Theatre
Jack Absolute Flies Again, National Theatre review - fluffy as a cloud but hugely entertainingFriday, 15 July 2022
Can a comedy have too many jokes? That may seem an odd question, but one that applies to this latest high-octane, eager-to-please outing by Richard Bean, which flies out of the hanger at such high velocity that it’s in danger of crashing before it... Read more... |
Patriots, Almeida Theatre review - a brilliant drama from Peter Morgan about rampant Russian power gamesWednesday, 13 July 2022
To watch a Peter Morgan drama is to have a fly-on-the-wall’s perspective of modern history. Over the last two decades he has chronicled everything from David Frost’s bid to interview Richard Nixon to the disintegration in the relationship between... Read more... |
theartsdesk at the Ravenna Festival 2022 - body and soul in perfect balanceWednesday, 13 July 2022
For once, a festival theme has meaning. “Tra la carne e il cielo”, “Between flesh and heaven”, is how Pier Paolo Pasolini, the centenary of whose birth we mark this year, defined his early experience of hearing the Siciliana movement of Bach’s First... Read more... |
The Tempest, Theatre Royal, Bath review - multi-dimensional Shakespeare classic overpowered by comedySaturday, 09 July 2022
The Tempest, a rich and profound late work, is probably Shakespeare’s most complex and layered play: the combination of power politics, philosophy, magic and romance is dizzying and a challenge to any director who attempts to encompass the... Read more... |
The Dance of Death, Arcola Theatre review - hate sustains a marriage in new version of Strindberg classicFriday, 08 July 2022
Rebecca Lenkiewicz's adaptation of August Strindberg's 1900 paean to the power of loathing over loving uses the now familiar trick of dressing characters in period detail while giving them the full range of the 21st century's argot of disdain and... Read more... |
Favour, Bush Theatre review - Ambreen Razia's punchy new tug-of-love dramaMonday, 04 July 2022
Where should Leila live — Ilford or Kent? It doesn’t sound like an earth-shattering decision for a 15-year-old to make, but the stakes are higher than they look in Ambreen Razia’s latest play, Favour.Ilford means Leila continuing to live with Noor,... Read more... |
The Making of Pinocchio, LIFT 2022, Battersea Arts Centre review - witty, ingenious exploration of gender transitionSaturday, 02 July 2022
Pinocchio is one of our most irreverent metamorphosis stories, and in this visually ingenious blend of film and stage performance it’s given a particularly modern twist. Rosana Cade and Ivor MacAskill – lovers in real life as well as creative... Read more... |
The White Card, Soho Theatre review - expelling the audience from its comfort zoneFriday, 01 July 2022
We’re in New York City, in an upscale loft apartment, with that absence of stuff that speaks of a power to acquire anything. There are paintings on the walls, but we see only their descriptions: we learn that the owner (curator, in his word) really... Read more... |
The Fellowship, Hampstead Theatre review - strong clashes, too little dramaWednesday, 29 June 2022
I live in Brixton, south London. A few days ago, the borough’s aptly named Windrush Square hosted events which celebrated the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants.With Windrush Day being 22 June, last week was originally... Read more... |
Mad House, Ambassadors Theatre review - David Harbour is magnificent in Theresa Rebeck's family dramaMonday, 27 June 2022
For sheer extremes of family dysfunction Theresa Rebeck’s Mad House must be aiming to set new records in American drama. The latest in a line that stretches back to Eugene O’Neill, the plentiful other contenders that have appeared over the decades... Read more... |
A Doll's House, Part 2, Donmar Warehouse review - Noma Dumezweni nails itWednesday, 22 June 2022
Slamming the door on experience comes with repercussions in A Doll's House, Part 2, the thrilling Broadway entry from American writer Lucas Hnath that has arrived at the Donmar as part of an America-friendly season at that address including Marys... Read more... |
Bangers, Soho Theatre review - sizzling gig theatreWednesday, 22 June 2022
Is gig theatre the latest sugar rush? Okay, it ups the brain’s serotonin levels and charges around your body like a crazy electric current, but amid the joyous nerve reactions does the music speak louder than the words?These questions won’t bother... Read more... |
