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THEATRE REVIEW: Thelma And Louise starring Amy Lennox and Rachel Tucker at the Young Vic

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Monday 19 October and running through 24 October 2026 RUNTIME: 140 minutes (including a 15-minute interval)

This musical of the 1991 classic Oscar-winning female road movie was 1 of the most eagerly awaited shows this autumn and we see it in its final week at this venue to assess whether it’s any gas left in its tank.

  • Read on for reasons including how the biggest injustice in this show is how the 5* story receives 2* songs
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THEATRE REVIEW: Bloodsport After Helen Of Troy starring Michelle Dockery, Laura Aikman and Maimuna Memon at Stratford East

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Saturday 3 October and runs through 10 October 2026 RUNTIME: 120 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Author Ava Pickett is longlisted for our Best New Play monsta for 1536 (Ambassadors Theatre) and don’t be surprised to see this modern-day update of the Helen Of Troy story join it on the soon-to-be-announced shortlist.

  • Read on for reasons including how the West End deserves to see this fiery writing topped off by Dockery’s astonishing transformation
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THEATRE REVIEW The Standard Of Living starring Rory Kinnear at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Wednesday 23 September, opens 29 September and runs through 12 December 2026 RUNTIME: 150 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

This is the story of John Maynard Keynes, considered one of the most influential economists of the 20th century, who turned his back on a life of homosexuality as part of the Bloomsbury Group and married a Russian ballerina.

  • Read on for reasons including how this story is probably more for James Graham die-hard fans only rather than a mainstream audience
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THEATRE REVIEW: How The Other Half Loves at the Old Vic starring Roger Allam

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Wednesday 29 July, opens 11 August and runs through 19 September 2026 RUNTIME: 180 minutes (with a 20-minute interval but aiming for 150 minutes)

Olivier Award-winner Roger Allam (A Number, Bridge Theatre) is the hilarious best reason to see this farce as bumbling businessman Frank Foster who fails to realise his wife is cheating on him.

  • Read on for reasons including how this timely production could ride the crest of the wave as a whole new audience discovers its writer’s genius
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THEATRE REVIEW: The Guilty starring Russell Tovey at the Donmar Warehouse

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: **** RUNTIME: 70 minutes (without interval)

WHEN?: Monday 22 June, opens 30 June and runs through 15 August 2026 Update: Transfers to the Harold Pinter Theatre 16 January through 3 April 2027 Tickets

Meet troubled police officer Joe, played by Russell Tovey (Constellations, Vaudeville Theatre), who takes a series of 999 calls in this real-time thriller set in London.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the perfect setting for this real-time thriller to grip you by your collar and never let go
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THEATRE REVIEW: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest starring Aaron Pierre, Giles Terera & Kedar Williams-Stirling at the Old Vic

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Thursday 2 April, opens 15 April and runs through 23 May 2026 RUNTIME: 160 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Film One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest starred a dynamic Jack Nicholson and won 5 Oscars in 1975 but director Clint Dyer (Death Of England: The Plays) has chosen instead to go back to the 1962 novel for inspiration.

  • Read on for reasons including how those who thought they knew this story may just have their minds changed by this powerful and emotional reinvention
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THEATRE REVIEW: Les Liaisons Dangereuses starring Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner at the National Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN? Monday 30 March, opens 1 April and runs through 6 June 2026 RUNTIME: 180 minutes (includes a 20-minute interval)

Manville (Oedipus, Wyndham’s Theatre) played young virgin Cécile in the original Royal Shakespeare Company production of this 1985 play and so it’s deliciously appropriate she returns to lead the cast in this Marianne Elliott-directed (COCK, Ambassadors Theatre) revival.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is a wonderfully cast romp through a razor-sharp period piece which doesn’t quite convince of its relevance to today
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THEATRE REVIEW: Evening All Afternoon starring Anastasia Hille at the Donmar

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHEN?: Friday 20 February, opens 24 February and runs through 11 April 2026 RUNTIME: 85 minutes (no interval)

Anastasia Hille (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Young Vic) plays Jennifer, a woman marrying late and nervous about how she is perceived by her soon-to-be stepdaughter.

  • Read on for reasons including how meditating on grief, acceptance, unexpected love and finding contentment where you never dared look are themes that feel universal
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THEATRE REVIEW: Arcadia by Tom Stoppard at the Old Vic

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN? Monday 26 January, opens 4 February and runs through 21 March 2026 RUNTIME: 170 minutes (including a 20-minute interval) Update: Transfers to the Duke Of York’s Theatre 20 June through 12 September 2026 Tickets

Tom Stoppard died in November and 1993’s Arcadia is considered to be his masterpiece which makes this undercast revival all the more curious.

  • Read on for reasons including how it seems a missed opportunity that this 2nd revival of his classic is so understated
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THEATRE REVIEW: When We Are Married starring Siobhan Finneran, Samantha Spiro & Sophie Thompson at the Donmar

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK? ****

WHEN? Wednesday 10 December, opens 17 December and runs through 7 February 2026

What would you do if you found out on your silver wedding anniversary that you weren’t actually legally married 25 years ago?

  • Read on for reasons including how this reminds of the best of Victoria Wood and Alan Bennett and was an unexpected riot of a comedy
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