Nick Curtis is Chief Theatre Critic of the Evening Standard, a feature writer, columnist and award-winning interviewer. For the paper he has reported on mayoral campaigns, terror attacks and the 2012 Olympics, recreated the first scheduled commercial flight in a biplane, and opened Tower Bridge....
Nick Curtis is Chief Theatre Critic of the Evening Standard, a feature writer, columnist and award-winning interviewer. For the paper he has reported on mayoral campaigns, terror attacks and the 2012 Olympics, recreated the first scheduled commercial flight in a biplane, and opened Tower Bridge.
The Pillowman at the Duke of York’s: audacious and wickedly funny
Martin McDonagh’s swaggering play wrong-foots the audience throughout
Dear England at the National Theatre review: thrilling football drama
The Nottingham playmaker takes on the England football team’s recent highs and lows in a brilliant fusion of sport and art
The Third Man at the Menier Chocolate Factory: why is this a musical?
The creative team has a record of turning unlikely subjects into musical gold. Not this time
Podcast: Daniel Rigby on Accidental Death of an Anarchist
“Comedy’s my first love really - the only reason I ever became a performer was to make people laugh.”
The Crucible at the Gielgud Theatre: a nigh-on perfect revival
House of the Dragon breakout star Milly Alcock is a stunning replacement for Erin Doherty as the show transfers from the National to the West End
42nd Street at Sadler’s Wells: Nicole-Lily Baisden is a true star
There’s something about the sheer, silly exhilaration of tap that’s downright irresistible
Romeo and Juliet at the Almeida: a relentless, stripped-down retelling
Ted Lasso’s Toheeb Jimoh as Romeo and Isis Hainsworth as Juliet suggest the characters share a fascination that goes beyond carnal passion
When Winston Went to War With the Wireless at the Donmar Warehouse
The feud between Conservative politicians and our national broadcaster has been ongoing for longer than you think
Podcast: The curious case of reversing Benjamin Button’s age on stage
Plus our reviews of Patriots at the Noël Coward Theatre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe
Groundhog Day at the Old Vic: good enough to watch again and again
If this show doesn’t quite escape the shadow of its source material, it adds dimension and depth to it
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Southwark Playhouse: a delight
This musical version of the well-loved tale is full of rich, lovely numbers
We Will Rock You at the London Coliseum: we will rob you, more like
A lazy, exploitative piece of work
Patriots at the Noel Coward Theatre: the fight for Russia’s soul
This hectic, tragicomic tale has already gained new weight and prescience as it transfers into the West End from the Almeida
Kate O’Flynn on All of It & working with Danny Dyer in Henpocalypse!
Plus our reviews of Great Expectations and Bleak Expectations...
The Shape of Things at Park Theatre: precision engineered black comedy
Though slightly dated, the play is slick and efficient - and funny
Great Expectations at the Garrick: Izzard’s Dickens is not so great
This adaptation of the Dickens classic is neither theatre nor comedy
Rose at the Ambassadors Theatre: Maureen Lipman is on compelling form
Martin Sherman’s monologue for a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust goes in some suprising directions
Aspects of Love at the Lyric: why revive this silly, creepy musical?
The dislikeable characters and preposterous plot, despite the stylish staging, make this revival hard to love
Eddie Izzard: ‘Politicians on the Right are trying to stoke hatred’
Ahead of her hotly anticipated stage adaptation of Great Expectations, Eddie Izzard tells Nick Curtis about assuming her true identity as Suzy, hopes of becoming a Labour MP in 2024 and why the culture wars are bad for all of us
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Globe: a fresh take on the forest romp
I’ve seen this play a hundred times, so it’s always a delight when a production shows it in new light
Ruth Wilson’s masterful stage marathon
The award-winning actor performed the same scene for a whole day opposite a revolving cast of 100 actors and amateurs. It was superb