialism is painted in broad strokes, and Ben Daniels plays the character with an over-the-top energy and swagger, cajoling and conning anyone who stands between him and his goals. His humiliation of the accountant who believes he has uncovered Antonescu's fraud is wonderfully arch, and Leo Wan as David Beeston reca...

Two narratives are deftly counterpointed in the concert drama MILES . One follows a young trumpeter mentored by the ghostly presence of the jazz icon. The other revisits the electrifying creation of his recording masterpiece Kind of Blue . These strands are intricately interwoven to create a rich and searching meditation on creativity. They also offer an evocative glimpse into the world shaped by racism, scarred by drug addiction, and charged with the emotional volatility that defined the musician’s life and work. The love affair with Juliette Gréco and the complicated relationship with Charlie Parker are presented as formative experiences that shaped Davis for better and for worse. Benjamin Akintuyosi delivers a commanding and uncanny portrayal of the legendary trumpeter while Jay Phelps is utterly convincing as the young musician haunted and pushed to excel by his mentor. Their chemistry is immediate and compelling, and both performers move with striking assurance between multiple ro...

Strindberg’s grim meditation on the human condition is wrenching, thought-provoking theatre. Any laughter elicited during its excruciating laying bare of the toxic relationship between the soldier Edgar and his wife, Alice, is more likely a sign of discomfort or the uneasy recognition of home truths than a response born of amusement. The cruel repartee and vicious games which the couple play, and through which they drag the audience’s stand-in, the innocent bystander Kurt, are mesmerising. Equally hypnotic are the deeply layered performances of Will Keen and Lisa Dillon as the combative couple. They hold us in their thrall from the outset and generate an atmosphere electric with tension. The intimate space of the Orange Tree Theatre allows us to register every nuance of the characters’ emotions, and once they have us in their grip, Keen and Dillon never loosen that tension. Both performers are utterly present, and no matter how much the audience may try to resist the emotional torment ...

In Monstering the Rocketman , Henry Naylor narrates the true story of Elton John’s libel lawsuit against the UK tabloid The Sun . During the 1980s, the newspaper made a series of accusations about the singer, and in 1988 the case was resolved through an out of court settlement of around £1 million. As he recounts these events, Naylor, who also wrote the piece, adopts the persona of Lynx, a young reporter who joins The Sun and becomes increasingly drawn into the pursuit of the story. Lynx works under the paper’s foul mouthed editor, Kelvin Mackenzie, who regards journalism as a form of entertainment and measures its success by readership figures and profit. Although he is aware that much of what he publishes is untrue, Mackenzie steadfastly refuses to retract the tabloid’s claims or to issue an apology. The play recalls a particularly low point in British journalism and offers a salutary warning about the dangers of mistaking rumour for fact. However, it engages only superficially with...

This splendid revival of Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece is definitely one of this year’s must-see productions. Intellectually demanding yet fizzing with wit, the play is brought vividly to life by a uniformly outstanding ensemble. Seamus Dillane is superb as the rakish tutor Septimus Hodge, delivering a performance of effortless charm and sly intelligence, while Matthew Steer is irresistibly funny as the mock poet/scientist and hapless cuckold Ezra Chater. Isis Hainsworth is luminous as the prodigy Thomasina, blending youthful grace with startling intellectual authority, and Fiona Button is deliciously bold as her mother, the gloriously predatory Lady Croom. Set in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Arcadia explores how we confront death and search for meaning in our lives. Its title suggests Poussin's pastoral painting with the tombstone in its foreground, et in Arcadia ego . Faced with this existential problem, the play suggests two possible routes to understanding: scienc...

“Samurai.” The word conjures images of fierce Japanese warriors in elaborate helmets with swords drawn, but this superb presentation reveals that there is far more to know about this class that came to dominate Japan’s political life and whose legacy still lingers in many aspects of contemporary culture. Structured in three sections, Rise of the Samurai AD 800 to 1600, The Long Peace 1600 to the 1850s and After the Samurai 1876 to the present , the exhibition demonstrates the importance of the samurai, both men and women, not only in warfare but also in the governance and cultural development of Japan. Bringing together more than two hundred and eighty objects from twenty nine lenders, the show offers a rich array of flamboyant helmets and intricate armour, alongside depictions of combat in scrolls by masters such as Hiroshige. There are also revealing glimpses behind the public image the samurai sought to project. Displays of smoking accoutrements, a popular pastime for both male and ...