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We are bowled over! 

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Gary Naylor |

Just a flimsy music stand on the RSC’s biggest stage greets us. Sir Ken, no longstaff in hand as we might have expected, dons his coat, perhaps left over from Abanazar’s costuming in an upscale pantomime, and raises his weedy, reedy baton. Instantly, all hell breaks loose on Bob Crowley’s beautiful sparse, now tilting set, supplemented by Akhila Krishnan’s Donner and Blitzen videos.

alexandra.coghlan
“La bohème, Tosca, Butterfly: you just know where you are with them, don’t you?” If the bar-chat at the opening night of the Opera Holland Park 30th…
Thomas H. Green
Nottingham is broiling. With sun heat. And with humanity. The pubs overspill beyond the pavement, into the road, as hordes of Nottingham Forest fans…
Adam Sweeting
Screenwriter Neil Forsyth earned kudos a-plenty with his two BBC One series of The Gold, a dramatisation of the 1983 Brink’s-Mat bullion robbery and…

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Helen Hawkins
Peter Schaffer’s 1973 hit can still pack a theatrical punch, but its ideas seem dated now
Veronica Lee
Comic revisits her alma mater to talk politics
David Nice
Five-star duets for two women elevate cramped production of patchy Bellini
Joe Muggs
A total deconstruction of pop-alternative dichotomies, and a 360° immersive overload
Matt Wolf
Oscar winner Gary Oldman returns to his stage roots
Kieron Tyler
Enviably consistent box set dedicated to female-sung British pop from 1962 to 1970
Adam Sweeting
Gripping three-part saga is smarter than the average pop-doc
Boyd Tonkin
The rebel diva finally comes to Sussex in splendour - and squalor
Helen Hawkins
A handsome production in need of a stronger score and deeper characterisation
Rachel Halliburton
Darkly arresting Purcell sometimes grapples with too many ideas
David Nice
Stunning collaboration between actors and musicians typifies this bracing enterprise
Rachel Halliburton
Michelle Terry proves how well she understands this venue's tricky chemistry
David Nice
Adrenalin-fuelled star turns in a fine ensemble
Bernard Hughes
Period instruments and voices recreate the glory of a historical investiture
Helen Hawkins
Oscar Wilde's comedy with a serious core emerges as an inventive, rowdy entertainment
Florence Hallett
The mood is blue, but profundity is in short supply
Gary Naylor
Accomplished debut play from writer of W1A
Robert Beale
Rautavaara’s birds, Nielsen’s arguments, and an outstanding Sibelius concerto
Helen Hawkins
The latest helping of the Jilly Cooper adaptation is much like the first: sparky, filthy fun
David Nice
A celebrated sibling brings style and panache to two brothers
Sebastian Scotney
A fascinating cast of characters
Mark Kidel
The undeniable force of a musical original shows signs of wear
Veronica Lee
Absurdist comic's most personal show yet
Kieron Tyler
Celebration of first-rate but obscure Chicago soul

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