The Independent Recommends: The Five Best Plays

The Invention of Love (Theatre Royal, Haymarket)

A witty, heartbreaking fantasia by Tom Stoppard on the twin passions of AE Housman: scholarship and an unavailable heterosexual friend. To 6 Feb

Kafka's Dick

(Piccadilly Theatre)

Spiriting Kafka to suburban England, this uproarious romp by Alan Bennett survives some peculiar casting in Peter Hall's revival. To 26 Feb

Copenhagen

(Cottesloe)

Profound and haunting meditation by Michael Frayn (right) on science, morality and the mysteries of human motivation. To 27 Jan

The Winter's Tale

(RSC, Stratford)

Amazingly rich and complex performance from Antony Sher in Gregory Doran's Romanov-style production. In rep to 4 Mar

Martin Yesterday

(Royal Exchange, Manchester)

Marianne Elliott directs this sharp new play from cult Canadian dramatist Brad "Unidentified Human Remains" Fraser. To 6 Feb

Paul Taylor