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

Energetic high-gloss revival of Rodney Ackland’s over-rated play exposes many of its faults

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

A powerful monologue about a knife crime is powerfully restaged in a rundown South London shop

James Graham does it again: his account of the “coughing major” scandal is great entertainment

Collection of four monologues is free-thinkingly transgressive, politically incorrect and thoroughly delightful

Text of the day: “I tried to change the world, I failed, but I will transform Paddington station.”

Powerful drama about asylum-seekers is humanistic and well imagined, but it lacks a strong enough ending

Ella Hickson’s new play about power, gender inequality and fiction is thrillingly meta-theatrical

New sci-fi story about suburban perfection and robotics lacks the necessary human touch

New drama about a transgender lesbian is not only hugely enjoyable, but also thought-provoking

Joe DiPietro’s cult hit is enjoyable enough, but rather predictable in both form and content

Text of the day: “Imagine a city of people who were once like us.”

Classic of 1990s in-yer-face theatre revived in an energetic if messy immersive production

New Martin McDonagh play about 1960s Britain stars Reece Shearsmith and David Morrissey, but lacks heart and sense

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

Magnificent futuristic fantasy is a political fable that examines both the monarchy and the media

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

Resonant indictment of war from leading French-language playwright testifies to both hope and terror

One-woman debut short about a mixed-race teen finding her voice gets a place in my heart

Quote of the day: “I, like my characters, am a twentysomething and have grown up in a world of plenty, unscathed by war or recession, a world defined by consumerist boom.”

Text of the day: “One of the book’s main objectives is to confront the powerful mood of conformism that afflicts contemporary cultural and intellectual life.”

In this inspiring and exhilarating new play Yorkshire hikers reclaim the English countryside — and their identities

Crimp and Mitchell’s latest venture into the world of contemporary opera is a dazzling triumph of sound and words

Gary Owen’s latest monologue drama deals with fathers and sons — and the violence of masculinity

Dennis Kelly’s remarkable new monologue is a hilarious, terrifying — and terrific — experience

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

Brilliant new thriller about Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea is both epic and moving

The classic TV serial takes to the stage like a politician to a pay rise, but lags a bit behind reality

One from the archives: the turbulent life and times of a Critic adrift on the choppy waters of British New Writing

Text of the day: “If it wasn’t for people like us, this place would still be a shithole.”

David Hare’s charming new play is a very English account of a very English institution — Glyndebourne

Text of the day: “I don’t think an authentic voice needs to be learned because we all have one, however buried or bizarre.”

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

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

Trilogy of shorts about women in the Arab Spring is celebratory, but too long and too depressing