The sun is out, so any one of us could be forgiven for skipping the theatre this weekend (although of course the outdoor theatre in Regent’s Park gives the opportunity to combine the two pleasures). However, if the rain comes again, there are plenty of strongly-reviewed shows on this month to help you wait it [...]

When we started this month’s writeup, there was a nice thematic link between the three best-reviewed new plays: each was a reworking of a familiar script, with its own perspective on the male-female dynamic. We’ve now got a late-breaking fourth play at the top of the table – with three reviews in, and all three [...]

It’s been a busy few months for the team at StageScan, what with the Olympics, some travel for our other jobs, and a June wedding. This newsletter marks our return to publishing a regular review roundup, though we’re planning on a monthly rhythm rather than a weekly one.   This newsletter also concludes with a [...]

Another catching-up-on-the-past few weeks blog post from all of us at StageScan, after an outing to New York. Back in London, there’s something in the air, and it’s not comedy; the top-rated shows over the past few weeks have had a lot of revival and/or war about them.   First up is Antigone at the [...]

We’ve been away for several weeks – sorry for going silent on you for a moment there. Here, a quick recap of the best-reviewed shows that premiered while we were out:   The best-reviewed show of the month was the pair of one-acts at the Pinter Theatre: Terrence Rattigan’s The Browning Version (written in 1948) [...]

Weekly review roundup: 30 March 2012   Bit of an odd one this week, with the best-reviewed shows only attracting a handful of reviews, and the most-reviewed shows generally hovering around a three-star average.   The King’s Speech at Wyndham’s Theatre has only collected three reviews so far – but with two four-stars and a five-star, [...]

Weekly review roundup: 23 March 2012 it was the second week in a row with three openings at close to four stars, which gives us a full six new shows at the top of the rankings and available this month (with some running much longer).   The overall winner was another macabre revival, though of [...]

Weekly review roundup: 16 March 2012 One Man, Two Guv’nors gave a resounding Yes to the question of “will it still be as remarkably funny with a new cast?”, with a 4.7-star average from the five pro critics who have reviewed it so far. Though the original cast has gone to Broadway, the new production at [...]

Weekly review roundup: 9 March 2012 This week’s best-reviewed show was Abigail’s Party, written by Mike Leigh and directed by Lindsay Posner at the Menier. So far, it has pulled reviews from five top critics, and all of them four stars.   In addition to the wealth of Jacobean drama this year, another kind of historical [...]

Weekly review roundup: 3 March 2012  Most reviewers saw the debut play by 26-year-old actor-turned-playwright Luke Norris, Goodbye to All That at the Royal Court Upstairs, as a sign of a rising talent. His 3.7-star average (from six reviewers) was enough to get best new opening of the week, and he got four-stars from big names such [...]