★★★☆☆ If any play can claim to be the ‘national play’ Henry V must rank among the contenders for top spot. Burnished by directors according to the mood and tenor of the time, the eponymous hero will have a character to suit . . . If the direction of travel for STF is one of experimentation and innovation on these lines we can only applaud and encourage

★★★☆☆ Written early in Granville Barker’s career at the turn of the last century and only recently rediscovered amongst his papers, this is a play that feminists could happily put on the shelf marked, ‘On the side of the angels’. It explores a woman’s search for autonomy and fulfilment. Agnes Colander is an artist trying to escape ‘the loneliness of marriage’.

★★★★☆ German playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig’s play is clever on many levels. Most keenly it illustrates how easily fascism can slip under the door, seducing unwary mindsets with its nationalistic appeal, seductive old school concepts of chivalry and faux arguments about natural law, art and entitlement

★★☆☆☆ The show suffered from being under rehearsed and the actors looked uncomfortable at times, though by the time it goes on the road it will no doubt have the opportunity to tighten up and relax. What was written as a bit of a lark has some nice ideas whilst a bit more of a guiding hand is needed to harness the flashes of creative potential.