Five best London shows

Romersholm Almeida

In Ibsen's rarely performed transitional play, the psychoanalytic and the political are arrestingly intertwined. Anthony Page's production is lucid and compelling, and Helen McCrory gives a brilliant central performance. To 5 Jul

Major Barbara NT: Olivier

Nicholas Hytner's incisive revival revels in the argumentative energy of George Bernard Shaw's satirical drama. To 3 Jul

That Face Duke of York's

Polly Stenham's dissection of a dysfunctional upper-middle-class family achieves a rare balance of raw emotion and knowing black comedy. To 5 Jul

Brief Encounter Cineworld Haymarket

Kneehigh's imaginative, mixed-media adaptation of David Lean's classic movie offers an artful straddling of stage and screen. To 19 Oct

Into the Hoods Novello Theatre

The dancers flow together in faithful alliance in Kate Prince's ambitious hip-hop musical. To 30 Aug

...and around the country

Blackbird Theatre Royal, Glasgow

David Harrower's taut, Olivier-award-winning two-hander is given a superb revival. Robert Daws and Dawn Steele star. Mon to 14 Jun

Funny Girl Minerva Theatre, Chichester

Angus Jackson's intelligent and sensitive production stars Samantha Spiro as the singer who forces her way to the top but drives her husband away. To 14 Jun

Quartermaine's Terms Theatre Royal, Bath

Catch Nathaniel Parker in the title role of Simon Gray's witty play, set in the staff room of a Cambridge school, before it transfers to the West End. Mon to 14 Jun

Tartuffe Rose Theatre, Kingston

A zesty production, directed by Gemma Bodinetz, of the Merseyside poet Roger McGough's rewrite of Molire's comic masterpiece. To 14 Jun

The Taming of the Shrew Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon

Green Wing's Michelle Gomez lets loose her considerable comic talents on Shakespeare's spikiest female. To 25 Sept

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