Theatre Reviews
Small Island, National Theatre At Home review – big-hearted story hits every beatFriday, 19 June 2020![]()
A British-Jamaican man is confused. It's the Second World War, and he signed up for the RAF on the understanding that he would serve as a pilot overseas. But instead he's ended up as ground crew in a grey Lincolnshire village. "You are overseas, aren't you?" sneers his sergeant. Read more... |
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's Globe online review - a seasonal treatTuesday, 16 June 2020![]()
What could be better for a lockdown summer night "out" than a virtual visit to Shakespeare's Globe? Simultaneously in a theatre and the open air, we can share the visible enjoyment of hundreds of others, the very opposite of self-isolation and social distancing. Read more... |
The Madness of George III, National Theatre at Home review – a powerful, elegant depictionFriday, 12 June 2020![]()
It has been the fate of George III – who on many levels was a visionary and accomplished monarch – to go down in history as a comic figure, most famed for losing first America and then his mind. Read more... |
Reasons To Be Cheerful, Graeae review - raunchy working-class nostalgiaWednesday, 10 June 2020![]()
If any musical can live up to this title in these troubled times, it must be this show from Graeae, a theatre company whose mission is to champion the work of Deaf and disabled artists. Read more... |
Coriolanus, National Theatre at Home review – gritty 21st century updateFriday, 05 June 2020![]()
An arrogant leader contemptuous of his people. Could there be a more perfect timing for Josie Rourke’s taut, visceral production of Coriolanus? Read more... |
This House, National Theatre at Home review – timely revival of brilliant House of Commons dramaFriday, 29 May 2020![]()
There is a line of argument that – unfairly – blames playwright James Graham for Dominic Cummings. Would Cummings, some might ask, have achieved the influence he has now if it hadn’t been for his depiction in Graham’s brilliant TV drama Brexit: The Uncivil War in which he was played as an obsessive genius by Benedict Cumberbatch? Read more... |
A Streetcar Named Desire, National Theatre at Home review - world on fireFriday, 22 May 2020![]()
The National Theatre’s triumphant march through its archive of NT Live recordings continues this week with a glorious blaze of a show. Read more... |
The Understudy online review - entertaining adaptation of David Nicholls' novelFriday, 22 May 2020![]()
A running gag in David Nicholls' novel The Understudy is that its main character is called Steve McQueen. Not that Steve McQueen, the multi-award-winning, critically acclaimed, rich and successful one. Read more... |
Cats, The Shows Must Go On review - a purr-fectly theatrical experienceSaturday, 16 May 2020![]()
Cats is, declares composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, a show that doesn’t really have a story, but was beloved on stage because it’s “the ultimate theatrical experience”. Read more... |
Barber Shop Chronicles, National Theatre at Home review - still lively after all these yearsFriday, 15 May 2020![]()
Barber shops – as we are all starting to appreciate in this time of lockdown – fulfil an emotional as much as a cosmetic role: having a haircut can represent a new beginning, a moment for reflection, or even an informal confessional. 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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