End Of The Rainbow **** TNT

The legendary Judy Garland married five times, made several suicide attempts and never cracked the pill-popping habit encouraged by the film studios in her early years as a child actor.

Peter Quilter’s play (which premiered in Sydney in 2005) shows her ensconced in a luxurious hotel during a season at London’s Talk of the Town, just months before a fatal overdose in 1969.

It’s scant on biographical detail, but that hardly matters. Hilton McRae is quietly devoted as her gay pianist who instantly disapproves of her toyboy fiancé manager, and Tracie Bennett is simply sensational.

She gives what must surely be an award-winning performance as the troubled, insecure star, delivering barbed dialogue and musical numbers with unforgettable emotional power – desperate for drugs, drink and reassurance in (almost) equal measure.

Trafalgar Studios, SW1 (Tube: Charing Cross) endoftherainbow.com Until March 5 £25

Midsummer **** TNT

Outside, snow was falling, inside the heating had broken down, but David Greig’s delightful play with music lit up the stage and warmed the heart as the paths of divorce lawyer Helena and petty criminal Bob crossed in an Edinburgh bar.

They’d never have met if her married lover hadn’t stood her up.

A one-night shag turns into something potentially more rewarding as, through a series of adventures and misadventures, the two unfulfilled 35 year olds end up spending a rollercoaster weekend together encompassing a wedding, an Ikea car park, a bit of bondage, a swanky hotel and too much rain and booze. Strumming guitars, slipping out of character to address us directly, versatile Cora Bissett and Matthew Pidgeon are perfect in this beguiling yet poignant rom-com for all seasons.

Tricycle, Kilburn High Road, NW6 7JR (Tube: Kilburn) (020 7328 1000) tricycle.co.uk Until 29th January £12 - £22

Beasts and Beauties **** TNT

Long sausages of black pudding get stuck on noses, a goat craps gold and a dog joins forces with a fox in this winning selection of eight fairytales and folk stories gleaned from across Europe and wittily retold by poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

In the expert hands of Melly Still and Tim Supple, these warning tales (interspersed with folk songs) are brought to imaginative life – sometimes scary, sometimes gruesome but always engaging - as the cast swaps roles, costumes and acting styles with each new story.

Director Still maintains the magic of theatre, yet hides nothing – so, at the end of his murderous tale, Bluebeard checks with the audience that he’s removed all the colour as he rubs his beard clean with a towel. Jason Thorpe, carrying an udder-pink rubber glove, dons fake lashes and a massive tweedy skirt to become a lugubrious cow stuck on the roof when a grumbling farmer and his wife swap roles – disastrously – for a day. He’s pretty impressive, too, as an ancient canine rolling over for tummy tickles, and as an ugly troll who steals a little girl’s magic gifts, given to her by the North Wind.

Jack Tarlton makes a fearsome Beast with overgrown teeth and talons, then bravely bares almost all in a clever updating of The Emperor’s New Clothes - his modesty just preserved in a series of deftly choreographed manoeuvres. And in The Juniper Tree a little boy is decapitated by his stepmother, then minced (with every detail clearly seen in silhouette) and served up to his dad for supper.

Don’t worry if you can’t find a child to take with you – this inventive production is a seasonal treat for anyone from 8 to 80 who still has a sense of fun. Just go and enjoy.

Hampstead Theatre, Eton Avenue, NW3 3EU (020 7722 9301) Tube: Swiss Cottage hampsteadtheatre.com Until 31st December Adults £18 children £12

Bea*** TNT

Bea is just like any other young woman in her late twenties – or at least she would be if she weren’t trapped in a body that can barely move. For the last eight years she’s been confined to the same bed in the same room and she can’t kid herself that she’s going to get better.

Bea's body may have let her down, but mentally she’s as alert as ever – and she knows she’s had enough. Initially, the extent of Bea's disability isn’t apparent – we see her interacting with her mother and her new carer in the way she’d like to behave if only her body would still let her.

But playwright Mick Gordon (who has already tackled such serious subjects as religion and emotion with his On Theatre company) doesn’t shrink from portraying the full impact of her illness. And his play raises (even if it doesn’t fully explore) important issues - how far is her barrister mother (Paula Wilcox) prepared to go to help her daughter?Is quality of life necessary to go on living? And, incidentally, why is there no single word in the English language to define a bereaved parent?

Yet much of the time his play is both entertaining and very funny as Pippa Nixon’s Bea teases her Belfast care assistant (Al Weaver’s Ray who’s obviously gay but says he’s not) about his sexuality. Like all Gordon’s work, this intimate investigation into the limits of compassion and empathy is well worth a visit.

