All stories by Ben East on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Talking Heads review at Octagon Theatre, Bolton – ‘an unfussy revival’ by Ben East

It’s 30 years since Alan Bennett first wrote the wry monologues that would become Talking Heads. They remain captivating in their depictions

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:50AM
Monday, April 17, 2017

Is virtual reality the future of theatre? by Ben East

It looks like a weird experiment. In the foyer of Home in Manchester, four people sit at booths, virtual reality headsets covering

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:36AM
Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Little Shop of Horrors , Royal Exchange, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange, Manchester: Any revival of Howard Ashman's enjoyable mix of Rocky Horror musical schlock and Shakespearean tragedy will inevitably be compared to the cult 80s film. Tryi…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:13AM
Thursday, September 18, 2014

Romeo & Juliet , Victoria Baths, Manchester by Ben East

Victoria Baths, Manchester: When Manchester's Library Theatre merged with art-house cinema Cornerhouse to form Home - which opens in an impressive £25 million building next sp…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:09AM
Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Billy Liar , Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester: Spilling from the old sideboard where Billy has hidden the piles of unsent calendars, which typify his deceptions, is an old children's annual. It�…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:48AM
Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester: The most recognisably modern of Shakespeare's comedies, Much Ado About Nothing's warring would-be couples who turn out to love each other really…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:03AM
Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Of Mice And Men, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds by Ben East

West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds: In a quite fabulous opening scene, musical director and composer Heather Christian slowly walks barefoot through a swamp, intoning the harsh sounds of dustbo…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:24AM
Monday, March 3, 2014

Twelfth Night, Octagon Theatre, Bolton by Ben East

Octagon Theatre, Bolton: Carving something of a reputation for an accessible approach to the Bard, David Thacker transposes Illyria to a Downton Abbey-style country house in Lancashire, with…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:20AM
Tuesday, February 25, 2014

The Seagull, The Lowry, Salford Quays, Manchester by Ben East

The Lowry, Salford Quays, Manchester: Anton Chekhov used his 1896 tragicomedy to ponder the future of theatre. So there's something pleasingly apt about The Seagull being Library Theatr…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 12:36PM
Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Blindsided, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester: There is a moment in the second half of Simon Stephens' disquieting new play that just about sums up the atmosphere his perplexing characters have co…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:49AM
Friday, January 17, 2014

Wrong 'Un, The Lowry Studio, Salford Quays by Ben East

The Lowry Studio, Salford Quays: One of the 1914 anniversaries that might get overlooked this year is the centenary of the British government's decision to release all the suffragette p…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:23AM
Thursday, November 14, 2013

Singin' In The Rain, Opera House, Manchester by Ben East

Opera House, Manchester: Jonathan Church's crowd-pleasing revival of Singin' In The Rain was a massive hit in the West End and this tour, with a different cast, sets out to ensure …

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:10AM
Wednesday, October 2, 2013

All My Sons, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester: Any revival of Arthur Miller's excursion into a flawed post-war US society at the Royal Exchange has the weight of history to overcome. It was in thi…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:28AM
Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Too Clever By Half, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester: Alexander Ostrovsky is often hailed as one of Russian drama's leading 19th century playwrights, a clear influence on Chekhov. But his satires on Russ…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:49AM
Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The Birthday Party, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester: It's always fascinating to witness a promising director take on Pinter's famously ambiguous 'comedy', as the playwright once called it…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:16AM
Friday, March 1, 2013

Three Birds, Royal Exchange Studio, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Studio, Manchester: Theatre doesn't often deal in thrilling, cinematic twists, provoking genuine revelatory murmurs from an audience finally understanding how a plot ties…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:19AM
Friday, February 1, 2013

Jane Eyre, Waterside Arts Centre, Sale by Ben East

Waterside Arts Centre, Sale: Adapting Jane Eyre is difficult. Too melodramatic and it becomes ridiculous, too tricksy and the heart of the narrative is lost. Read the full review

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:58AM
Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo, The Lowry, Salford Quays by Ben East

The Lowry, Salford Quays: Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo - New York's famous all-male pastiche ballet company - has gone from being an acquired taste to much-loved in nearly 40 y…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:21AM
Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Accrington Pals, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester: With preparations well under way for next year's First World War centenary, it would be easy to cast Peter Whelan's 1981 play as a timely tribut…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:06AM
Friday, December 14, 2012

Aladdin, The Plaza, Stockport by Ben East

The Plaza, Stockport: In The Guardian this week, John Altman revealed that it was liberating to play an "out-and-out villain". He was talking about his famous role as 'nasty&#…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 12:55PM
Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Rats' Tales, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester: With 2004's Beasts And Beauties, Carol Ann Duffy and director Melly Still dramatised fables and fairytales in great style. The formula is similar for…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:12AM
Tuesday, October 30, 2012

A Taste Of Honey, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield by Ben East

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: There is a telling exchange in this first major revival since her death last year of Shelagh Delaney's 1950s drama A Taste Of Honey. "Will you stop sho…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:34AM
Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Macbeth, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield by Ben East

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: Without doubt, 2012 has been the year of Macbeth. There have been Tunisian adaptations, blockbusting Polish versions set in the Middle East, a one-man show starr…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:48AM
Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice, Octagon Theatre, Bolton by Ben East

Octagon Theatre, Bolton: If there's one place to catch Jim Cartwright's 1992 tale of an achingly shy Northern girl with an incredible voice, it's surely Bolton. Growing up in …

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:09AM
Thursday, May 24, 2012

Betrayal, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield by Ben East

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: There is a fantastic moment in Nick Bagnall's thoughtful production where Colin Tierney, as Robert, stands at the front of the stage, casting an immense, fo…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:04AM
Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Lady Windermere's Fan, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester: It was Oscar Wilde's first major theatrical hit, but Lady Windermere's Fan is rather better known these days for its famous one-liners than its …

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:47AM
Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Saturday Night And Sunday Morning, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester: More than 50 years since it was first published, Alan Sillitoe's debut novel, Saturday Night And Sunday Morning, has enjoyed several recent adaptatio…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:58AM
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

5@50, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by Ben East

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester: With plenty of drinking, dinner parties, and trash talk about sex and relationships, it would be so easy to see Brad Fraser's new play about the live…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:26AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards