West End

THEATRE REVIEW: The Lives Of Others starring Keira Knightley and Luke Thompson at the Adelphi Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Friday 16 October, opens 29 October and runs through 28 November 2026 RUNTIME: 130 minutes (no interval)

Adapter/director Robert Icke’s most recent leading ladies have gone on to awards success including Sadie Sink (Stage Debut Award for Romeo and Juliet) and a Best Actress Olivier and Tony for Lesley Manville (Oedipus)

  • Read on for reasons including how Keira Knightley was last on stage in 2011
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THEATRE REVIEW: Ilford Boy starring Leo Whitfield Harris, Craig Stein, Ria Zmitrowicz & Lindsey Coulson at the Donmar Warehouse

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Monday 12 October, opens 20 October and runs through 28 November 2026 RUNTIME: 155 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

It’s the day of his nan’s funeral and impressionable 14-year-old Ted meets his mum’s gay best friend and suddenly his world doesn’t feel so lonely.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is 1 of the best new plays of the year so far
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THEATRE REVIEW: Kimberly Akimbo starring Maria Friedman at Hampstead Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN? Saturday 29 August, opens Wednesday 9 September and and runs through 7 November 2026 RUNTIME: 165 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

The key to the success of this Tony Award-winning musical is the casting of its leading lady who can convince as a 16-year-old ageing four times more quickly than her peers and as the pensioner she physically appears to be.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is is filled with joy, love and laughs even at its tear-spattered finale
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THEATRE REVIEW: The Story starring Letitia Wright & Lorraine Toussaint at National Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN? Friday 28 August, opens 3 September and runs through 24 October 2026 RUNTIME: 150 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

The best thing about this revival of a 2003 US play inspired by a 1981 scandal in which a journalist won a Pulitzer Prize for writing about an inner city child only to later admit the story was fraudulent is the promising performance of Letitia Wright (pictured centre above) at its heart.

  • Read on for reasons including why today’s UK headlines would be a more relevant place for this venue to seek to represent the population it should be serving
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THEATRE REVIEW: A Month In The Country starring Sophie Okonedo at Donmar Warehouse

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN? Monday 24 August, opens 2 September and runs through 3 October 2026 RUNTIME: 140 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Sophie Okonedo (Medea, @SohoPlace) is the beating heart of this revival of Brian Friel’s (Dancing At Lughnasa, National) take on this very Chekhovian tale of an 1840s Russian landowner’s wife’s infatuation with her son’s young tutor.

  • Read on for reasons including how Okonedo relishes the opportunity to be the emotional focus
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FILM OF THE MONTH: The Devil Wears Prada 2 starring Meryl Streep (May 2026)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly is 1 of Meryl Streep’s most iconic characters and it should perhaps be no surprise that this sequel is proving even more popular than its original.

  • Read on for reasons including how the success of this sequel means this may not be the last we see of this saga
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THEATRE REVIEW: Equus starring Toby Stephens, Amanda Abbington & Noah Valentine at Menier Chocolate Factory

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Saturday 9 May (matinee), opens 18 May and runs through 4 July 2026 RUNTIME: 170 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Inside No 9 and Waterloo Road‘s Noah Valentine follows in the footsteps of Daniel Radcliffe in baring all as troubled 17-year-old Alan Strang who is blinding horses.

  • Read on for reasons including how this version is so strong we do expect it to transfer to the West End
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THEATRE REVIEW: Romeo and Juliet starring Sadie Sink at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN? Friday 27 March, opens 31 March and runs through 20 June 2026 RUNTIME: 175 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Sink may have found worldwide fame with Netflix’s Stranger Things but the 23-year-old has been performing in theatre since 2011 including as the lead in Annie on Broadway and being nominated for a Tony as Best Actress last year for John Proctor Is The Villain which has just opened in London.

  • Read on for reasons including how Sadie Sink is a mesmerising heroine in this production which breathes new life into a classic
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THEATRE REVIEW: Rachel Zegler and Ben Platt in The Last Five Years at the London Palladium

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

WHEN? Tuesday 25 March and runs through 29 March 2026 RUNTIME: 90 minutes (no interval)

Zegler (EVITA, London Palladium) plays struggling actress Cathy in this 25th anniversary concert performance of a musical opposite Ben Platt’s Jamie who is becoming a successful author.

  • Read on for reasons including how Zegler and Platt give thrilling performances in this unusual concert staging
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THEATRE REVIEW: Avenue Q at Shaftesbury Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN? Saturday 21 March (matinee), opens 16 April and runs through August 29 2026 RUNTIME: 140 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)

With song titles like It Sucks To Be Me, If You Were Gay and Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist, this 3-time Tony Award winner is very much an adult take on Sesame Street with puppets.

  • Read on for reasons including how Avenue Q has lots of irreverent laughs and more fun-filled songs than you could shake a stick (puppet) at
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