balletGiselle review: Marianela wins hearts with her meltingly beautiful movement ★★★★This traditional production of the great romantic ballet offers a pleasing, if unsurprising, performance, with several standout debutsBy Joy Sable2 min read
TheatreDracula review: Cynthia mesmerises but the show lacks real bite ★★★★The performer’s acting gifts are on full display in this spectacular adaptation of the gothic novel, but the evening never achieves the tension generated by many other West End dabblings in the supernaturalBy John Nathan2 min read
Theatre Here There Are Blueberries review: ‘What makes a Nazi a Nazi?’ ★★★★★This forensic Pultizer-finalist docu-play settles the question of what allows a person to perpetrate atrocity while enjoying the normal pleasures of lifeBy John Nathan2 min read
TheatreWhat Hitler’s henchmen and women did in their time offJohn Nathan meets a writer whose Pulitzer-finalist play, inspired by a Nazi photograph album, is making its UK debutBy John Nathan6 min read
theatreInside the big Jewish theatre fightbackAmid the hurtful cancellations and quiet blockings, a defiant Anglo-Jewry is springing up with shows that celebrate Jewish identity and concernsBy Elisa Bray8 min read
Theatre Arcadia review: ‘gardens, maths and heart in Stoppard’s masterpiece’ ★★★★This play is proof that the late playwright can make you feel as much as thinkBy John Nathan1 min read
TheatreGuess How Much I Love You?: ‘the acting elevates the writing’ ★★★The performances in this portrait of a pregnancy in crisis are marvellous. But whether the play reveals anything about love is questionableBy John Nathan1 min read
TheatreChallah, humour, the Holocaust and meJohn Nathan meets a writer-performer whose latest show is inspired by her encounters with Leonard Bernstein, Leonard Cohen – and being the daughter of a Shoah survivorBy John Nathan4 min read
TheatreWoman in Mind review: Sheridan Smith sparkles in Alan Ayckbourn’s dark comedy ★★★★★The actor will surely be in line for an umpteenth Olivier nomination for her quicksilver performance of Susan and her disintegrating mindBy John Nathan1 min read
TheatreInto The Woods review: Goyishe Brothers Grimm gloriously reinvented by a Jewish creative team ★★★★★Jordan Fein’s masterpiece interpretation of this European fable draws from real life to subvert the idea of happily every afterBy John Nathan2 min read
TheatreChristmas Day review: A not-quite-realised effort at Jewish catharsis ★★★Arguments over Jewish identity become super-heated in this dark comedy full of timely – although unfortunately random – elementsBy John Nathan2 min read
Theatre2025 in review: TheatreJohn Nathan chooses the best plays of the year, from a new stage adaptation of Mel Brooks’s musical The Producers to a comic revenge fantasy about the kidnap of Jeremy CorbynBy John Nathan4 min read
Dance The Red Shoes review: Trademark Bourne wit in an ultimately tragic tale ★★★★★Matthew Bourne’s ballet about a woman who must choose between love and dance is full of passion and self-awarenessBy Joy Sable1 min read
TheatreIt is called Christmas Day but it is about being JewishNigel Lindsay on why he’s pleased to play a Jew on the London stage amid soaring antisemitismBy John Nathan5 min read
TheatreThis version of Roald Dahl’s BFG shows that giants can be small and pathetic ★★★★Unlike The Witches in which Dahl was accused of having Jews in mind when he created the cabal of child-killers, Jewish theatregoers can relax with this adaptationBy John Nathan2 min read
jewish pantomimeOh yes they have! This panto is unashamedly Jewish – and all the funnier for it ★★★★The makers of Cinderella and the Matzo Ball deserve all the praise (naches) for conjuring up something so blissfully unapologetic at a time of Jewish erasure in the artsBy Etan Smallman2 min read
TheatreA Dracula spoof to enjoy, but no fangs for my seat ★★★Excellent music and the jokes come thick and fast. I just wish I could have seen what was happening centre stage!By John Nathan1 min read
TheatreThe Spy Who Came In From The Cold review: ‘hugely satisfying stage adaptation’★★★★There is a strong Jewish presence in this taut le Carré Cold War thriller which has more twists than a cheese stickBy John Nathan1 min read
JW3Meet the Jewish Cinderella at the heart of JW3’s Chanukah pantoCinderella is a baker in the Kosher Kingdom in this Jewish version of the classic fairy taleBy Eliana Jordan1 min read
TheatreAll My Sons review: Bryan Cranston is terrific in this new Arthur Miller revival ★★★★Ivo van Hove’s direction of the author’s 1955 hit peels back the central family’s secrets with cinematic vigourBy John Nathan1 min read
TheatreThe Hunger Games On Stage: Concept and spectacle aplenty but no heart ★★This theatrical adaptation of the trailblazing dystopian movie by Jewish director Gary Ross lacks the emotional depth of the film and book franchisesBy John Nathan1 min read
Theatre The Wanderers – review: Marriage? Be careful what you wish for ★★★★The first act of this clever play about two Brooklyn marriages is a little ponderous, but stick with it – the second act is more than worth the waitBy John Nathan2 min read
Theatre This revival of Othello should be called Iago ★★★★David Harewood is in the title role, but it is Toby Jones who steals the showBy John Nathan1 min read
