Nick Curtis

ABOUT

Nick Curtis is The Standard’s chief theatre critic, co-host of the Standard Theatre Podcast, a feature writer and an award winning interviewer. Although he has written predominantly for the Standard for three decades his work has also appeared in most major English newspapers and magazines from Radio Times to Tatler to GQ.... MORE

ABOUT
VIEW

Nick Curtis is The Standard’s chief theatre critic, co-host of the Standard Theatre Podcast, a feature writer and an award winning interviewer. Although he has written predominantly for the Standard for three decades his work has also appeared in most major English newspapers and magazines from Radio Times to Tatler to GQ.

Theatre

Ghosts at the Lyric Hammersmith review: horribly funny

Victoria Smurfit and Callum Scott Howells star in this scorching update to Henrik Ibsen’s play

17 Apr 2025
Gabby Wong (Lan Ping, Jiang Qing)
Theatre

Shanghai Dolls at the Kiln Theatre review: undeniably impressive

Two women across six decades of upheaval are covered in this astonishing true story of Mao Zedong’s revolution

11 Apr 2025
Midnight Cowboy
Theatre

Midnight Cowboy at Southwark Playhouse: two-dimensional and charmless

This stage version of the iconic film and book doesn’t pull off the transition into a musical

10 Apr 2025
Theatre

Manhunt at the Royal Court review: a terrifying lead performance

Manhunt seems to hedge its bets but has a terrifying lead performance by Samuel Edward-Cook as Moat

9 Apr 2025
Theatre

Apex Predator at Hampstead Theatre review: Sophie Melville is magnetic

Bloodsuckers, societal breakdown and psychological horror all feature in this comic-gothic drama

2 Apr 2025
Anoushka Lucas and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù on stage in Rhinoceros
Theatre

Rhinoceros at Almeida Theatre review: will delight the willing

Yes the house lights remain up and the play is absurd, but the cast has a special alchemy and the practical effects are effective

2 Apr 2025
Travel

This luxury catamaran is the perfect way to see the Seychelles

Think the Seychelles is all white beaches and blue seas? Think again, says Nick Curtis, as he boards a luxury cruise ship to explore its lush coves and rich sea life up close

30 Mar 2025
Spencer Novich and Emma Phillips
Theatre

Sabrage review: 'an onslaught of flexing, frotting and twerking'

Sabrage has landed in King’s Cross with some dazzling of circus and burlesque routines but audience participation demands too

27 Mar 2025
Theatre

Women of Llanrumney at Stratford East: bold, horrific and assured

Azuka Oforka’s debut play marks her as one to watch

26 Mar 2025
Theatre

Wilko at Southwark Playhouse: 'remarkably dull and utterly leaden

All potential for excitement is squandered in Jonathan Maitland’s exceptionally laborious retelling

25 Mar 2025
Theatre

Playhouse Creatures at Orange Tree Theatre review: bracing, heady fun

Two hours in the company of London’s first professional actresses serves up wit, warmth and a decent amount of hamminess

24 Mar 2025
Theatre

Retrograde at the Apollo Theatre review: a wickedly funny must-see

Ivanno Jeremiah reprises his riveting performance as Sidney Poitier in this must-see thriller

20 Mar 2025
Tane Siah (Bukayo Saka) and Gwilym Lee (Gareth Southgate) in Dear England (2025) at the National Theatre (c) Marc Brenner 6080
Theatre

Dear England at the National: Gareth Southgate's kind revolution

This is a team effort, which captures the communal joy and heartache of sport, and now boasts a proper ending

19 Mar 2025
Theatre

Dracula, a Comedy of Terrors review: bloodless show lacks bite

Despite a talented cast, this Dracula spoof entirely misses the jugular

18 Mar 2025
Theatre

Clueless the Musical at Trafalgar Theatre: actually, like, kinda fun

In the ranks of musical adaptations of cult movies, this is almost as good as Legally Blonde, and it’s what Mean Girls should have been

14 Mar 2025
Theatre

Cry-Baby the Musical at the Arcola Theatre review: gloriously trashy

This bouncy musical adaptation boasts a bouncy score, brisk staging and (most importantly) a happy ending

13 Mar 2025
Theatre

Farewell Mister Haffmann at Park Theatre: brutal, depressing, absurd

This stilted play dodges potentially interesting subjects in favour of lumpen dialogue and endless Brest/breast jokes

11 Mar 2025
Gwilym Lee
Theatre

'My teeth pinged out': Gwilym Lee on playing Gareth Southgate on stage

Bohemian Rhapsody and SAS Rogue Heroes star Gwilym Lee talks to us about becoming Gareth Southgate as Dear England hits the National Theatre

10 Mar 2025
Theatre

Killed with one blow: the true story behind Punch at the Young Vic

James Graham’s Punch has arrived at the Young Vic having already made waves for its depiction of young male violence and restorative justice

4 Mar 2025
Theatre

The Last Laugh at the Noel Coward Theatre review: no laughs to be had

Impressive impersonations of Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Monkhouse are undercut by cheap lines

27 Feb 2025
Theatre

A Knock on the Roof: raw monologue on life under bombardment in Gaza

Khawla Ibraheem asks how you would react to a five-minute warning of impending extinction

27 Feb 2025