All stories by Mark Fisher on BroadwayStars

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Don’t. Make. Tea. review – the disability benefits interview as Kafkaesque comic nightmare by Mark Fisher

Traverse theatre, EdinburghA former police officer with muscular dystrophy fights a grotesquely bureaucratic system in this subversive satirical broadside It is 2037 and the government has i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36PM
Friday, March 15, 2024

The School for Scandal review – an overblown attempt at wit by Mark Fisher

Theatre by the Lake, KeswickSeán Aydon’s laboured attempts to shriek the play into life with overstated and almost unintelligible clowning only serves to flatten Richard Brinsley Sheridan…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:24AM
Thursday, March 14, 2024

Richard, My Richard review – less naked villainy, more realpolitik by Mark Fisher

Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot In novelist Philippa Gregory’s telling, the much maligned king reveals a more human side amid rather too much exposition If you wanted to invent a fun…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24AM
Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Ladies Down Under review – sisters redrawing life for themselves by Mark Fisher

New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme Amanda Whittington’s sequel to Ladies’ Day sends her characters off to Australia for an enjoyable range of epiphanies It is 2007 and the four women who stru…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Thursday, March 7, 2024

‘I loved every single word’: tributes to the blistering brilliance of Edward Bond by Mark Fisher

Marianne Faithfull, Simon Callow, Tanya Moodie, Richard McCabe and Sean Holmes remember working with the remarkable British playwright who died on Sunday Sean Holmes, director, The Sea (2000…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:32AM
Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Peak Stuff review – teenage ideals take a kicking from capitalism by Mark Fisher

Lawrence Batley theatre, HuddersfieldA superb Meg Lewis plays three characters losing touch with reality in Billie Collins’s play about a market-driven world When ThickSkin announced this …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Monday, February 19, 2024

Two Sisters review – a wry look at the perils of nostalgia by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghDavid Greig’s entertaining and immaculately performed new play is about adults seduced by memories of their own emotionally heightened teenage pasts Two Sisters smel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06AM
Sunday, February 18, 2024

Shed: Exploded View review – love, loss and horrific male violence by Mark Fisher

Royal Exchange, ManchesterPhoebe Eclair-Powell’s prize-winning play is about three related relationships which seem increasingly characterised by powerlessness, menace and dislocation Phoe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12PM
Thursday, February 15, 2024

The Gap review – Denise Welch and Matthew Kelly swing low in 60s Soho by Mark Fisher

Hope Mill theatre, ManchesterJim Cartwright’s riches-to-rags comedy reunites an abrasive northern couple who turned to sex work for survival in a hedonistic London adventure The lust for l…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

A Leap in the Dark review – drama paying homage to the dawn of radio falls flat by Mark Fisher

New Vic, Newcastle-under-LymeRon Hutchinson’s comedy marks 100 years since the first radio play but succumbs to cliches and jarring humour Playwright Ron Hutchinson sets his tribute to the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM

Animal Farm review – Orwell’s unsettling allegory still resonates in the age of Trump, Johnson and Sunak by Mark Fisher

Octagon, BoltonIqbal Khan’s production lays bare the uncomfortable parallels between a mid-20th century Soviet Union and today’s marauding politicians How George Orwell would despair at …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
Sunday, February 11, 2024

A Song for Ella Grey review – Orpheus casts a fateful spell over teenage dreamers by Mark Fisher

Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne David Almond’s young adult novel is brought to life in a soulful production that weaves its mythical elements with imagination There are three intangibl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
Monday, February 5, 2024

Edinburgh’s Manipulate festival: rubbery robot Swan Lake leads celebration of the unexpected by Mark Fisher

The annual festival of visual theatre delivers an inventive mix of wry commentary, daft puppetry and high-precision performance You can rely on Edinburgh’s Manipulate festival to give you …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
Sunday, February 4, 2024

The Moira Trilogy review – Alan Bissett’s cleaner-cum-cannabis-farmer tells it like it is by Mark Fisher

Theatre Royal, DumfriesThe well-crafted jokes are a cover for reflections on sectarianism, asylum seekers, Scottish independence, inequality, Covid conspiracy theories and pandemic isolation…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06AM
Thursday, January 4, 2024

Oliver Emanuel obituary by Mark Fisher

Playwright and radio dramatist whose imaginative productions explored grief and lossOliver Emanuel, who has died aged 43 from brain cancer, was a playwright, teacher and radio dramatist who …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:48AM
Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Same Team: A Street Soccer Story review – high drama on and off the pitch by Mark Fisher

