Theatre Reviews
Three Sisters, National Theatre review - Chekhov in time of warWednesday, 11 December 2019
Inua Ellams’ Three Sisters plays Chekhov in the shadow of war, specifically the Nigerian-Biafran secessionist conflict of the late 1960s which so bitterly divided that newly independent nation. Read more... |
The Duchess of Malfi, Almeida Theatre review - a radically original perspective on Webster's tragedyWednesday, 11 December 2019
This play can be a challenge for modern audiences: a woman who is ostensibly in a position of power, "a prince" in Renaissance terms, is nevertheless constrained by social expectations and a prisoner of the will of her overbearing brothers. A widow, she defies them to marry her steward Antonio in secret and tragedy ensues. Read more... |
Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre review - James McAvoy triumphantMonday, 09 December 2019
Actor James McAvoy is much in demand: in the BBC's His Dark Materials he is busy saving a parallel world, while in the poetic universe of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac he is tasked with soothing more than one aching heart. Read more... |
Fairview, Young Vic review - questioning the assumptions of raceMonday, 09 December 2019
Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Fairview comes to the Young Vic with the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama under its belt, and a reputation for putting audiences on their mettle through a build-up of theatrical... Read more... |
Ravens: Spassky vs. Fischer, Hampstead Theatre review - it's game over for this chess playFriday, 06 December 2019
We’ve had Chess the musical; now, here’s Chess the play. Read more... |
A Christmas Carol, Old Vic Theatre review - the festive favourite mixes gloom with merrimentThursday, 05 December 2019
"Dickensian" commonly means both sentimental Victorian, apple-cheeked family perfection (especially at Christmas) and abject poverty. Read more... |
The Boy Friend, Menier Chocolate Factory review - fun but featherweightWednesday, 04 December 2019
There’s slight (White Christmas, to name but one) and then there’s The Boy Friend, a period musical so unabashedly vaporous that if you sneeze, it might blow away. Read more... |
Midnight Movie, Royal Court review - sleepless and digitalWednesday, 04 December 2019
Eve Leigh is an experimental playwright who has tackled difficult issues for more than a decade. Yet most members of the public will know her, and her actor husband Tom Penn, as the neighbours who recorded an altercation between Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds in June this year. At least, that's what it says on the internet. But don't let this distract you. Read more... |
The Wind of Heaven, Finborough Theatre review - a welcome, if strange, Emlyn Williams rediscoverySaturday, 30 November 2019
This is the third Emlyn Williams piece to be presented here in a decade: The Druid's Rest in 2009 was followed by the enormous success of Accolade, directed by Blanche McIntyre, two years later. Read more... |
The Wolf of Wall Street, 5-15 Sun Street review - energetic but to what end?Friday, 29 November 2019
Of all the groups you probably wouldn’t want to be part of, surely the hyper-adrenalised, hardscrabble populace of The Wolf of Wall Street, the Jordan Belfort memoir made into an amphetamine rush of a film by Martin Scorsese, must rank near the very top. Read more... |
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★★★★★
‘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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