All stories by Ryan Gilbey on BroadwayStars

Friday, March 22, 2024

‘If you’re anointed tonight, you can be dumped on tomorrow’: Steve Martin on fame, failure and TV humiliation by Ryan Gilbey

Jerry Seinfeld calls him ‘the most idolised comedian ever’. Yet after five decades at the top, success still makes him cringe. He discusses doubting himself, starring in a documentary �…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42AM
Wednesday, February 21, 2024

‘I felt so ashamed’: Sheridan Smith on her very public meltdown – and recreating it on stage by Ryan Gilbey

Eight years after spectacularly crashing and burning out of the West End, the Olivier-winner is now playing an actress trapped in the same nightmare. Can she face down her demons? It is late…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:36AM
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

When You Pass Over My Tomb review – can you really have a playful comedy about necrophilia? by Ryan Gilbey

Arcola theatre, LondonThis nimble play sets up a shocking scenario yet somehow it slaloms along – thanks to some Pirandellian trickery and three cheerful ghosts On a raised disc bristling …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:12PM
Monday, February 5, 2024

‘It’s black and white. I did it’: Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman on her comeback after jail by Ryan Gilbey

As she hits the stage in an anarchic comedy about a family in freefall, the once-Oscar-nominated actor talks about her 2019 fraud conviction, why she’d never play a trans woman again – a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:18PM
Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Andrew Scott is right – it’s time to retire the phrase ‘openly gay’ | Ryan Gilbey by Ryan Gilbey

The actor’s suggestion in a roundtable interview is more common sense than provocation, the phrase speaking to a homophobic media that no longer calls the shots Andrew Scott is capable of …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48AM
Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Cold War review – Conor McPherson follows doomed love across eastern bloc by Ryan Gilbey

Almeida, LondonLuke Thallon and Anya Chalotra are the lovers in this adaptation of Paweł Pawlikowski’s 2018 film, with Polish folk music and Elvis Costello songs In Conor McPherson’s fi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM
Monday, December 4, 2023

Frances Sternhagen obituary by Ryan Gilbey

Award-winning stage, film and TV actor who had memorable roles as meddling mothers in Cheers and Sex and the CityWith her shrewd blue eyes and twitching dormouse nose, the actor Frances Ster…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:24PM
Monday, November 27, 2023

‘I gasped when I read it’: Woody Harrelson, Andy Serkis and Louisa Harland on Ulster American by Ryan Gilbey

The trio are about to fall out violently in the shocking yet hilarious play, featuring beheaded priests and the ghost of Bobby Sands. They talk woke fever, big pharma and playing chimpanzees…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42AM
Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Anna Scher obituary by Ryan Gilbey

Drama teacher who started a theatre school for young people in north London, producing future stage and screen starsThe Anna Scher theatre in Islington, north London, was responsible for pro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM
Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Cowbois review – all guns blaze in wild queer western by Ryan Gilbey

Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonDream cast and exuberant staging brings the genre’s dusty rules to a whole new frontier A sleepy US town in the late 19th century: the husbands are away, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:13AM
Thursday, October 19, 2023

Choir Boy review – gospel hymns light up stirring production of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play by Ryan Gilbey

Bristol Old VicEveryone gets their chance to shine in Nancy Medina’s expressive staging of this drama about sparring prep-school students Some of the shine has come off Moonlight, the Osca…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:13AM
Tuesday, August 22, 2023

‘The doc said you’re having a heart attack right now’: why is US standup Mike Birbiglia still alive? by Ryan Gilbey

The comic, who has survived cancer and once sleep-jumped through a closed hotel window, is bringing his Broadway smash about mortality to the UK. ‘I guarantee you’ll laugh,’ he says Fo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:04PM
Thursday, August 10, 2023

Baklâ review – this teasing tomfoolery is devilishly smart by Ryan Gilbey

Summerhall, EdinburghMax Percy’s physical theatre show mixes ideas on sex, power dynamics and homophobia into an audacious reflection on generational trauma Putting a shirtless young man o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:13PM
Monday, August 7, 2023

Simon Amstell: ‘I used to think I couldn’t talk about enjoying sex’ by Ryan Gilbey

After routines about orgies from the perspective of an ‘awkward English twit’, the comedian returns with an unironic and open account of carnal pleasure It is nearly midnight at a packed…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:13PM
Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Tarantino Live review – a megamix of songs, speeches and severed ears by Ryan Gilbey

Riverside Studios, LondonSpattered with blood and brains, this blend of cabaret and cosplay brings together Quentin Tarantino’s career highlights with flashes of divine inspiration Childre…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:43AM
Thursday, June 15, 2023

Frank and Percy review – McKellen and Allam’s banter meanders into romance by Ryan Gilbey

Theatre Royal, WindsorIan McKellen and Roger Allam star in a rambling but unabashed depiction of desire after middle-age Walking their dogs on Hampstead Heath, the widowed Frank (Roger Allam…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:25AM
Tuesday, May 9, 2023

