All stories by Arifa Akbar on BroadwayStars

Monday, August 7, 2023

Food review – Edinburgh festival banquet serves up theatrical spectacle by Arifa Akbar

The Studio, EdinburghGeoff Sobelle is firmly in control of this clever show full of tricks, but it doesn’t really feed the soul A gigantic banqueting table dominates the room, with members…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:43PM
Sunday, August 6, 2023

The Van Paemel Family review – a single-handed family epic by Arifa Akbar

Zoo Southside, EdinburghValentijn Dhaenens switches between 13 characters, with the help of technology, to tell a story of poverty and social injustice It is maverick, perhaps reckless, to a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:37PM

Dusk review – powerful exploration of Lars von Trier’s Dogville by Arifa Akbar

Lyceum theatre, EdinburghThe 2003 film forms the basis for this intriguing show about far-right tyranny but it is not a straightforward adaptation by any means A row of actors introduce them…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:13AM

Hello Kitty Must Die review – musical revenge on east Asian stereotypes by Arifa Akbar

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh This cult novel adaptation follows one woman’s journey toward self-determination, though it needs more work before it’s a killer hit This musical comes wit…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:04AM
Saturday, August 5, 2023

Klanghaus: Inhaus / Darkroom review – in-your-face raves, with a sudden change of climate by Arifa Akbar

Summerhall, Edinburgh The Neutrinos present two very different shows in the same lounge-like space: Inhaus sits the audience in the middle of a pop gig, while Darkroom’s quiet soundtrack d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:49AM
Friday, August 4, 2023

SneakPeek: Shadow Game review – innovative record of a refugee’s journey by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineDelivered by smartphone in voice notes, videos and texts, this ‘real-time documentary’ follows Afghan teen Sajid on an arduous trek across Europe This innovative producti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:04AM
Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Rock Follies review – girl power pioneers earn their encore by Arifa Akbar

Minerva theatre, ChichesterBased on the 70s TV drama, this musical depicts patriarchal power structures in the music industry which haven’t changed much in five decades Almost two decades …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:19AM
Friday, July 28, 2023

The Crown Jewels review – the cream of British comedy can’t find a funny line between them by Arifa Akbar

Garrick theatre, LondonThe likes of Al Murray, Neil Morrissey and Mel Giedroyc can’t rescue Simon Nye’s woefully tedious show about the real-life heist of King Charles II’s crown jewel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:04PM

‘I thought people would throw bottles’: orgy in Athens as ancient Greek drama strips off and lets rip by Arifa Akbar

Naked choruses, sexual fantasies, rubbish tip wastelands and nods to refugee camps … Athens’ Epidaurus festival is thrilling audiences – and thrusting theatre into the 21st century A g…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:49AM
Thursday, July 27, 2023

Word-Play review – amusing riffs on slippery language and politicians by Arifa Akbar

Royal Court theatre, LondonDaring production ranges boldly from very funny Westminster satire to suffering families at the sharp end of Home Office policy ‘Words don’t crack bones … Do…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:43AM

‘Will we be blindfolded and led to a shallow grave?’: Alter by Kamchàtka takes immersive theatre to next level by Arifa Akbar

The experimental collective bus us into unknown woodland at night, where we stumble across mysterious characters and slowly become part of a fugitive community We have been instructed to tur…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:37AM
Thursday, July 20, 2023

David Byrne is a radical, dynamic appointment for the Royal Court by Arifa Akbar

The theatre’s new artistic director proved himself a canny commercialist attuned to promising writing at the New Diorama. How will his maverick sensibility adapt to a major venue? In appoi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:25AM
Tuesday, July 18, 2023

The Sound of Music review – climbs ev’ry mountain, ticks ev’ry box by Arifa Akbar

Chichester Festival theatreGina Beck is radiant as Maria in this immaculate and impish production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Chichester has set quite a record for staging West En…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:33AM
Monday, July 17, 2023

The Wind and the Rain review – love and whimsy in 1930s student comedy by Arifa Akbar

Finborough theatre, LondonThe first professional production of Merton Hodge’s quippy drama in more than 80 years shows how a play can date Merton Hodge’s whimsical play became an interna…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:25AM
Friday, July 14, 2023

Miss Saigon review – slick machine of a musical rather than a radical rewrite by Arifa Akbar

Crucible, SheffieldBilled as an opportunity to reframe Boublil and Schönberg’s original, this is more of a tweak but it is a visually captivating production Last autumn, a theatre company…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:04AM
Thursday, July 13, 2023

Cuckoo review – springy dialogue lifts slow study of a modern family by Arifa Akbar

