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An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Evening Standard rating
Reader rating
Dir: Marianne Elliott, Tom Morris.
Cast: James Barriscale, Finn Caldwell, Paul Chequer, Tim van Eyken, Thomas Goodridge, Stephen Harper, Gareth Kennerley, Craig Leo, Tim Kewis, Tommy Luther, Mervyn Millar, Emily Mytton, Toby Olie, Howard Ward, Alan Williams, Kit Harington, Patrick O'Kane, Roger Wilson
Description: The National Theatre's staging of Michael Morpurgo's novel, adapted by Nick Stafford and directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris.
Times: Mon, Wed-Sat 7.30pm, Tue 7pm, mats Thu, Sat 2.30pm (extra mats Dec 23, 2.30pm, Dec 29, 2pm, no eve perf Dec 24, 31, no perf Dec 25), booking to Oct 23 2010
Price: £15-£49.50, child/concs £15-£39.50 (Mon-Thu), premium seats £80
Trains: Tube/BR: Waterloo 
Phone: 0207452 3000
Website: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=1541
Keeping it real: the puppets were convincing even for children more used to computer animation
How do you get the MySpace generation excited by the theatre? Critics are calling War Horse - based on the novel by former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo and aimed at the over-12s - one of the most enjoyable nights of their lives. On Tuesday, the beautifully rendered production, a collaboration between set designer Rae Smith and the South African puppet company, Handspring, won Best Design at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
But it's all very well pleasing adults. Does it actually pass the teen test? My companion for the evening, Gemma Hodges, 13, from Walthamstow, had only been to the theatre once before.
She couldn't understand why we weren't going to see real horses on stage. I found myself getting absurdly nervous, babbling on about the directing credentials of Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris. Gemma smiled politely and had to remind me she's not actually old enough for a white wine yet.
As the curtain rose, she didn't look too impressed by the puppets - the horses looked awkward, the duck on wheels, frankly childish. In a world of computer-generated perfection, why would she want to watch something hand-made?
But over the two and a half hours, something miraculous happened. She fell in love. "It's wicked!" she told me in the interval. "I started to feel as if the horses were real and I felt sorry for them."
Act II reduced us both to tears. Gemma came out wanting to know everything about life for the soldiers in the trenches. "It seemed more real than in a film," she explained.
All around us in the foyer, teens were buzzing and screaming. It was more like a rock concert than a middle-class family outing. "Is it always like this afterwards?" I asked the staff in the bookshop. "Always," they groaned. "But don't knock it."
• Some £10 seats are available from the box office, in person, on the day of performance from 9.30am (020 7452 3000).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
