Theatre to watch in London and beyond

FT critics review the latest and best shows in the West End, across the capital and the UK
Tamburlaine, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon — iambic verse and buckets of blood

There’s stylised violence, but Michael Boyd’s staging focuses on the high-flown rhetoric of Marlowe’s drama

The Prisoner, Edinburgh Festival — Peter Brook’s drama is slow-moving and elliptical

The great director’s piece looks dated in the company of new and exciting works

The Beggar’s Opera, Edinburgh Festival — awkward mockney musical update of Gay’s opera

Robert Carsen peppers his version with Brexit and drug references but the satire is as thin as the cardboard sets

Emilia, Shakespeare’s Globe, London — comedy amid the homilies

A newly commissioned piece set in Shakespeare’s era is more concerned with present-day pieties

Ubu Karaoke, Asylum, Cornwall, UK — joyous and immensely skilful

Alfred Jarry’s groundbreaking play is ingeniously remade as a drama-cum-singalong in this outdoor setting

The Merry Wives of Windsor, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon — risky, but it all pays off

Fiona Laird’s production introduces new elements that chime deliciously with the spirit of Shakespeare’s play

More from this Series

Othello, Shakespeare’s Globe, London — Mark Rylance and André Holland in a production for a divided world

A resentful Iago preys on an insecure Othello in Claire van Kampen’s study of of thwarted masculinity

Home, I’m Darling, National Theatre, London — a funny, ingenious new play

Beneath the surface humour of Laura Wade’s drama, there are serious concerns about nostalgia and perfection

King Lear, Duke of York’s, London — Ian McKellen is humane and heartbreaking

A gripping staging of Shakespeare’s tragedy, crowned by a superb central performance

Spamilton, Menier Chocolate Factory, London — a mischievous, exuberant spoof

A genial, enjoyable show, performed with dazzling versatility by a terrific cast

The Meeting, Chichester Festival Theatre (Minerva), West Sussex, UK — subtle, moving

Charlotte Jones’s new drama depicts a Quaker community in turmoil

Pity, Royal Court Theatre, London — ridiculous, insane, resonant

Rory Mullarkey’s new drama depicts chaos through uncertainty and colliding genres

Allelujah!, London — Alan Bennett wrings humour and rage from old age

A small Yorkshire hospital is the setting for a drama that scrutinises the state of the NHS — and of the nation

A Monster Calls, Old Vic, London — exceptionally moving

An inventive and powerful adaptation of Patrick Ness’s book for children

The Jungle, Playhouse Theatre, London — immersive, seething

This drama about the migrant camp is designed for maximum impact

The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Noël Coward Theatre — Aidan Turner in a gory rural maelstrom

The Poldark star revels in the insanity of Martin McDonagh’s darkly funny Troubles-set play

The King and I, Palladium, London — blazingly beautiful

Bartlett Sher’s production, first seen on Broadway, is a winning blend of lavishness and nuance

Miss Littlewood, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon — a tale of two Stratfords

This Joan Littlewood bio-musical is informative, but doesn’t do justice to her groundbreaking work

Imperium, Gielgud Theatre, London — like The West Wing with togas

The RSC’s staging of Robert Harris’s novels rolls out with the pace and grip of a political box-set

Genesis Inc, Hampstead Theatre, London — smart and funny, but . . .

Jemma Kennedy’s play has many entertaining strands which don’t quite tie together

Fun Home, Young Vic, London — a dazzling musical

Tragedy and mischief combine in this story of a family and their troubled father

The Winter’s Tale, Shakespeare’s Globe — star turns but no real spark

Keen is first-rate as Leontes and is matched by the underrated Sirine Saba as Paulina

One for Sorrow, Royal Court Theatre, London — a pressure-cooker drama

Cordelia Lynn’s play challenges cleverly challenges a range of liberal assumptions

Shebeen, Theatre Royal, Stratford East, London — fear and resentment

Mufaro Makubika’s play powerfully depicts the uncertainty experienced by Windrush-era immigrants

A slick and smart Kiss Me, Kate at the Coliseum, London

English National Opera brightens up its summer with this shrewd revival of the musical

An Octoroon at the National Theatre plays fast and loose with race and representation

Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins’s play gleefully uses blackface and whiteface to dissect theatre’s take on identity

Notes From the Field, Royal Court Theatre, London — a tour de force

Anna Deavere Smith’s solo piece is a coruscating indictment of the US’s school-to-prison pipeline

Finishing the Picture, Finborough Theatre, London — Miller, Marilyn and a foundering marriage

Arthur Miller’s last play reflects on his disintegrating relationship with Monroe

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Donmar Warehouse, London — admirable, but not so likeable

A production that returns to its source material in Muriel Spark’s 1960 novel

Machinal, Almeida Theatre, London — formal brilliance

A stylish staging of Sophie Treadwell’s groundbreaking 1928 play

Sancho: An Act of Remembrance, London — witty and timely

Paterson Joseph’s one-man show portrays the eventful life of an 18th-century black British man

Leave Taking, Bush Theatre, London — still sadly relevant

Winsome Pinnock’s 1980s play about immigration and Englishness continues to resonate

The Two Noble Kinsmen, Shakespeare’s Globe, London — witty and ebullient

This rarely performed tragicomedy features atmospheric music and riotous dancing

Translations, National Theatre (Olivier), London — a magnificent piece of work

Brian Friel’s play is a masterpiece, though its delicacies are not well suited to this theatre

Consent, Harold Pinter Theatre, London — a clever, intricate play

Nina Raine’s well-timed drama explores rape, legality and morality

The Grönholm Method, Menier Chocolate Factory, London — a portrait of corporate brutality

Candidates for a senior post are pitted against each other in Jordi Galceran’s play

As You Like It/Hamlet, Shakespeare’s Globe, London — an open, egalitarian theatre

New artistic director Michelle Terry’s approach brings gains and losses to these two plays

Red, Wyndham’s Theatre, London — brilliantly performed

Alfred Molina is outstanding as Mark Rothko in this magnificently staged drama about the artist