All stories by Demetrios Matheou on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

American Buffalo, Wyndham's Theatre by Demetrios Matheou

From the great, gasp-inducing rush of colour when the curtain opens on American Buffalo to the embrace that closes it, this revival of David Mamet’s career-making rummage through the junky…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:11PM
Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Oppenheimer, RSC, Vaudeville by Demetrios Matheou

“Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” J Robert Oppenheimer’s quote from Hindu scripture is often used to signify the scientist’s rueful realisation of what he had created…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:00PM
Friday, March 6, 2015

Antigone, Barbican by Demetrios Matheou

Last year the London stage was treated to an electrifying Medea and an intelligent, refreshing Electra, at The National and the Old Vic respectively. Now it’s the turn of the Barbican to u…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:00AM
Wednesday, January 28, 2015

The Ruling Class, Trafalgar Studios by Demetrios Matheou

Now that the national self-delusion of the classless society has been laid to rest by the double whammy of economic crisis and the Cameron-Osborne-Johnson era of Bullingdon Club governance, …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:23PM
Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Electra, Old Vic by Demetrios Matheou

As revered as the Greek tragedies may be, I have to admit to feeling a little weary of all that conspicuous, over-ripe angst, and the expectation of our sympathy, even empathy for matricides…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:38PM
Friday, September 26, 2014

The James Plays, National Theatre by Demetrios Matheou

Rona Munro’s trilogy of plays about Scotland’s Stuart kings premiered at the Edinburgh Festival when Scottish independence was, for many, still a cherished possibility; it transfers to L…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:08PM
Tuesday, September 9, 2014

True West, Tricycle Theatre by Demetrios Matheou

Time doesn’t take any of the edge off Sam Shepard’s rollicking reflection on the dichotomy of America, the tussle between the myth and the dream, represented by two warring brothers trap…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:35PM
Tuesday, July 29, 2014

A Streetcar Named Desire, The Young Vic by Demetrios Matheou

The latest production of Tennessee Williams’s sultry, brutal yet poetic masterpiece is mainstream theatre that dares to go out on a limb. Directed by Benedict Andrews, it may occasionally …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:17AM
Thursday, July 10, 2014

Richard III, Trafalgar Studios by Demetrios Matheou

Imagine Dr Watson trying his hand at Moriarty? That’s not the challenge of this Richard III, but the exciting prospect – to see an actor usually called upon to be the sidekick and nice g…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:00PM
Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Fathers and Sons, Donmar Warehouse by Demetrios Matheou

Brian Friel’s affinity with Russian writers, notably Chekhov and Turgenev, is central to his work, his seeing similarities between their tragi-comic characters, hanging onto “old certain…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:59AM
Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Fatal Attraction, Theatre Royal Haymarket by Demetrios Matheou

Just before the curtain came up for the second half of Fatal Attraction, a chap sitting behind me told his companion, “All I remember is that it ends quite badly.” It may seem like a che…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:20AM
Friday, December 13, 2013

Richard II, Barbican by Demetrios Matheou

Richard II arrives in London after a highly successful Stratford run, and while the glow of David Tennant’s Hamlet resides still in the memory. Surprisingly, the pleasure of the production…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:00AM
Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Strangers on a Train, Gielgud Theatre by Demetrios Matheou

Whether you’re partial to Highsmith or Hitchcock, or both, there’s something deliciously exciting about the prospect of Strangers on a Train. Much of that anticipation lies in the intrig…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:34AM
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013

Race, Hampstead Theatre by Demetrios Matheou

We know that David Mamet doesn’t beat about the bush; he tackles sensitive issues and the least attractive aspects of human nature head on, while his characters use language as weapons aga…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:00AM
Thursday, May 23, 2013

To Kill A Mockingbird, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre by Demetrios Matheou

Every May the townspeople of Monroeville, Alabama, the home of Harper Lee, perform Christopher Sergel’s theatrical adaptation of Lee’s acclaimed, much beloved novel, on the grounds of th…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:47AM
Wednesday, May 15, 2013

These Shining Lives, Park Theatre by Demetrios Matheou

North London has a splendid new theatre, The Park, whose £2.5 million existence – without a penny of government subsidy – is something  of a miracle given our cash-strapped times. …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 11:00PM
Thursday, May 9, 2013

The Hothouse, Trafalgar Studios by Demetrios Matheou

Throughout Harold Pinter’s The Hothouse, the characters of an ill-defined institution split hairs over the service it provides. Is it a rest home, a nursing home, a sanatorium? They may be…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:42PM
Friday, February 1, 2013

Old Times, Harold Pinter Theatre by Demetrios Matheou

This production of Old Times is a big deal. It’s the first of Harold Pinter’s plays to be performed in the theatre renamed after him; it marks the reunion of director Ian Rickson and Kri…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:00AM
Thursday, December 6, 2012

Old Money, Hampstead Theatre by Demetrios Matheou

We never glimpse the source of the old money in Sarah’s Wooley’s new play, for it’s his funeral that opens proceedings. We will get no sense of the man, or the extent of his wealth, or…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 11:58AM
Thursday, June 14, 2012

Globe to Globe: Henry V, Shakespeare's Globe by Demetrios Matheou

Henry V is a play with so many layers, and such ambivalence, that it can suit a multitude of purposes. When Laurence Olivier made his film version in 1944, it was as a propagandist rallying …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:08PM
Friday, June 1, 2012

Globe to Globe: The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare’s Globe by Demetrios Matheou

The Comedy of Errors may not be one of Shakespeare’s most notable plays, yet this production embodied the essence of the Globe to Globe season. While the play was lent new kinds of hilarit…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:27AM
Saturday, May 5, 2012

Brimstone and Treacle, Arcola Theatre by Demetrios Matheou

Life was altogether richer when Dennis Potter was around to provoke and worry us, to make us look queasily at the corrupt, hypocritical or despairing aspects of our lives, ever entertainingl…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 12:31AM
Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The King's Speech, Wyndham's Theatre by Demetrios Matheou

Little more than a year since The King’s Speech hit pay dirt at the Oscars, David Seidler’s tale of a prince stuttering between duty and impediment takes to the stage. Rather than a spee…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:48AM

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 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime