The Witches review – frights played for fun in rollicking musical
Roald Dahl’s villains are given a makeover with a gag-filled script by Lucy Kirkwood and a couple of storming numbers
June 2023
The Crucible review – a witch hunt for truth-denying times
Harnessing horror film conventions, Lyndsey Turner’s intelligent revival conjures places where truth is a political inconvenience
October 2022
Observer New Review Q&A
Actor Erin Doherty: ‘How good a footballer was I? I got scouted by Chelsea!’
The week in theatre: Blues for an Alabama Sky; The Crucible; Dido’s Bar – review
May 2022
National Theatre to stage The Crucible with Erin Doherty and Brendan Cowell
Revival of Arthur Miller’s allegory is part of a new season featuring The Boy With Two Hearts and a 40-week tour of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane
March 2022
After the End review – violence, comedy and cliches in Dennis Kelly’s nuclear bunker
This dated two-hander about colleagues cowering in the wake of an explosion creates all-too-familiar disgust and fear
February 2022
A Number review – Lennie James and Paapa Essiedu scintillate as father and sons
The powerhouse duo’s effortless chemistry and emotional realism brings Caryl Churchill’s cloning tragedy blazing into new life
June 2021
Under Milk Wood review – Michael Sheen steps into Dylan Thomas’s bygone world
Lyndsey Turner’s production is a charming albeit emotionally distanced retreat into nostalgia
February 2020
Far Away review – Jessica Hynes brings humour to short, sharp horror
The real world slides away with frightening ease and pace in Caryl Churchill’s masterclass of tension
July 2019
Noye's Fludde review – floods theatre with colour and a nervous moose
ENO’s first collaboration with Theatre Royal Stratford East and local schoolchildren is perfectly pitched and brings witty touches to Britten’s community opera
April 2019
Top Girls review – Churchill's study of bourgeois feminism gets an epic makeover
With a boosted cast of 18, Lyndsey Turner’s revival of Caryl Churchill’s classic sometimes feels like three separate plays
August 2018
Aristocrats review – Brian Friel's striking portrait of a family in decline
Overly abstract production lifted by first-rate performances in an engrossing tale of decaying culture and rocky relationships
June 2018
Machinal: how an execution gripped America and sparked a Broadway sensation
When Rebecca Hall read it she couldn’t breathe. After Fiona Shaw played the role she got letters full of loneliness. This is the true story behind Sophie Treadwell’s trailblazing play
May 2017
The Treatment review – a flawless production
Lyndsey Turner’s revival of Martin Crimp’s satire captures the powerlessness of a writer chewed up by the movie business
April 2017
The Treatment review – Martin Crimp's movie biz satire is more potent than ever
Lyndsey Turner’s immaculate, neon-lit revival of Crimp’s 1993 play lays bare the ways reality is exploited and distorted by the media
July 2016
Faith Healer review – Brian Friel’s masterly test of faith
Stephen Dillane, Gina McKee and Ron Cook excel in Lyndsey Turner’s tremendous revival of Brian Friel’s 1979 play
October 2015
Theatre blog
Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet comes into its own on the screen
Lyndsey Turner’s monumental Barbican production, broadcast to a global audience last night for NT Live, has visual swagger and an infinitely touching prince