Royal Court theatre, LondonThree generations of women in a Merseyside house banter, bicker and disappear into their smartphones in this nuanced play from Michael Wynne Cuckoo is a delicately…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:19AM
Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Bones review – men grapple with mental health on and off the pitch by Arifa Akbar

Park theatre, LondonLewis Aaron Wood’s play about a rugby player with anxiety artfully conveys the energy of the sport but the characters are flimsy A new, welcome body of male-centred pla…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:13AM
Monday, July 10, 2023

The Tempest Re-imagined for Everyone Aged Six and Over review – revels just beginning by Arifa Akbar

Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, LondonChild-friendly adaptation that features an airborne chicken takeaway and Prospero casting spells with an iPad is a lovely introduction to Shakespeare …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:43AM
Friday, July 7, 2023

All Right. Good Night. review – extraordinary show about dementia and a disappearing plane by Arifa Akbar

Home, ManchesterThis hugely eloquent show weaves together the awful mystery of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 with the tale of a father’s slide into dementia This experimental drama takes …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:07AM

They review – Maxine Peake’s powerful delivery leaves us wanting more by Arifa Akbar

John Rylands Library, ManchesterThe actor’s controlled inner outrage reels us in with this eerily prescient tale from 1977 of a dystopia in which art is criminalised It is eerily fitting t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:37AM
Thursday, July 6, 2023

The Wizard of Oz review – over the rainbow and into an arcade game by Arifa Akbar

London PalladiumThis adaptation has a luminous performance from Georgina Onuorah as Dorothy and some great ideas but throws too much at the audience This turbo-charged revival of Andrew Lloy…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:43PM
Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Modest review – rollicking tale of star Victorian artist by Arifa Akbar

Kiln theatre, LondonElizabeth Thompson takes on the whiskered lads of the Royal Academy in a show that bubbles over with charisma Elizabeth Thompson was once such a famous artist that a poli…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:19AM

Edinburgh festival 2023: 50 shows to see by Brian Logan, Arifa Akbar and Lyndsey Winship

Cracking comedy, an eclectic mix of theatre – and aerial dance in an ice rink. Our critics share their picks for the August arts extravaganza Rhod Gilbert: Work in Progress Gilded Balloon …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:07AM
Sunday, July 2, 2023

Happy Days review – Siobhán McSweeney brings masterful touch to Beckett’s masterpiece by Arifa Akbar

Birmingham RepThe Derry Girls star adds wonderfully subtle clowning and a beguiling naturalism to the absurd classic about a woman quite literally stuck in marital stasis The sun beats down …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:37AM
Friday, June 30, 2023

A Playlist for the Revolution review – Hong Kong romcom turns serious by Arifa Akbar

Bush theatre, LondonSet against a backdrop of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, AJ Yi’s thought-provoking and zingy culture-clash comedy contrasts online bedroom activism with the real thing We…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:19AM
Thursday, June 29, 2023

A Strange Loop review –‘fat, Black, queer body’ musical is magnificent by Arifa Akbar

Barbican theatre, LondonMichael R Jackson’s Pulitzer-winning play is a strikingly original, highly entertaining tour of identity politics and the struggles of selfhood Michael R Jackson’…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:19PM
Wednesday, June 28, 2023

As You Like It review – age-blind anti-production pulls the rug on Arden by Arifa Akbar

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonA bewitching cast cleverly turns Shakespeare into improv comedy in a backstage ‘rehearsal’ of the play, in which age and memory are played f…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:49AM
Sunday, June 25, 2023

Robin Hood. The Legend. Re-Written review – inventive take on outlaw tale by Arifa Akbar

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London With anarchic comedy, songs and merry gender twists in Carl Grose’s version, the folk hero of Sherwood Forest blazes a fresh trail of must-see summ…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:43AM
Friday, June 23, 2023

Mrs Doubtfire: The New Musical Comedy review – all energy, no emotion by Arifa Akbar

Shaftesbury theatre, LondonThe cast do their exuberant best but this bland, by-the-numbers retread of the 1990s film lacks feeling and adds nothing original beyond a reference to Love Island…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:55AM
Thursday, June 22, 2023

The Pillowman review – Lily Allen fails to deliver visceral punch by Arifa Akbar

Duke of York’s, London In this revival of Martin McDonagh’s play about child mutilation, tyranny and freedom of expression, the twists and turns between comic and macabre sadly do not co…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:13AM
Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Dear England review – touching, funny retelling of Gareth Southgate’s quiet revolution by Arifa Akbar

National Theatre, LondonIt’s a game of two halves, but Jason Graham’s dramatisation of Southgate rescuing a languishing England team delivers tension and movement James Graham’s story…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:07PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
TBA: Titanic