Equus TNT
19th March 2007

The psychological precepts which influenced Peter Shaffer's 1973 sensation may have been largely overturned, but this disturbing investigation into the psyche of an inarticulate teenage boy who has viciously blinded six horses is still unsettling, not least in its portrayal of the psychiatrist, Dysart, who treats him. Forsaking his Harry Potter mantle, Daniel Radcliffe lays himself quite literally bare and acquits himself more than adequately as the troubled 17-year-old whose fascination with all things equine takes an unusual form. Richard Griffiths is a subtly nuanced Dysart who questions his own profession but, more disconcertingly, envies the passion which fuelled his young patient's horrific crime. The argument may be suspect, but, as an imaginative, visually memorable and often intense drama, Thea Sharrock's well-cast revival definitely delivers.

• Gielgud, Shaftesbury Ave, W1, 0870-890 5501. Until June 9



King of Hearts TNT
19th March 2007

The names may have been changed but responsible Arthur and fast-living Richard are clearly barely disguised incarnations of William and Harry in Alistair Beaton's spirited satire. Nothing is sacred in his latest attack on the monarchy, opportunistic politicians and religious intolerance. The king (after mere months on the throne and decades waiting to get there) is in an irreversible coma, the opposition are gaining points in the opinion polls, and Arthur wants to marry a Muslim. The targets are often obvious, and minor plotlines are too speedily despatched. But this is an entertaining, if not very subtle, romp in which Roddy Maude-Roxby steals the show as a narcoleptic Archbishop of Canterbury who is more concerned with grabbing forty winks than preserving the Church of England.
• Hampstead, Eton Ave, NW3, 020-7722 9301. March 31



Lovely and Misfit TNT
19th March 2007

A wealthy young girl tracks down a forgotten poet, a neurotic mother nags her emotionally fragile teenage son, and a wealthy transvestite thinks he's found the man of his dreams in this trio of one-act plays by Tennessee Williams. Written between 1939 and 1959, they cover familiar territory with their strong autobiographical hints. There's an outsider in each of them, but the most obvious misfit appears in And Tell Sad Stories of the Deaths of Queens. In which Edward Hughes' lovelorn interior designer tries in vain to tempt a macho sailor into a life of cosy domesticity. Evocatively staged, Aussie director Anna Ledwich's well-acted production of these European premieres succeeds in shedding a little more light on the troubled thoughts of one of America's foremost playwrights.
• Trafalgar Studios 2, Whitehall, SW1, 0870-060 6632. Until March 31

LOUISE KINGSLEY