Mike Bartlett explores Englishness with enormous metaphoric zeal — and only a touch of preposterousness

Even this clear and sympathetic revival of Stoppard’s 1988 Cold War spy thriller can’t quite take off like a rocket

This time, I have time travelled with my companion Lia Ghilardi, crossing four hundred years of British theatre history.

More overviews of British new writing from the In-Yer-Face Theatre archive.

The death of David Bowie provokes the Critic to take a trip down the motorways and side alleys of memory

Explore the work of a handful of British theatre’s brightest and most exciting writing talents

Nick Stafford’s sturdy beast rides again — and retains its colt-like freshness and wild beauty

The longest-running play in world history is in good shape, despite the lackluster and mechanical cast

New play about an illicit encounter between a teen student and an older teacher is powerful and challenging

Joe Penhall makes a welcome return to the Royal Court with a cracking new family drama

All-star cast — including a gently charismatic Christian Slater — in American classic that celebrates the ideal of the deal

The fraught relationship between Thatcher and the Queen creates hilarious theatrical sparks

David Hare’s latest is set in an alternative reality that is more 2008 than 2018

Text of the day: “Look.”

West End star vehicle gets a new lease of life from Kristin Scott Thomas, but her cool performance cannot mask the piece’s flaws

Very very very feeble: Martin McDonagh’s latest is poorly written, self-plagiarizing and lacks imagination

The poet laureate’s verbatim play about Brexit sinks into journalistic and untheatrical banality

Text of the day: “Lonely people are twice as likely to go to A&E as non-lonely people.”

Censorship appears to be simple, but is actually quite complicated.

New play about the civilized face of fascism is fascinating, but also a bit flawed

Text of the day: “If the free market is indeed the moral courtroom which its admirers claim, then what a judgement is being visited on Fleet Street.”

New drama about the downfall of Margaret Thatcher is theatrically exciting and immensely enjoyable

Imaginative adaptation of Zadie Smith’s 2000 contemporary classic is let down by unnecessary music

New epic from Jerusalem playwright Jez Butterworth is a breathtaking, if heartless experience

Travel back to the 1970s for a political docu-drama that’s high on circumstantial detail, but low on drama

How do you take a story told from the point of view of a horse, turn it into a successful stage play, and then see the result messed up by Steven Spielberg?

Fun new play for children from London’s premiere adult venue is a really heartwarming seasonal hit

Text of the day: “What good’s first woman if it’s her?”

Text of the day: “So I made a decision.”

Unsuccessful West End outing for Dawn King’s intriguing and evocative 2011 dystopian chiller

Favourite stage direction: “A warehouse.”

New comedy by a debut writer about a West Indian wake is lively, full of spirits, but a bit undercooked

In the Brexit era, this site-specific revival of Agatha Christie’s 1953 courtroom drama works like a treat

Pix of the week: sneak preview of The Time Traveler’s Guide to British Theatre.

The Critic releases a howl of anguish as he goes against the will of the people

Text of the day: “My mum wasn’t always a twat.”

Trio of monologues about suicidal masculinity roars its way through the theatre and burrows deep inside your mind