Traverse, EdinburghRobbie Gordon and Jack Nurse’s tale follows a team of Scots women’s footballers, but its most powerful scenes move well beyond the game There is plenty of talent on th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:36PM
Monday, December 11, 2023

Beauty and the Beast review – energetic cast make five a festive stageful by Mark Fisher

Stephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughNick Lane’s witty and rounded adaptation stars a no-nonsense Rosabelle, and manages to convey fear and fun with pop hits If ever you find yourself in a s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:02PM
Sunday, December 10, 2023

Cinderella: A Fairytale review – Ella and her prince bond over shared passion, not money or status by Mark Fisher

Northern Stage, NewcastleThis production rows back on panto excess, but boisterous audience interaction and bright songs keep it lively Directors Katy Weir and Jake Smith think it is time to…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM
Friday, December 8, 2023

Three Acts of Love review – pain and pleasure in a trio straight from the heart by Mark Fisher

Live theatre, NewcastleThese one-act plays covering passion, acceptance and obsession are connected by a seasonally warming theme about community In their trilogy of one-act plays, Laura Lin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12PM
Friday, December 1, 2023

John Byrne: the maverick Scottish playwright and artist was a master observer by Mark Fisher

Byrne, who has died aged 83, used his life as a constant source of inspiration for exuberant plays and paintings If John Byrne had been known only for The Slab Boys, he would be considered o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Pinocchio review – no wooden acting in an action-packed musical voyage by Mark Fisher

Hull TruckEliza Blair plays the puppet-child on an adventure of self-discovery in this slightly muddled yet well-performed version When Ivor MacAskill and Rosana Cade staged The Making of Pi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AM
Monday, November 27, 2023

The Snow Queen review – bold, imaginative and richly musical by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghYoung Gerda is sent on an epic quest across mythical Scotland by steam train, cross-country skis, fishing boat and unicorn in Morna Young’s version When the curtain …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:03AM
Wednesday, November 22, 2023

A Little Princess review – richly vibrant reverse Cinderella story by Mark Fisher

Theatre by the Lake, KeswickRiches-to-rags tale is set against the backdrop of Indian independence, amplifying the injustice and adding extra texture to this rewarding show ‘I didn’t pro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:02AM
Thursday, November 16, 2023

The Scouse Dick Whittington review – all-singing delight for adults by Mark Fisher

Royal Court, Liverpool Traditional tale is recast as a daft quest across Europe, built on a giddy score powering through hits from Bon Jovi to Kraftwerk The dick jokes are, of course, inevit…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:32AM
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

‘It’s got to be evocative’ … why has a famous Glasgow bar been built at the RSC? by Mark Fisher

She cast an armchair as Mr Bennet in a Pride and Prejudice reboot. Now Isobel McArthur’s been let loose on lusty romp The Fair Maid of the West. So is she worried about outraging mothbally…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:02PM
Thursday, November 9, 2023

Viking procession brings Yorkshire poets’ Beowulf to streets of Huddersfield by Mark Fisher

New version of the Anglo-Saxon epic features a massive cast of singers, actors and members of the community Ian McMillan is contemplating the greats who have gone before him. He is one of fi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM
Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Nae Expectations: Andy Arnold on a gallus Dickens, Glasgow’s Tron and ‘catastrophic’ arts cuts by Mark Fisher

As he stages Gary McNair’s twist on the tale of Pip, the director reflects on 16 years of spotting and developing raw talent while running the Tron Andy Arnold is a director with staying p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:49PM
Sunday, October 15, 2023

Beyond Caring review – a low-key meditation on love, loss and care homes by Mark Fisher

Queen’s Hall arts centre, HexhamAn 83-year-old resident rails against the lack of liberty, settling herself on a bench outside and refusing to return despite legal threats and offers of ho…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM
Friday, September 22, 2023

Boys from the Blackstuff review – powerful portrayals of working-class pride by Mark Fisher

Royal Court, LiverpoolJames Graham’s funny and violent TV adaptation belies a sensitive study of male mental health, as right-wing economics hits a group of road layers’ lives The emotio…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:37AM
Thursday, September 21, 2023

The Real & Imagined History of the Elephant Man review – vigorous call for inclusivity by Mark Fisher

Nottingham PlayhouseWith excellent performances, Tom Wright’s play about the man who became a Victorian freakshow attraction is an at times uneasy mix of circus and polemic Entrances don�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:49AM

Metamorphosis review – Lemn Sissay adaptation is more poetic than dramatic by Mark Fisher

Curve, LeicesterThis staging of Kafka’s story is physically exciting, even tireless, but it hits an early peak of terror then has nowhere to go for two hours It is linguistically playful, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:33AM

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