Welcome to the Play Review …
The Play Review is a podcast providing reviews of productions that I have seen in my regular theatre-going. Since May 2023 I have been joined by Jodi Rilot as the co-presenter on The Play Review. Jodi is an avid-theatre goer – and I mean very avid! – as well as a director and an actor in community theatre.
This is Jodi and me at a press night at the Old Vic.
We’d love to hear what you think, so please feel free to leave comments on any of our reviews. Many thanks.
Patrons of The Play Podcast enjoy early access to The Play Reviews, as well as help me keep both The Play Podcast and The Play Review going. For details about becoming a Patron: CLICK HERE.
Recent reviews include:
2026 So Far
2026 So Far
January & February 2026
Top Shows of 2025 and What’s Ahead in 2026
Top Shows of 2025 and What’s Ahead in 2026
January 2026
Spring 2025 Roundup
Spring 2025 Roundup
June 2025
Dealer’s Choice
by Patrick Marber
Directed by Matthew Dunster
Donmar Warehouse, London
May 2025
Playhouse Creatures
by April de Angelis
Directed by Michael Oakley
Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond upon Thames
March 2025
The Seagull
by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Duncan Macmillan
Directed by Thomas Ostermeier
Barbican Theatre, London
March 2025
Punch
by James Graham
Directed by Adam Penfold
Young Vic Theatre, London
March 2025
The Years
adapted by Eline Arbo, from the book by Annie Ernaux
Directed by Eline Arbo
Harold Pinter Theatre, London
February 2025
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Eleanor Rhode
Barbican Theatre, London
January 2025
The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Max Webster
National Theatre, London
January 2025
The Play Review – Autumn 2024 Roundup
Autumn 2024 Roundup
December 2024
Bluets
by Maggie Nelson, adapted by Margaret Perry
Directed by Katie Mitchell
Royal Court Theatre, London
June 2024
The Hills of California
by Jez Butterworth
Directed by Sam Mendes
Harold Pinter Theatre, London
April 2024
An Enemy of the People
by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Thomas Ostermeier
Directed by Thmoas Ostermeier
Duke of York’s Theatre, London
March 2024
Clyde’s
by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Lynette Linton
Donmar Warehouse Theatre, London
November 2023
Elephant
by Anoushka Lucas
Directed by Jess Edwards
Bush Theatre, London
October 2023
Pygmalion
by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Richard Jones
Old Vic Theatre, London
September 2023
God of Carnage
by Yasmina Reza
Directed by Nicholai La Barrie
Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London
September 2023
The Effect
by Lucy Prebble
Directed by Jamie Lloyd
National Theatre, London
September 2023
The Pillowman
by Martin McDonagh
Directed by Matthew Dunster
Duke of York’s Theatre, London
August 2023
Accidental Death of an Anarchist
by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, adapted by Tom Basden
Directed by Daniel Raggett
Theatre Royal Haymarket, London
August 2023
Dear England
by James Graham
Directed by Rupert Goold
National Theatre, London
August 2023
Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Rebecca Frecknall
Almeida Theatre, London
21 July 2023
The Motive and the Cue
by Jack Thorne
Directed by Sam Mendes
National Theatre, London
3 July 2023
Private Lives
by Noël Coward
Directed by Michael Longhurst
Donmar Theatre, London
18th May 2023
The Circle
by Somerset Maugham
Directed by Tom Littler
Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, Surrey
18th May 2023
Romeo and Julie
by Gary Owen
Directed by Rachel O’Riordan
National Theatre, London
11th March 2023
Medea
by Euripides; Adapted by Robinson Jeffers
Directed by Dominic Cooke
Soho Place, London
17th February 2023
Paradise Now!
by Margaret Perry
The Bush Theatre, London
24th January 2023
Arms and the Man
by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Paul Miller
Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond
6th January 2023
Othello
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Clint Dyer, with Giles Terera as Othello
National Theatre
28th December 2022
Mary
by Rona Munro
Hampstead Theatre
8th November 2022
All of Us
a new play by Francesca Martinez
National Theatre
20th September 2022
