Art Archive
Dance
Strong is the New Pretty review – Suzie Miller’s AFLW play is both shocking and crowd-pleasing
Brisbane festivalThe world premiere of this lightly fictionalised production by the Prima Facie playwright comes just as the AFL faces a reckoning about sexism …
New musical to give intimate portrait of Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller’s marriage
Misfits Together, by Bastille’s Dan Smith and To Kill a King’s Ralph Pelleymounter, is set amid the 1950s’ ‘red scare’...
‘There’s always a fresh fury’: Tracey Scott Wilson on Black America and her play about a fraudulent journalist
As The Story – inspired by a scandal that ended a young Black reporter’s career – makes its London debut, its author explains why, two decades on, it’s more rel…
The showgirl sisterhood: five former variety stars look back at their wild careers – in pictures
The ‘Golden girls of Eastbourne’ first crossed paths more than 50 years ago. They recall flammable feather head-dresses, wardrobe malfunctions and topping the b…
Jess Fuchs: Feral review – a debut with tremendous oomph from a future comedy star
This motormouth Australian comic fires off tart remarks and home truths then explains why she over-identifies with the Titanic...
Max Olesker: Making the Cut review – up close and personal account of comic’s religious conversion
This show about Olesker’s lengthy journey to becoming an Orthodox Jew in order to marry his partner is both elegant and nuanced...
The Librarians: A Very Serious Comedy! review – workplace meltdown borrows from classic sitcoms
Well-tuned performances help along a familiar set of laughs as a rickety library gets a new manager and an inspection...
35 Years of Dance for Life
Chicago’s Dance for Life event celebrates its 35th year of bringing together the city’s dance artists to support the community’s critical medical needs. The pos…
I Made You a Mixtape review – frothy fringe fun as dorm mates party like it’s 1999
Nine college students fall out and make up as they dance to punk-pop and alt-rock in this lively show...
Dance/USA’s New Executive Director Says the Organization Needs to Rebuild
Last month, when Dance/USA announced the end of its Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists (DFA) program, more than a few people in the field were disappointed—and co…
The Real Kyle McCarren review – musical eulogy to lost bandmate strikes a chord
Andy Roninson’s tribute to a friend who died aged 21 combines original rock, soul and folk songs in a considered exploration of grief...
As Far As We Know review – strange solo goes full pelt down the mean streets
With increasing speed, Sam Ward tells the story of a woman who finds holes in her garden – but is it just a shaggy dog story?...
The best theatre to stream this month: Self Esteem dazzles with Teeth ’n’ Smiles
Rebecca Lucy Taylor leads David Hare’s rock’n’roll drama, Michaela Coel tells us Chewing Gum Dreams and Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo stars in a murder myste…
‘The Messi of ballet’: Marianela Núñez, the Buenos Aires bombshell shaking up British dance
The superlative Royal Ballet star finally has her own show. She talks about fabulous footwork, her Argentina-inspired leotard – and why she named her cat after …
Oona Doherty: Leather Jacket review – dancers delight in their hard sweaty work
Slaps, beats and bounces underscore the unified collective pleasure of sharing a rhythm in this world premiere of the singular choreographer’s latest piece...
The Cherry Orchard review – the RSC’s starry cast brings a disappointing lack of sparkle
Tamara Harvey’s production of Chekhov’s final play can seem woolly in meaning and the soft-edged tone mutes its force...
Midnight at the Never Get review – Ben Platt soars in honey-hearted cabaret-musical of 60s sweethearts
Platt excels as a crooner looking back on falling for his songwriter-lover – dazzlingly played by Gregor Milne – in a show of beguiling, bittersweet nostalgia a…
The Smile of Her review – actor’s autobiographical show speeds through its resonant pains
Christine Lahti tells the story of family life, misunderstandings between mothers and daughters, and her career – but its focus is blurred...
What actually happens when your heart breaks? A hit play with classic breakup songs unpacks the ‘universal experience’
Heartbreak Hotel draws on the wisdom of Céline Dion, Prince and Elvis, as well as a rich repository of literature about grief and recovery...
Love’s Labour’s Lost / Much Ado About Nothing review – breezy double bill brings out the best in both
Elegantly stitching the plays into two parts of the same continuing story, Tom Littler’s sunny al fresco productions play every possible tragicomic note...
Love You Long Time (Already) review – decades of dreams and a tour of the afterlife
Mixing naturalism and fantasy, Katie Đỗ’s debut is conceptually inventive but flawed by over-short scenes and scant emotive appeal...
Physical Education review – boisterous, cliche-busting lesson on teen masculinity
School locker room banter has a sinister edge in Jonathan Houlston’s shrewd debut, which pairs the toxic tropes of Adolescence with the group dynamics of Laura …
Transformations of contemporary performing arts: synergistic trends in choreography, dance, ballet, and theater
Contemporary performing arts are undergoing profound transformations driven by interdisciplinarity, digitalization, audience participation, and the increasing c…
Rocío Molina: Calentamiento review – an electrifying blast of punky flamenco
Molina says she wants a show that never finishes – this one is endlessly thrilling and surprising...
Warriors come out to Broadway with Lin-Manuel Miranda musical
Miranda and Eisa Davis’s concept album based on the 1979 film is to be realised for the stage, co-directed by Jenny Koons and Hamilton’s Andy Blankenbuehler...
I’ve seen Chekhov’s Cherry Orchard 20 times – and it blossoms when tended by the British | Michael Billington
Helen Hunt and Kristin Scott Thomas are leading revivals of the Russian classic whose blend of comedy and tragedy is baked into our own dramatic heritage...
The Misanthrope review – Sandra Oh stars in reworked classic that simpers in its satire and woos in its drama
National Theatre, LondonHeroic but imperfect modern-day version of the 17th-century classic is stuffed full of debates about how we might live differently...
Toe-to-toe boxers, a moving maze and comedy flamenco: Edinburgh festival 2026’s hottest dance and circus
This year brings world-renowned choreographers, ballet cabaret and fluffy clowns for toddlers...
Ganesh Versus the Third Reich review – stunning, provocative work claps back to a new world of fascism
The Ibsen and Gold Lion-winning company has brought back their most audacious play. The timing couldn’t be better – or more terrifying...
Cry/Laugh review – did you hear the one about the town crier and the jester?
Nay Dhanak’s clownish tale follows an odd couple struggling to live up to their roles passing news from royal power to the public...