All stories by Arifa Akbar on BroadwayStars

Friday, June 26, 2020

The Last Five Years review – poignant deconstruction of a marriage by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineThere are astute lyrics and energetic performances in this tale of a relationship, from first night to marriage to break-up Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dan…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:06AM
Thursday, June 25, 2020

Rush review – Rupert Everett searches for the meaning of monogamy by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineA gay love triangle leads to a generational battle over queer identity in this beguiling, Zoom-broadcast comedy of manners Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and danc…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:36PM
Wednesday, June 17, 2020

The Protest review – superb set of dramas for the Black Lives Matter movement by Arifa Akbar

Available onlinePain, anger and everyday racism are examined in this powerful series of short films from the Bush theatre A week ago, the Bush theatre asked six writers for their dramatised …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:42AM
Monday, June 15, 2020

WeRNotVirus review – responses to a pandemic of racism by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineTen short plays responding to the rise in racist attacks since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak have a cumulative power Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AM
Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Continuity review – gripping study of Irish republican terror by Arifa Akbar

Available online In Gerry Moynihan’s monologue, recorded at the Finborough in 2017, Paul Kennedy gives a magnificent performance Gerry Moynihan’s debut play begins in a bustling Northern…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:03PM
Tuesday, June 9, 2020

'There is a growing unease': will Covid-19 damage theatre's progress in diversity? by Arifa Akbar

It would be a tragedy if the lockdown left drama narrower and risk-averse. Our chief critic hears from Kwame Kwei-Armah, Indhu Rubasingham, Lynette Linton and Rachel De-lahay As protests ove…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:42PM
Monday, June 8, 2020

Adventures with the Painted People review – Greig's romance has irresistible spark by Arifa Akbar

BBC Radio 3A Roman soldier falls under the spell of a Pictish woman in this poetic radio play that holds up a mirror to modern Britain Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dance to…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM
Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Pass Over review – Spike Lee directs a supremely masterful tragedy by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineLee’s 2018 film of Antoinette Nwandu’s powerful play, written as a response to the shooting of Trayvon Martin, resonates after the George Floyd killing Two homeless men i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PM
Tuesday, June 2, 2020

A School for Fools review – Belarus Free Theatre's audacious lockdown challenge by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineThe company’s years of operating underground inform a dynamic approach to online drama that goes far beyond talking heads Belarus Free Theatre began rehearsing an adaptatio…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:03PM
Thursday, May 28, 2020

Good Girl review – one woman's quest to inhabit her body by Arifa Akbar

Soho Theatre On DemandNaomi Sheldon fuses comedy with candour as she tracks a woman’s sexual journey from liberated teen to unfulfilled adult ‘One is not born, but rather becomes, a wom…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54PM
Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Groomed review – horrifyingly honest study of abuser and abused by Arifa Akbar

Available onlinePatrick Sandford makes an astonishing dramatisation of childhood abuse and its consequences over a lifetime in this eloquent film In 2016, Patrick Sandford performed an autob…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:32PM
Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Unprecedented review – making gripping drama out of corona crisis by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineHeadlong’s superb series explores lockdown life, with a cast including Alison Steadman, Katherine Parkinson, Lennie James and Gemma Arterton A week before the Covid-19 lock…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM
Monday, May 25, 2020

Anno Domino review – marital woe and toxic politics in Ayckbourn's lockdown play by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineThe playwright and his wife, actor Heather Stoney, play all eight parts – from 70-somethings to teenagers – in his 84th drama Alan Ayckbourn’s hefty oeuvre lingers on t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM

James Graham on This House: 'I'm writing a sort-of sequel – with an unlikely hero' by Arifa Akbar

As his parliamentary epic is streamed for National Theatre at Home, the playwright discusses politics of the past and present – and the future of theatre The best theatre and dance to wat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24AM
Sunday, May 24, 2020

Party Skills for the End of the World review – a wild night out … without leaving the sofa by Arifa Akbar

Manchester international festivalBooze, music and martial-arts lessons are punctuated by existential musings in this delightfully strange virtual blowout Hottest front-room seats: best theat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AM
Tuesday, May 19, 2020