The cuddling cowboys ride again! Saddle up for the Brokeback Mountain musical by Ryan Gilbey

As the two hard-loving herders from the 2005 Oscar-winner get back on their horses, the team behind a new musical version talk about fear, regret – and the tragic power of forbidden desire…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12PM
Thursday, April 27, 2023

Animal review – candid comedy drama explores sex and disability by Ryan Gilbey

Park theatre, LondonDavid has cerebral palsy and is determined to lose his virginity using Grindr in Jon Bradfield’s entertaining play Any Grindr user faces a barrage of questions. Top or …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Wednesday, April 26, 2023

‘I’m going for it like crazy’: Suzy Eddie Izzard on her one-woman, 19-role Great Expectations by Ryan Gilbey

After 30 years, the standup star is now finally winning acting plaudits, for a ‘tour de force’ take on Dickens with sharper punchlines – and Hamlet is next First names first. What does…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:48PM
Friday, April 21, 2023

Hate Radio review – vivid and urgent retelling of ‘Radio Machete’ atrocities by Ryan Gilbey

Battersea Arts Centre, LondonDepicting the Rwandan radio station that spurred on genocide, this harrowing show raises a warning to be heeded today In a brightly lit studio, three DJs (Diogè…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
Friday, April 7, 2023

The Dry House review – a mother hits rock bottom in gloriously cast alcoholism drama by Ryan Gilbey

Marylebone theatre, LondonThe capacity to arrest our own destruction is central in Eugene O’Hare’s stark look at a woman struggling to cope after the death of her teenage daughter As The…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
Monday, March 27, 2023

The Very Best and Worst of Mr Swallow review – keep up with Nick Mohammed’s runaway alter ego by Ryan Gilbey

Duke of York’s theatre, LondonMaths, magic and Les Mis all feature in the entertaining musings of the Ted Lasso star’s northern know-it-all ‘Who’s here ’cos of Ted Lasso?” grins …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM

‘Nightmare! I’ve got to tap-dance with four legs!’ Inside the new SpongeBob Musical by Ryan Gilbey

Is chirruping dangerous? How many legs can you tap-dance with? And what have they all been smoking? As the SpongeBob SquarePants musical hits Britain, we dive down to Bikini Bottom “Who li…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12AM
Thursday, February 23, 2023

Charlotte and Theodore review – agonised academics knee-deep in culture wars by Ryan Gilbey

Ustinov Studio, BathRyan Craig’s play stars Eve Ponsonby and Kris Marshall as a couple tearing themselves apart over cancel culture and other hot-button topics Think male-female two-hander…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM
Friday, December 2, 2022

Mother Goose review – a feather in Hackney Empire’s cap by Ryan Gilbey

Hackney Empire, LondonClive Rowe gives a masterly performance as he shapes the high jinks while wearing fabulous frocks in this infectiously funny panto It’s worth flocking to this triumph…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AM
Friday, November 25, 2022

The Wizard of Oz review – carnivalesque trip down the Yellow Brick Road by Ryan Gilbey

Curve, LeicesterCatwalk-ready costumes, expressive puppetry and a knockabout cast make this a fun, if rather cluttered, production Even without the ubiquitous Wicked, there is no shortage of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:32PM
Monday, October 17, 2022

'I’ve got a feeling I won’t be on stage again’: Derek Jacobi on age, ego, Igglepiggle and unrequited love by Ryan Gilbey

Sixty-five years after his first rave reviews, the star of I, Claudius and Last Tango in Halifax is still drowning in work – and self-doubt. Can a man who won Ian McKellen’s heart really…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:43AM
Friday, September 30, 2022

‘When is it OK to start blowing things up?’ Mark Rylance on families, Hilary Mantel and climate disaster by Ryan Gilbey

The actor discusses his new drama at the London film festival, being starstruck by Meryl Streep – and the best way to take environmental action On the day that Mark Rylance video-calls fro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AM
Friday, September 23, 2022

Cages review – hologram rock musical is a dreary dystopia by Ryan Gilbey

Riverside Studios, LondonAn overreliance on technology and a doomy score can’t replace old-fashioned chemistry in this emotionless offering Anhedonia is a condition that renders the suffer…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:25AM
Monday, September 5, 2022

‘We’re going for belly laughs’: Jacques Tati’s Hulot masterpiece gets an all-singing climate twist by Ryan Gilbey

With little plot and almost no dialogue, Playtime does not seem an obvious fit for theatre. Will the addition of songs by Martha Wainwright and Chilly Gonzales help? Comedy doesn’t get any…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:33AM
Friday, September 2, 2022

Sex dungeon cosplay comedy is just a bit too harmless – Horse-Play review by Ryan Gilbey

Riverside studios, LondonTwo men trying to spice up their marriage get stuck with their dom in a cosy comedy that’s neither naughty nor revealing Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a pigeo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:55AM

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