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Arcola theatre

September 2026

  • The Governess, with bruised face and frightened expression, looks up in a dimly lit room(Opening 18-09-26)
©Tristram Kenton 09-2026

    The Turn of the Screw review – Henry James’s classic ghost story with added jump scares

    This slick production of Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s adaptation is hampered by its own cleverness

June 2026

  • Inequalities … Grace Saif (as Kala) waves a Kenyan flag, as Ella Bryant (as Jo) films on a smartphone in A Fine Idea.

    A Fine Idea review – international development drama laden with number-crunching

    Despite some strong satire, there is too much telling and not enough showing in Christine Bacon’s play exploring global inequality

May 2026

  • Four characters sit at a pod of four adjoined desks doing work

    Quartet in Autumn review – Samantha Harvey gives new life to Barbara Pym tale of imminent retirement

  • Jack Shepherd and Tom Silburn sit at a table with beer glasses, one looking up with alarm in Shepherd’s Chasing the Moment at the Arcola theatre, London in 2007, directed by Mehmet Ergen.

    The play that changed my life
    The play that changed my life: Jack Shepherd’s dazzling jazz drama was somethin’ else

April 2026

  • Eva Feiler as Louise sits writing at a desk, while Preston Nyman as Jack sits at another, in the background, reading the letter she composes.

    Dear Jack, Dear Louise review – wartime courtship by letter delivers intimate love story

    Writer Ken Ludwig’s heartfelt and funny romcom draws the audience into every step of Jack and Louise’s developing affection, their longing deepened by physical separation

March 2026

  • Clara Read and Jade Williams in Taken by Cat Goscovitch from Ukraine Unbroken, conceived and directed by Nicolas Kent for Arcola theatre.

    Ukraine Unbroken review – five searing dramas about the history and horror of Russia’s invasion

    Nicolas Kent directs a cycle of short plays by British and Ukrainian writers giving devastating vignettes from the conflict

January 2026

  • Sarah Agha (Renad) in A Grain of Sand, written and directed by Elias Matar @ Arcola. 
(Opening 23-01-2026)
©Tristram Kenton 01-26
tristram@tristramkenton.com

    A Grain of Sand review – a child’s eye view of the horror in Gaza

  • The heroes are the diplomats here … Stephen Cavanagh (Brett), Beth Burrows (Catherine) and Richard Lynson (Clive) in Safe Haven at Arcola theatre, London.

    Safe Haven review – Kurds left on the sidelines of diplomat-driven drama

December 2025

  • Lucy Farrett as Sherlock Holmes in Ms Holmes & Ms Watson – Apt 2B at Arcola theatre, London.

    Ms Holmes and Ms Watson – Apt 2B review: mysterious case of the joke-cracking Sherlock

    This riff on Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories has flashes of promise but its comedy and purpose never land

November 2025

  • Adam Goodbody (left) and John Chisham in Petty Men.

    Petty Men review – understudies plot their own version of Julius Caesar

    Hanging around backstage while their chances to play Brutus and Cassius fade, two unnamed actors start to act out their own drama

October 2025

  • Fanta Barrie and Ross O’Donnellan in This Little Earth,

    This Little Earth review – audacious romantic odyssey untethered by a talking penguin

  • Macabre humour … Meghan Tyler, left, and Rachael Rooney in Crocodile Fever.

    Crocodile Fever review – sisters’ wild revenge has a taste for chaos

June 2025

  • 54.60 Africa

    54.60 Africa review – a freewheeling, weeklong tour around the continent

  • A forensic charge sheet in dramatic form … Olga Safronova (Olga/Echo), Tom Godwin (The Man from Stoyanka) and Simeon Kylsyi (Sam) in The Reckoning.

    The Reckoning review – shattering stories of invasion in Ukraine

March 2025

  • Cry-Baby, The Musical, Arcola Theatre, 2025. The photography credit is Charlie Flint.

    Cry-Baby, the Musical review – John Waters’ teen rebels will have you in tears of joy

  • Ben Simpson (Dave) and Alex Mugnaioni (Martin) in Dear Martin at the Arcola theatre, London.

    Dear Martin review – darkly comic prison pen-pal drama lacks bite

January 2025

  • Caroline Gruber and Zoe Goriely in As Long As We Are Breathing.

    As Long As We Are Breathing review – unblocking the horrors of the Holocaust

  • Immensely energetic … Georgie Henley in Tarantula at the Arcola theatre, London.

    Tarantula review – extraordinary portrayal of the aftermath of senseless violence

December 2024

  • A labour of love … Jack Baldwin and Laurence Pears in Hold on to Your Butts at the Arcola theatre, London.

    Hold on to Your Butts review – Jurassic Park redone with DIY dinos

    This recreation of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 classic is frenetic fun, with the dinosaurs brought to life using physical comedy – and traffic cones

November 2024

  • David Head in Distant Memories of the Near Future at the Arcola theatre, London.

    Distant Memories of the Near Future review – dating dystopia makes you glad to be alive now

    Four interwoven stories set in 2043 explore love, connection and AI. The ideas are beautifully written but dramatically truncated
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