Theatre
Sweat, Donmar Warehouse review - America at once fractured and fractiousThursday, 20 December 2018
A tremendous year for American theatre on the London stage is resoundingly capped by Sweat, the Lynn Nottage Pulitzer prize-winner that folds the personal and the political into a collective requiem for a riven country. But the wounding if sometimes... Read more... |
The Tragedy of King Richard II, Almeida Theatre review - Simon Russell Beale leads revelatory interpretationWednesday, 19 December 2018
Joe Hill-Gibbins’ uncompromising production of The Tragedy of Richard II hurtles through Shakespeare’s original text, stripping and flaying it so it is revealed in a new shuddering light. Narcissistic, petulant and indecisive, Simon Russell Beale’s... Read more... |
Caroline, or Change, Playhouse Theatre review - Sharon D Clarke is superlativeWednesday, 19 December 2018
With the politics of hate alive and well both sides of the Atlantic, this seems a good time to revive Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori's 2003 musical, which is set in Civil Rights-era Louisiana. This production was first seen at Chichester Minerva... Read more... |
The Box of Delights, Wilton's Music Hall review - captivating adaptation of John Masefield's darkly thrilling novelTuesday, 18 December 2018
If you’re looking for a Christmas with more pagan edge than saccharine cheer, where the wolves are howling and the mythological characters are steeped in the terror and mystery of winter’s long dark nights, then make haste to Wilton’s Music Hall.... Read more... |
The Tell-Tale Heart, National Theatre review - bloody good fun as well as bloodyMonday, 17 December 2018
The Tell-Tale Heart may be the title of an 1843 short story by Edgar Allen Poe, but rest assured that Anthony Neilson's adaptation of it for the National contains this theatre maverick's signature throughout. To be sure, the play charts a Poe-esque... Read more... |
Aladdin, New Wimbledon Theatre review - enjoyable but underpoweredMonday, 17 December 2018
Paul Merton has a lot of strings to his bow – stand-up, improv artist, historian of silent-movie-era comedy, quiz-show panellist, to name a few – and now he adds pantomime dame to his CV. He has appeared in television pantos before, but this is his... Read more... |
Epiphoni Consort, Reader, St Paul's Covent Garden review - historical drama with seasonal spiritMonday, 17 December 2018
Like a supermarket "Christmas Dinner" sandwich, cramming the delights of a full festive lunch into every bite, Epiphoni Consort’s The Christmas Truce was at once historical play, choral concert and carol service, and so wonderfully enjoyable I didn’... Read more... |
The Convert, Young Vic review - Africa's electric cry for justiceSaturday, 15 December 2018
Wow! First, the Black Panther team took cinema by storm; now, they have conquered theatre as well. Or, at least, two of them have. The Convert has been written by actor and playwright Danai Gurira (Okoye), and stars Letitia Wright (Shuri).... Read more... |
The Cane, Royal Court review - hey teacher, leave them kids aloneFriday, 14 December 2018
Playwright Mark Ravenhill, who shot to fame in 1996 with his in-yer-face shocker Shopping and Fucking, has been more or less absent from our stages for about a decade. The last play of his that I saw at the Royal Court was the Cold-War fantasy Over... Read more... |
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Piccadilly Theatre review - back for a heart-tugging encoreFriday, 14 December 2018
One emotional high point in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the much-lauded Simon Stephens adaptation that is back in our midst once more, comes when the teenage Christopher Boone is floated in the air as part of his dream of... Read more... |
The Merry Wives of Windsor, RSC, Barbican review - panto ShakespeareThursday, 13 December 2018
For those of us who have never thought much before about links between pantomime and Shakespeare, Fiona Laird’s new Merry Wives offers a chance to see how the combination works. Making short shrift of tradition, her version of the Falstaff comedy... Read more... |
The Double Dealer, Orange Tree Theatre review - high spirits and low moralsWednesday, 12 December 2018
It's been 40 years since The Double Dealer last had a major airing (indeed, perhaps any airing) in London, so on the basis of novelty value alone, the Orange Tree's end-of-year offering is worth our attention. But as always with Restoration comedy,... Read more... |