David Nicholls: 'I crave to see people touching, kissing and fighting on screen' by Arifa Akbar

As his novel The Understudy is turned into a radio play starring Stephen Fry, the writer talks about his own failed acting career – and what dramas will be like after the coronavirus Long …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM

Love, Loss and What I Wore review – all dressed up by the Ephron sisters by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineA starry cast muse on first bras, prom dresses, marriage and motherhood in Nora and Delia Ephron’s magnificent celebration of clothes – and life Hottest front-room seats…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AM
Sunday, May 17, 2020

What Do We Need To Talk About? review – addictive family drama by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineThe Apple siblings from Richard Nelson’s quartet of plays return on a Zoom call to talk about life in lockdown Hottest front-room seats: best theatre and dance online For t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24AM
Thursday, May 14, 2020

Midnight Your Time review – Diana Quick's quietly tragic portrait of motherhood by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineThe story of a woman in London trying desperately to connect online with her daughter in Palestine suits these isolated times well The best arts and entertainment during self…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AM
Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Midnight Your Time: Diana Quick on motherhood and her 'empty nest' drama by Arifa Akbar

Despite a knee injury, the actor’s lockdown has been productive – she stars in the Donmar’s online play about a mother’s relationship with her daughter Hottest front-room seats: bes…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Thursday, May 7, 2020

Up close and sensational: the best monologues made during lockdown by Arifa Akbar

From love triangles to the bond between mothers and daughters, performers step into the relationships minefield Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dance online The beady-eyed cha…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:32AM
Monday, May 4, 2020

Homemakers review – gothic horror and mascara-smeared meltdown by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineAd Infinitum conjure a surreal world from the Covid-19 pandemic, while Bryony Kimmings unravels flamboyantly Hottest front-room seats: best theatre and dance online The task …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM
Thursday, April 23, 2020

National Theatre boss Rufus Norris: 'my biggest worry is about survival' by Arifa Akbar

Artistic director says theatre sector is in ‘premier league of risk’ caused by Covid-19 and calls on increased government support for freelancers Rufus Norris has warned that the UK’s …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36AM
Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Americana Kamikaze review – film noir and Japanese horror chill reality into a dream by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineTemporary Distortion’s stage scarer uses filmic elements to gripping and claustrophobic effect in a story of infidelity and murder Hottest front-room seats: the best theatr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM
Tuesday, April 14, 2020

The Way Out review – join Omid Djalili on a whirl through wonderland by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineThe labyrinthine corridors of Battersea Arts Centre become a rabbit hole of live acts in this bewitching single-take film Hottest front-room seats: theatre and dance to wat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM
Sunday, April 12, 2020

The Beast Will Rise review – intense solos for a world in isolation by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineGators and Zarabooshka, the first instalments in a new 14-part series of monologues by Philip Ridley, feature anxious characters marooned in confusing times Front-room seats…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54PM
Friday, April 10, 2020

Jade Anouka: 'Theatre is struggling but we are keeping performance alive' by Arifa Akbar

The actor and writer, who recently masterminded a viral Shakespeare video, stars in a new drama about life under lockdown and is ready to reveal her one-woman play, Heart Hottest front-room …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:03AM
Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Mushy: Lyrically Speaking review – smart musical about Educating Yorkshire star by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineThis touching show about the schoolboy and reality TV stand-out Musharaf Asghar is compellingly performed Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dance to watch onlin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:18AM
Sunday, April 5, 2020

Crossings review – unlikely friendships help heal war's horrors by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineDeirdre Kinahan’s touching drama about homosexuality and women’s lives celebrates song, dance and the comfort of theatre Front-room seats: best theatre and dance to watch…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM
Thursday, April 2, 2020

Now I’m Fine review – candid gem mixes standup and mesmerising music by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineAhamefule J Oluo’s 2014 show about having an autoimmune disease is a moving hybrid of comedy, theatre and jazz Since venues closed their doors because of the coronavirus, a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:32AM
Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Where Do We Go Next? review – theatrical idealism at a critical time by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineBunker theatre’s six short films should inspire some fruitful reflection by the theatre industry during coronavirus lockdown The six short films comprising Where Do We Go N…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM