All stories by Alun Hood on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

‘Looks set to become this season’s sleeper hit’: SHUCKED – Broadway ★★★★ by Alun Hood

To be honest, if it’s an evening of laugh-yourself-silly fun, catchy tunes, inspired lunacy and bona fide triple threat star turn performances that you’re after, it doesn’t get much be…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, April 18, 2023

‘Inventive & eye-catching’: EUGENIUS! – Turbine Theatre by Alun Hood

Get your leg warmers out and prepare for blast off, Ben Adams and Chris Wilkins’ adorable pop musical Eugenius! is back. This ridiculous, feel good sweetheart of a show marries together co…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Monday, April 10, 2023

‘The writing is sensational’: THE DRY HOUSE – Marylebone Theatre ★★★★★ by Alun Hood

Eugene O’Hare’s astonishing three-hander, The Dry House, premiering at the new Marylebone Theatre in a well nigh perfect production by the author himself, continues to demonstrate his re…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Wednesday, March 29, 2023

‘Feels less spicy & naughty than once it did’: HAY FEVER – Sonning ★★★ by Alun Hood

Seeing Hay Fever at the lovely Mill at Sonning, not far from the Thames-side village Cookham, where Coward’s play is actually set, feels almost like immersive theatre. It also feels a litt…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, March 21, 2023

‘A dazzling, excoriating new version’: ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST – Lyric Hammersmith ★★★★★ by Alun Hood

Daniel Rigby won a BAFTA for his portrayal of the beloved comedian Eric Morecambe in a 2011 TV film. The spirit of Morecambe – endearing, absurd, inspired, with a slight edge of danger –…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Wednesday, March 15, 2023

‘When it fully works, it’s wonderful’: GUYS & DOLLS – Bridge Theatre ★★★★ by Alun Hood

For any theatre enthusiast who has been living under a rock, Nicholas Hytner’s new production of Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre is unique because it is immersive, in the manner of …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Saturday, March 4, 2023

‘Truly life-enhancing stuff’: SLEEPOVA – Bush Theatre ★★★★ by Alun Hood

In the week which saw the Bush Theatre pick up two out of a possible five nominations in the Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre award category in this year’s Oliviers, the exc…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Wednesday, February 22, 2023

‘It’s refreshing, a bit shocking & might leave you trembling’: BOOTYCANDY – Gate Theatre ★★★★ by Alun Hood

Exhilaratingly original and pleasingly ambitious in scope and execution, Bootycandy at the Gate Theatre is the theatrical equivalent to having a bucket of cold water thrown over you: it take…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Wednesday, February 15, 2023

‘There is a lot here to savour’: PHAEDRA – National Theatre by Alun Hood

A very interesting programme article will tell you the difference between the multiple takes (the National’s programmes remain the most informative and best value for money in the capital)…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Wednesday, February 8, 2023

‘Performed with heartbreaking truth’: BUFF – The Vaults ★★★★ by Alun Hood

With Ben Fensome’s highly entertaining Buff director Scott Le Crass comes up with another production rich in detail and dynamism but displaying total faith in the material and the central …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, January 31, 2023

‘Classy staging & nicely judged mood’: WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS – Sonning by Alun Hood

This is the sort of fare that might have run for years on Shaftesbury Avenue in the mid- 20th century and, despite references to Brexit and the internet, and the use of mobile phones, We’l…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, January 24, 2023

‘A rare dark delight’: We Didn’t Come To Hell For The Croissants – Riverside Studios ★★★★ by Alun Hood

As it turns out, Jemma Kahn’s We Didn’t Come To Hell For The Croissants, the South African, multi-authored one woman riff on the Seven Deadly Sins, offers rather more than just a whimsic…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Saturday, January 21, 2023

‘At its most engaging, it’s genuinely captivating’: AND THEN THE RODEO BURNED DOWN – King’s Head Theatre by Alun Hood

Existentialism, absurdism, clowning, vaudeville, country music and a gentle queer romance all collide in this strange but rather lovely show. And Then The Rodeo Burned Down is sometimes remi…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Sunday, January 15, 2023

’An illuminating, inventive revitalisation of a familiar piece’: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE – Almeida Theatre ★★★★★ by Alun Hood

However, Rebecca Frecknall’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre is an unusually youthful reading of a play usually marinated in the disappointments of middle age…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Monday, January 9, 2023

‘A tangy, ambitious, thoroughly engrossing piece’: PARADISE NOW! – Bush Theatre ★★★★ by Alun Hood

“It could be worse” observes Baby, one of the pair of Irish sisters who open and close Margaret Perry’s richly enjoyable new play Paradise Now! at the Bush Theatre, as she contemplates…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Friday, December 30, 2022

‘Live entertainment has come back with an encouraging roar’: Alun Hood celebrates his Top 20 new theatre shows of 2022 by Alun Hood

As somebody who loves a listicle plus a bandwagon to jump on, how could I NOT compile my list of my top 20 new (to me) shows of 2022? It’s been 12 months in which live entertainment has co…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Thursday, December 15, 2022

‘It’s pretty hard not to be won over’: NEWSIES – Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre by Alun Hood

This London premiere of Newsies at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre has already extended bookings until next spring and, if the ecstatic – verging on hysterical – first night reaction was…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Saturday, December 3, 2022

‘A biting fury that feels raw & authentic’: AIN’T NO MO’ – Broadway ★★★★ by Alun Hood

AIN’T NO MO’ by Jordan E Cooper Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb Belasco Theatre, New York City – until 26 February 2023 https://aintnomobway.com All aboard the final flight of African A…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Thursday, November 3, 2022

‘Tremendous energy but misses a trick’: A DEAD BODY IN TAOS – Touring by Alun Hood

David Farr’s new play A Dead Body In Taos, briefly in London following performances in Bristol and Plymouth and before moving on to Warwick Arts Centre, is an earnest addition to an underp…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Sunday, October 30, 2022

‘Enchanting & quietly riveting’: THE BAND’S VISIT – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★ by Alun Hood

In Michael Longhurst’s dreamy new London production of The Band’s Visit at the Donmar Warehouse, where everyone is close to the stage, it’s enchanting and quietly riveting. It also fea…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Monday, October 17, 2022

‘90 minutes of sheer uplift & joy’: THE CHOIR OF MAN – Arts Theatre ★★★★ by Alun Hood

They’re back, those big burly men who sing like angels while dispensing free beer… yes, The Choir of Man has returned to town and it’s just the tonic that we need in these grim times. …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Sunday, October 2, 2022

‘These are two true artists at the very top of their game’: ONLY AN OCTAVE APART – Wilton’s Music Hall ★★★★★ by Alun Hood

Pitched somewhere between cabaret and recital, but most definitely a piece of true theatre, Only An Octave Apart (the title refers to the fact that Anthony Roth Costanzo is a classical count…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Saturday, September 24, 2022

‘Highly watchable comedy drama’: BRIGHT HALF LIFE – King’s Head Theatre ★★★ by Alun Hood

As it is, Bright Half Life has much to recommend it, especially the nimble, inventive direction of Steven Kunis which plays out under a rather beautiful kite shaped neon lighting grid (kite …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Wednesday, September 21, 2022

‘Hard to imagine a better production of the play than this one’: DISTINGUISHED VILLA – Finborough Theatre ★★★ by Alun Hood

The Finborough has a rich and noble history of rediscovering lost dramatic gems, alongside their programme of new work (this year’s Bacon and Pennyroyal are two of my favourite new plays s…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Friday, September 16, 2022

‘A thing of importance & carefully pointed simmering rage’: THE P WORD – Bush Theatre ★★★★★ by Alun Hood

Here’s something you don’t get to experience too often: a gritty piece of contemporary writing that gives theatrical voice to people largely unrepresented on stage, and does so with comp…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, August 30, 2022

‘The sheer theatrical verve is something to savour’: INTO THE WOODS – Bath ★★★★ by Alun Hood

The fact that Terry Gilliam and Leah Hausman’s production of Into The Woods at Theatre Royal Bath is one of two high profile productions currently running on either side of the Atlantic is…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Sunday, August 21, 2022

‘Remains an impressive achievement’: CRUISE – Apollo Theatre ★★★★ by Alun Hood

I wasn’t perhaps as bowled over by Cruise on a second viewing, but it unquestionably delivers on its triple promise of fusing theatre with club culture, a history lesson, and a rambunctiou…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Thursday, August 18, 2022

‘A magical theatrical miniature’: QUENTIN CRISP: NAKED HOPE – King’s Head Theatre ★★★★ by Alun Hood

Another night at the King’s Head, another feat of astonishing transformation by the chameleonic actor-writer Mark Farrelly. Because delivering one bravura turn as a gay icon isn’t enough…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Sunday, August 14, 2022

‘It’s writing from the heart’: ALL OF US – National Theatre ★★★★ by Alun Hood

It would be unsurprising, indeed completely understandable, for a new state-of-the-nation play focusing on the treatment of, and opportunities for, disabled people in present-day UK, to fetc…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Sunday, August 7, 2022

‘What they’ve created is roaring, but delicate, ritualistic & totally unique’: JARMAN – King’s Head Theatre ★★★★★ by Alun Hood

Pitched somewhere between a celebration, a séance and an unusually engaging piece of performance art, Jarman at the King’s Head Theatre eschews linear storytelling in favour of a sensory …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Monday, July 25, 2022

‘The sheer visual beauty of the whole staging is a source of considerable pleasure’: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING – National Theatre ★★★ by Alun Hood

Simon Godwin’s new production of Much Ado About Nothing for the National initially seems to be going for the full-on romantic escapism, from the bougainvillea and sun-kissed (Amalfi?) coas…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM

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