Arifa Akbar

The timeless parable of a 16th-century horse dealer turned violent protester questions the personal cost of resistance in this awe-inspiring production from Omar Elerian

It starts and ends with a circle. Arinzé Kene stands, runs or speaks inside it. For his 16th-century horse-dealer protagonist, Michael Kohlhaas, its circularity represents a world in which all is in order.

Marking 10 years since the late comic’s death, this affectionate show blends her songs with a time-slip tale of friendship, regret and middle age

Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s revenge drama has plenty of rug-pulling twists, but stilted presentation leaves little sense of jeopardy

Connor Allen’s autobiographical show is a twister that winds in everything from gothic mystery to therapy sessions in an ambitious, rather incoherent mix

The dissolute aristocrats from 1895 remain sharply funny, and bitingly relevant, in this flamboyant new spin

Forgoing Brecht’s usual distanciation, Anna Jordan’s new translation and Michelle Terry’s lovable performance bring out the humanity of a woman doing what’s necessary to keep herself and her family alive

Alexander Zeldin’s devastating play depicts the gruelling loneliness and confusion of life in a care home

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonProspero is reimagined as a conductor in this superbly orchestrated version of Shakespeare’s tragicomedy

The power and personality of its singers and music lift this Twilight-esque story into the realms of enjoyably ridiculous