Fresh as ever, joyful, magnificent, superb!

Eva de Valk runs down the big theatre news of 2017.

A gripping production which leaves the audience with food for thought, but might be a bit too close to the bone for some.

William Shakespeare Directed by Nicholas Hytner ★★★★ Pros: One of the clearest productions of Othello I have seen. Had the whole audience on the edge of their seat for the whole 3 hours and 15 minutes. Cons: Rory Kinnear plays Iago with an accent that doesn’t sit well for some reason. Our Verdict: Shakespeare’s finest characters played by Britain’s finest actors and helmed by one of theatre’s finest directors. Courtesy of The Independent We at Everything Theatre have seen quite ...

Alan Bennett Directed by Nicholas Hytner ★★★★ Pros: A funny and enjoyable watch, plus a brilliant performance from Frances de la Tour and a great set. Cons: To its core audience, this might be provocative humour, but to me it felt quite conventional. Our Verdict: An enjoyable night out. Definitely worth seeing, but it didn’t change my life. Courtesy of Alastair Muir for The Telegraph Unlike a lot of the people in the audience of People, I am not a Bennett expert ...

William ShakespeareDirected by Nicholas Hytner★★★★ Pros: Simon Russell-Beale’s superb performance in a superbly adapted play. Cons: Hardly any, slightly dragged towards the end of the second half. Our Verdict: Top-notch stuff from the National, and definitely worth seeing despite the fact that you may never have heard of it! Courtesy of Time  These days, I don’t look at the descriptions for the National’s shows before I book my tickets; I just assume that they are all going to be worth ...

Richard BeanDirected by Nicholas Hytner★★★★★ Pros: Easily the funniest show in town, different-in-a-good-way to the original, Owain Arthur is ridiculously good, The Craze are still playing the music. Cons: None. Except for the fact that it gets out at the same time as Phantom of the Opera, forcing you to share limited pavement space with so-called ‘Phans’! Our Verdict: Still at the top of it’s game, it remains the must-see show in London. Courtesy of Alistair Muir for the Daily ...

Nicholas WrightDirected by Nicholas Hytner★★★ Pros: Interesting and light-hearted story, some good performances and a superb set design. Cons: A little silly in places, and quite hard to concentrate at first because of the accents.  Our Verdict: Not the National’s best, but still very good and worth a trip! Courtesy of Tristram Kenton for the Guardian As always, it remains our intention to see everything that the National has to offer. So as part of a mop up of shows ...

Everything Theatre's James Hodgson argues that the success of One Man, Two Guvnors is a triumph for the National Theatre, the West End and the Arts.

Richard Bean, based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni Directed by Nicholas Hytner ★★★★★ Courtesy of National Theatre Richard Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors, based on Carlo Goldoni’s Commedia dell’arte classic of The Servant of Two Masters, has been one of the most eagerly anticipated productions of the National’s current season. It reunites Nicholas Hytner with James Corden for the first time since Hytner’s outrageously successful production of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys catapulted Corden into the ...