Soho Theatre, Dean Street, W1D 3NE (020 7478 0100) Tube: Tottenham Court Road sohotheatre.com Until 8th January (£12.50 - £20.00)

The Rivals *** TNT

Lovers’ tiffs, intrigue and deception run rife when the fashionable folk descend on Bath in Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s quintessentially English comedy of manners which was first performed in 1775.

Lydia Languish has had her head turned by too many romantic novels and plans to elope with the man she believes to be a lowly ensign, but who is, in reality, Captain Jack, the son of wealthy Sir Anthony Absolute who, unknown to him, has already arranged his marriage - to the very same Lydia.

Meanwhile a pugnacious Irish baronet and a cowardly country buffoon are all set to draw swords over the capricious young heiress even though she has no interest in either of them, and her cousin (Annabel Scholey’s intelligent Julia) is driven to despair by the self-indulgent insecurities of Tony Gardner’s suspicious Faulkland.

Against the constant backdrop of Simon Higlett’s simple Royal Crescent design, duels are almost fought, misunderstandings are finally sorted out and the true natures of Sheridan’s characters are exposed in all their foolishness.

Director Peter Hall has just turned 80, and the best performances come from the oldest members of the cast - Peter Bowles as an elegant, once racy Sir Anthony who always gets his way and Penelope Keith as Lydia’s guardian, Mrs Malaprop, who, sadly, may not find a husband but is a master at mangling the English language, muddling her “pineapple” with her “pinnacle” and her “alligator” with her “allegory” in this elegantly costumed, sprightly but rather uninspired revival.

Theatre Royal Haymarket, Haymarket, SW1Y 4HT (0845 481 1870) Tube: Piccadilly Circus trh.co.uk Until 26th February £17.50-£49.50

Get Santa! **** TNT

Ever wished it could be Christmas every day? You certainly won’t by the end of Anthony Neilson’s imaginative seasonal offering in which stroppy 10 year old Holly (Imogen Doel making her professional stage debut) decides to hijack Santa because, year after disappointing year, he’s ignored her Christmas wish to find her real dad.

Angry as a wasp in her stripy yellow and black jumper, she’s determined to confront him and hatches an elaborate plan which involves blocking the chimney with a sleeping bag, a crisp-covered carpet (she’ll hear the crunch when he drops through the skylight), glue on the mantelpiece and a great big bucket.

Of course, things don’t go quite as expected and she ends up with Santa’s son (Tom Godwin’s gangling Bumblehole in bright elf-green) tied to the tree with tinsel, an increasingly malevolent teddy bear with a Russian accent masquerading as her father, and a Groundhog situation in which no sooner has Christmas day ended than it starts all over again.

Though aimed at 7- 11 year olds, there’s more than enough here to entertain teens and adults too. Neilson (who also directs) and co-writer Nick Powell (who provided the songs) have added some nicely inventive touches: Holly’s stepdad is a dog (her mum turns out to have a bit of a thing for furry animals) - when he takes himself off for a walk he makes sure he’s got a plastic poop bag stuffed in his trouser pocket, and he’s decked the tree with sausages and bacon.

Grumpy Santa is on the verge of retirement, and this is surely the first time in its history that a toy teddy (with a life of its own, thanks to puppeteer Chand Martinez) has had a starring role at the Royal Court.

Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS Tube: Sloane Square (020 7565 5000) royalcourttheatre.com
Until 15th January £12-£25 (under 16’s £8 - £12.50)

The Invisible Man *** TNT

The cast certainly seems to be having a good time in this determinedly jolly but dated revival of the late Ken Hill’s 1991 spoof adaptation of H.G.Wells’ famous thriller.

There are corny jokes and innuendo, stock stereotypes (from pipe-smoking bluestocking to buxom innkeeper) and magic tricks galore, but this tale of mysterious goings on in the Sussex village of Iping is too long and the slapstick too repetitive to completely sustain interest.

Still, Ian Talbot’s musical hall style production with its intentionally rough and ready feel boasts a splendid comic performance from Jo Stone-Fewings as a silly ass Squire, Gerard Carey’s lovesick vicar is good value, too, and with glass or more of festive cheer beforehand and a helping of seasonal indulgence, this alternative to panto will doubtless pass muster.

Menier Chocolate Factory, 53 Southwark Street, SE1 1RU (020 7907 7060) Tube: London Bridge menierchocolatefactory.com Until 13th February (£33.50 & Meal Deals available £40.00)