Latest reviews

Julie Mehretu's Liminal Squared at White Cube, Bermondsey is a powerful exploration of the interaction between space, architecture and power. Using clean architectural plans as a base, Mehretu builds up a chaotic and dizzying aesthetic that challenges to the viewer to consider the contested space where architecture meets the community it is intended for. The result is stunning.

What happens when you put a young, French, burlesque dancer in a room with three older, repressed English people? Set against the backdrop of Cornwall, an already odd collection of characters will show their inner weirdness, in Murray Lachlan Young's exploration of sexuality, desire and poetry. At the Pleasance Theatre.

Anorak has two definitions: the first is the waterproof coat. The second is a slang term for a socially inept person with a hobby considered by most people to be boring. The character of Marc Lépine may well have been considered an anorak on the outside, but this deep exploration of his psyche is fascinating. At the Lion and Unicorn.

Dr Stockmann has discovered that the public spa – the pride and joy and economic hub of his community – is riddled with poison. He expects gratitude and praise for revealing this inconvenient truth. Instead he becomes Public Enemy, as individual greed and personal self-interest overrule any sense of community and the common good. At the Young Vic.

Teatro Entre Escombros have done it again: following on from last year's London run of oddball tragicomedy The Mole and the Worm, they return with the story of a siren, with some reference to Joyce, Greek tragedy and trumpets. It's not as polished as previous work, but the spark underneath is as original and madcap as ever. At the Last Refuge.

Championing the Portuguese answer to the blues, the world-renowned fadista Mariza made a welcome return to the Barbican. This was a thrilling concert, musically and atmospherically, by the end of which the audience were on their feet, dancing and clapping, as would happen with such music in a Portuguese taverna.

Session Two from Nico Muhly's A Scream and an Outrage weekend at the Barbican saw Muhly joined by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Trio Mediaeval, and tenor Allan Clayton. The music, by Muhly, Julia Woolfe and Terry Riley, formed a comfortable programme suggesting a sense of community.

It takes a masterful playwright and confident direction to turn a dark tale about the abuse of power into a funny and entertaining romp. The new production of The Hothouse at Trafalgar Transformed only just stops short of dunking Pinter's piece into custard and pie. The result is uncomfortably chilling, twisted and a joy to watch.

Visitors can immerse themselves in Art Deco glamour inside the beautifully restored Eltham Palace, or stroll through its glorious 1930s gardens. Upon doing so, they will discover a rich and varied history, spanning many centuries, from medieval to post war times.

Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck starts bleak and gets bleaker. Telling the tragic story of a soldier who eventually kills his partner and himself, it's a cry against the horrors of the human condition. Carrie Cracknell's production for English National Opera is magnificent, and the singers and orchestra under Edward Gardner exceptional.