The Lorax, The Old Vic ****

The issue of global warming is addressed in David Greig's adaptation of Dr Seuss's famous story. The show tells the story of the Once-ler and how his obsession with making money destroys the Lorax's paradise. Through puppetry, the Lorax is brought to life with exceptional skill which always astonishes me.  From the Lion King to Avenue Q and now to this, how the skill of the puppeteers manage to give this inanimate object a life and personality of it's own is unimaginable. The story occasionally can feel the wrong side of preachy but this rarely happens and is a laugh right the way through. From jokes about the rhyming, which never gets tiresome, to music from Charlie Fink which is fun and jaunty, it's a brilliant family show. Rob Howell's set is colourful and captures your imagination with wonderful quirks like the trees and Once-ler tower. Simon Paisley- Day is a great Once-ler, emboying the problem of capitalism in a fun and jovial, turning sinister Once-ley whilst Simon Lipkin provides the Lorax with an animated and characterful voice which is a delight to watch. It's hard not to fall in love with a show so excellently crafted as this one.

The Hairy Ape, The Old Vic ****

In the process of reverting the Old Vic from it's previous in the round space to the current proscenium arch theatre, someone seems to have destroyed the theatre. Where the lighting rig used to be, a horrible chandelier attempts to mask the cracks in the ceiling and the paint on the walls are peeling. The money spent on the unnecessary refurbished front of house should have been spent making this space habitable for an audience. Luckily, the production within it is far greater than the space inwhich it is being performed. Eugene O'Neill's masterpiece about the American class struggle and the need to belong is both touching and enraging in a good way. In what could easily be a counter-piece to the Great Gatsby, O'Neill explores the concept of self- fulfilling prophecy which is extremely prevalent in a poignant and a perfectly produced final scene. Richard Jones has staged this drama in a surrealist world, with a garish set and lighting design from Stewart Laing and Mimi Jordan Sherin that creates an intense and sweat-inducing atmosphere whilst the clever use of choreography from Aletta Collins effectively portrays the ritual beating down of the working classes represented in Yank which becomes more and more painful to watch. Bertie Carvel is a dominating and sad Yank whose need to belong in a world that makes no sense is heartbreaking. It is a masterful and award-worthy performance which captures the pain of words and a bruised masculine ego perfectly. An ensemble cast supports him well, especially the actor that appears in the final scene who creates a character that mirrors Carvel superbly. This is the Old Vic back to creating truly great theatre with yet another fantastic Richard Jones production.

Future Conditional, The Old Vic **

Future Conditional is not a good play. In trying to capture all the elements of the education system, Tamsin Oglesby creates a play that almost takes the form of a sketch show that happens to contain a debate about the state of British education. Unfortunately, the form the drama takes is not suited to the message the playwright wants to get across. However, the biggest problem with the play itself is the lack of children in it. With the exception of Alia, no students are characters in the play until the last scene which is nonsensical for a play about schools. It is admirable for the Vic to recruit a cast of fresh faces, with Nikki Patel making her stage debut. Her Alia is a wonderfully judged part that doesn't exploit her character's background for sympathy but instead is played straight which helps her win hearts through her logic rather than her situation. The rest of the young cast are equally brilliant however, in the mothers in playground scenes, Natalie Klamar's Suzy, who seems to have the view that the playwright wants us to root for, is entirely unsympathetic meaning that I really couldn't care for any of their imaginary children as all of the mothers were the most appalling people other than perhaps Amy Dawson's Kaye who is a victim of society rather than playing an active role in the continuation of the vicious secondary school game. I recognised their stereotypes in life, as I did in Rob Brydon's inspirational teacher yet he is no Hector not is he anything as inspirational as many of the teachers I have at my school. However this play isn't The History Boys and Brydon's performance is still excellent with his dulcet and lyrical tones providing a refreshing change of pace. He needed a prompt once which can be forgiven this early into previews and is great to see on the stage. Joshua McGuire gives the best performance of the evening, managing to make the posh Eton boy at the committee meeting seem almost sensible at sometimes and is one of the finest young talents I have seen. Rob Howell's attempt to evoke the school playground with his design is poor and makes this beautiful space look awful. The cast fail to recover a bad play, leading for Matthew Warchus' reign to make a rocky start.

