Seven Days on Stage (Oct 13 - Oct 19)

Christmas may be two months away, but the English National Ballet's Snow Queen is already on the road. Judith Mackrell found the production, which stars Daria Klimentova (above) in the title role, 'much more than a festive bauble'. Photograph: Tristram Kenton

After success in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Christian Slater is back in the West End. This time the Hollywood star is appearing in a drama about Tinseltown based on a cult movie. Michael Billington enjoyed Slater's 'high-voltage' performance as a studio executive in Swimming With Sharks. Photograph: Tristram Kenton

However, Billington was stingy with the stars when it came to reviewing the remixed version of Rent. He dished out one and dubbed it 'Rent Reduced'. This new version of Jonathan Larson's musical is, apparently, 'a grisly, synthetic, pseudo pop concert with no particular roots or identity'. Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Brian Logan spent a night at the Barbican's Pit in the company of the Kransky Sisters. These three musical spinsters 'recreate tunes they have heard on the radio while trying to keep dysfunctional childhood memories and seething sexual repression at bay'. Imagine the Addams Family crossed with Lonnie Donegan ... Photograph: Natasha Shaw

Choreographer Amanda Miller presented her version of the classic 19th-century ballet Giselle at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Lyndsey Winship felt Miller had lost direction: 'There's no poise and finish to the dancing, so the ballet has no zing.' Photograph: Tina Ruisinger

At London's Apollo, Glengarry Glen Ross weathered a last-minute cast change (Shameless star Anthony Flanagan left the production) and emerged with stellar reviews. David Mamet's production 'has scarcely dated in our frenziedly consumerist society,' wrote Billington. Jonathan Pryce and Aidan Gillen's performances were well received. Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Shen Wei Dance Arts presented their new work, Connect Transfer, at the Barbican this week. Judith Mackrell identified bizarre contradictions in the show: 'The more paint-spattered and chaotic the stage becomes, the tidier and the more anal the choreography itself appears.' Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Playwrights are increasingly tackling the subject of climate change these days. Devised theatre company Filter explore a range of related potical and environmental issues in Water, starring Ferdy Roberts. It's 'a lot to pack into 90 minutes,' wrote Michael Billington. 'But the strands are bound together by firm ideas.' Photograph: Tristram Kenton