Theatre Reviews
Female Parts: Shorts, Hoxton Hall review - women speak outSaturday, 17 March 2018
Hot on the heels of International Women’s Day come three monologues written, directed and produced by women showing at Hoxton Hall. It’s kind of a treat, and kind of not. Read more... |
Humble Boy, Orange Tree Theatre review - love, death and science in Middle EnglandTuesday, 13 March 2018
Good programming is an art, and Paul Miller – artistic director of the Orange Tree Theatre – is clearly on a continuous roll with his inspired mixing of the old and the new, forgotten classics and new voices, revivals and premieres. And he loves to take risks. Read more... |
Brief Encounter, Empire Cinema review – poignant, hilarious revivalMonday, 12 March 2018
It would be so easy to make fun of the 1945 Noel Coward/ David Lean film in which, famously, nothing happens between two guilt-ridden married lovers. That oh-so-British middle class restraint, those flet, perfectly enunciated vowels, the overwhelming romantic rush of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2 – isn’t it all a bit OTT, just crying out for a French-and-Saunders-style send-up? Read more... |
Returning to Haifa, Finborough Theatre review - a bumpy journey into the Arab-Israeli pastFriday, 09 March 2018
This year the state of Israel marks its 70th birthday. Which means it will also be the year Palestinians remember the Nakba, the catastrophe, the mass dispossession. Read more... |
Macbeth, National Theatre - Rufus Norris goes for drab, gory and tricksyThursday, 08 March 2018
Fair is foul and foul is drab, gory and tricksy in Rufus Norris’s first stab at Shakespeare direction at the National Theatre, Macbeth. Read more... |
Summer and Smoke, Almeida Theatre - exquisite renaissance of Tennessee Williams's neglected playThursday, 08 March 2018
That this 1948 Tennessee Williams play is rarely performed seems nothing short of a travesty, thanks to the awe-inspiring case made for it by Rebecca Frecknall’s exquisite Almeida production. Read more... |
The Best Man, Playhouse Theatre review - Gore Vidal’s plodding presidential dramaWednesday, 07 March 2018
Is it possible to get too much of American politics? Read more... |
Fanny and Alexander, Old Vic review - agile but shallow Bergman adaptationFriday, 02 March 2018
Could an epic cinematic masterpiece be turned successfully into a three-act play? Confession first: Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander is my No. 1 film. Read more... |
Harold and Maude, Charing Cross Theatre review - Sheila Hancock serene in thin productionWednesday, 28 February 2018
The practice of mining the rich seam of popular movies to turn them into stage plays or musicals seemingly never grows tired in theatreland. And sometimes it produces a gem but all too often it’s just a cynical ploy to attract ticket sales by piggy-backing on fond memories of a beloved film. It’s unfair to accuse this stage adaptation of Hal Ashby’s cult movie, Harold and Maude, of cynicism; the efforts of all involved are patently sincere, but sadly it just doesn’t work. Read more... |
Frozen, Haymarket Theatre review - star cast explores the reality of evilWednesday, 21 February 2018
Whatever the weather, this week is Frozen. On Broadway, the Disney musical of that name begins previews, but let’s let that go. In the West End, our Frozen has no Elsa, no Anna and no glittery gowns. Although it does have plenty of ice imagery. Read more... |
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Advertising feature
★★★★★
‘A compulsive, involving, emotionally stirring evening – theatre’s answer to a page-turner.’
The Observer, Kate Kellaway
Direct from a sold-out season at Kiln Theatre the five star, hit play, The Son, is now playing at the Duke of York’s Theatre for a strictly limited season.
★★★★★
‘This final part of Florian Zeller’s trilogy is the most powerful of all.’
The Times, Ann Treneman
Written by the internationally acclaimed Florian Zeller (The Father, The Mother), lauded by The Guardian as ‘the most exciting playwright of our time’, The Son is directed by the award-winning Michael Longhurst.
Book by 30 September and get tickets from £15*
with no booking fee.
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