High Society, The Old Vic **

The Old Vic has been through a whole series of hits under Kevin Spacey's last year as artistic director. The Crucible, Electra and Clarence Darrow have all been first rate productions. Therefore, it is a shame that Spacey's last production doesn't quite live up to the quality of the brilliance that has graced the transformed space in the past year. To be fair, it is a perfectly acceptable way to spend the afternoon. This story of a wedding that goes wrong provides a pleasant family outing. I took my gran to see it and she was delighted with it. As well as this, performances are very good. Kate Fleetwood is always a joy to watch and Jamie Parker is surprisingly impressive in the move from a fantastic Henry V to an American musical role. I can't fault the performances yet I felt uninspired by them. The extravagance of the piece is the thing that needs to be shown off and, by using the 'in the round' space, loses a lot of the excuses to exploit the aesthetics of the setting. The few 'gimmicks' they use (for example the lake or pianos) seem slightly behind the times. The renditions of the famous songs are instantly forgettable and the direction from Friedman gives the production a lack of substance or originality. This production belongs on the West End and not at the Vic. The only word to describe this production is 'inoffensive'.

Clarence Darrow, The Old Vic *****

When my brother learned that I was going to a one man show about the law, he exclaimed "That's BORING!" Little does he know that a ticket to Clarence Darrow is one of the most coveted tickets in theatreland. Kevin Spacey reprises his role as a lawyer with morals after last years sold out run at the vic. He breathes life into a play which. If not performed by anyone as talented as Spacey, this play could just turn into a series of anecdotes but his charisma keeps you transfixed on his every action. From case to case, you are submerged in every word this man utters. And the message portrayed in this play, written in 1974, is just as relevant today, especially in the case in which he advocates Darwinism being taught in schools. There is a clear link between this speech and the message for Fundamentalist groups such as IS in current day society. Director Thea Sharrock has done a superb job in making sure Spacey is not the only character in the play. The audience play as large a part due to Sharrock's directing of Spacey to treat the audience as the jury and give them an active role in order for the play not to stagnate. Spacey's deviation from the script at the spontaneous applauses at the remarkable speeches show his wit and, from my short experience of Spacey's Vic, you can see how he has cultivated an institution which displays the some greatest art in London. This is a play which celebrates the lives of two men and is a wonderful example of how to do a one man show.

Tree, The Old Vic ***

When I entered the auditorium for the 11am matinee (11am!!!), the first thing I saw was the most magnificent tree. Reaching up to the auditorium, it was the only piece of set on the stage until about ten minutes prior to the performance when the two performers came onto stage with masking tape and set up the rest of the set. The play itself is quite astonishing. It lets you assume things about Kitson's and Key's characters before proving you wrong and then proving you wrong again. It is not hilariously, joke a second funny;but funny in a Radio 4 comedy drama way. Both actors are very naturalistic in their roles which are played extremely well, despite Kitson being hidden from view for the majority of the show. Overall, it is asatisfying way to spend your Saturday morning.

Electra, The Old Vic ****

Kristen Scott Thomas in Electra

It is astounding that a show like Electra is not the best show on the cut this season. With productions of Miller and Williams tearing up the West End, this production isn't quite up to the same standard. However, having said that, it's still a remarkable production of Mcguinness' translation of the tragedy by Sophocles. The set is simple but effective and the acting is some of the best around. Kristen Scott Thomas is especially good, with her despair for the death of her father coming across in a way which touches her audience, the same way as Anderson's Blanche and Armitage's Proctor does. The play has stood the test of time and is shown in an almost perfect way. In most years, this show would have an overhaul of awards but I feel that, with so many amazing productions this year, this masterpiece may be forgotten quite quickly.

The Crucible, Old Vic *****

Richard Armitage and the cast of the Crucible

From the outset, Miller's Crucible at the Old Vic was clear to be an outstanding piece of theatre. The dark atmosphere was almost tangible during the opening scene. I thought 3hrs 30mins would bore me but I was so riveted that at the end I still wanted to see more. Faber stages it perfectly with lighting which makes the disturbing events seem even more terrifying and, unlike many west end shows, I could not pick one actor who performed less than a five star performance. However, whilst Armitage's Proctor is stunning, it is the Reverand Hale (Adrian Schiller) who really affected me the most. His fall from grace reminded me of Gillian Anderson's Blanche in Streetcar. His performance in the last scene left me with a tear in my eye. Whilst I am not convinced performances in the round work, this is a near- perfect rendition of Miller's classic giving his parable on the Mcarthy era into the modern age.