Two theatres, one concept, but no lasting sparks from Shakespeare's tragi-comedy As course after course of Noma-style creations are served up to Leontes and his guests " curious mouthfuls wi…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:06PM[SHARE]A noisy, busy comedy that loses its anchor somewhere in the chaos "Am I myself?" At the tangled centre of Shakespeare's comedy of two pairs of identical twins, servant Dromio asks the quest…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:33AM[SHARE]A timely return for Tennessee Williams' long-neglected play It's the trivia question no one ever thought to ask: where was the only Tennessee Williams play premiered outside America first pe…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:42AM[SHARE]High on concept and low on clarity, this Shrew misses its mark Say what you will about The Taming of the Shrew (and you'll be in good company), but it is one of Shakespeare's clearest plays.…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:03AM[SHARE]Erica Whyman's RSC production finds youthful energy but not clarityIt's clear from the start " from a Prologue that quickly dissolves familiar rhythms and words into a Babel of clamour …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:12AM[SHARE]Blanche McIntyre finds coherence in this uneven play but at what cost?"A sad tale's best for winter," Leontes' young son Mamillius tells us. By that logic the current summer heatwave should …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:18AM[SHARE]Songs silenced by the Nazis get a powerful new voiceThe show's subtitle " "Songs banned by the Nazis" " is a catchy one, and somewhere under the confetti, the stilettos, the extravagant nudi…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:32AM[SHARE]A strong cast can't quite pull off the author's most political playAcross London last night politicians waited anxiously to hear their fates, and things were no different at the Va…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:04AM[SHARE]★★★★★ VIVALDI'S THE FOUR SEASONS, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE beguilingly beautiful show from the UK's most exciting puppeteersA beguilingly beautiful show from the…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 12:00AM[SHARE]A beguilingly beautiful show from the UK's most exciting puppeteersVivaldi's The Four Seasons: A Reimagining " it's not a title that trips off the tongue. Nor one, frankly, that inspire…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:00PM[SHARE]Finally, a new play worthy of the Globe's Wanamaker PlayhouseThe Globe's Sam Wanamaker Playhouse may be a historical recreation, but the same shouldn't be true of the plays staged with…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:54AM[SHARE]A tragedy so quiet it proves almost inaudible at timesEvery play is a Brexit play. This much we have learnt in the year since the referendum. But in Nancy Meckler's hands the Globe's new Kin…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:04PM[SHARE]It's fiesta time in Matthew Dunster's colourful new showWhen I say that Matthew Dunster's Much Ado is revolutionary I'm not talking about the many textual updatings and rewritings,…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:12AM[SHARE]This new history play gets bogged down in period detailHow well do you know your British history? Fancy explaining the causes and origins of the Glorious Revolutions or listing the members o…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:24PM[SHARE]Robert Icke finds new truths in old words in this captivating productionMidway through Hamlet a troupe of actors arrives at Elsinore. Coaching them for his own ends, the prince turns directo…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:48AM[SHARE]Shakespeare's cross-dressing comedy gets the high-seas treatment, but loses the poetryThe Globe's artistic director Emma Rice has made no secret of her desire to go out with a bang, in …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:33AM[SHARE]Shakespeare's comedy gets bogged down in this messy production"The nine men's morris is filled up with mud, and the quaint mazes in the wanton green for lack of tread are undistinguisha…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:54AM[SHARE]Tamsin Greig leads an superb cast in this giddy take on Shakespeare's classic comedyEverybody's a little bit gay in in Simon Godwin's giddy new Twelfth Night at the National Theatre. Fr…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:54AM[SHARE]This pitch black production of Webster's revenge tragedy is pitch perfectIt was no accident that when the Globe's Sam Wanamaker Playhouse opened in 2014 it was with The Duchess of Malfi…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:54PM[SHARE]These sunny comedies are rich in delight but lacking in darkness"The words of Mercury are harsh after the songs of Apollo." A sudden cold breeze blows through the endless summer afternoon of…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:48AM[SHARE]
