All stories by Gareth Llŷr Evans on BroadwayStars

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Odyssey ’84 review – the miners’ strike gets a Homeric twist by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Sherman theatre, CardiffTim Price’s play links a 1980s coal miner with Odysseus in an affecting if heavy-handed mythological drama Forty years after the 1984 miners’ strike, Tim Price�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:32PM
Sunday, October 13, 2024

The New Real review – facts are an illusion in David Edgar’s post-truth political play by Gareth Llŷr Evans

The Other Place, Stratford-upon-AvonTwo strategists from the US and New Labour are recruited to help win a ruthless election in a former Russian colony The New Real is bookended by scenes wh…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06PM
Wednesday, June 12, 2024

A Child of Science review – heartbreak and hard work behind birth of IVF by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Bristol Old VicGareth Farr’s account of IVF’s development is briskly directed but the science feels under-dramatised Towards the end of Gareth Farr’s A Child of Science, which explores…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54AM
Thursday, May 23, 2024

The Women of Llanrumney review – blistering dissection of slavery as the sugar crop fails by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Sherman theatre, CardiffConceptually brilliant, with complex characters and a fearless cast, Azuka Oforka’s debut play is a remarkable examination of women under colonialism with contempor…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM
Thursday, April 11, 2024

Kill Thy Neighbour review – dark secrets of the only family left in the village by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Theatr Clwyd, MoldLucie Lovatt’s elaborate comedy exploring the housing crisis in rural Wales is provocative and conceptually ambitious yet still pleasingly entertaining Caryl and Meirion …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM
Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Feral Monster review – turbulent teen musical at breakneck speed by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Sherman theatre, CardiffThere’s no shortage of smart ideas in Bethan Marlow’s drama of adolescent awakening in rural Wales, but they whiz by before they really develop There isn’t much…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06PM
Thursday, February 8, 2024

Nanny review – light comedy about the dreams and day jobs of a double act by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Bristol Old VicThis play with songs has pleasing performances but needs a clearer idea of what it wants to satirise A comedy double act since their university days and now working as nannies…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM
Thursday, November 9, 2023

Branwen: Dadeni review – epic musical is a landmark in Welsh theatre by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Wales Millennium Centre, CardiffThis Welsh-language retelling of an ancient myth is a huge endeavour, with great performances and lots of promise Here is a Welsh-language theatrical rarity: …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AM
Monday, October 30, 2023

Rhinoseros review – absurdist fable gets a Welsh twist as villagers sling the mud by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Sherman theatre, CardiffManon Steffan Ros has translated Ionesco’s play into Welsh for this technically ambitious and compelling production Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist classic warns tha…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:07AM
Sunday, October 22, 2023

Circle of Fifths review – beautiful and moving portrait of a place and its people by Gareth Llŷr Evans

The Riverfront, NewportGavin Porter’s exploration of grief through the experiences and funeral traditions of the residents of Cardiff’s Butetown pays tribute to the rituals that bind a c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:37AM
Friday, May 12, 2023

Idle, They Yammer review – could the luxury flats business be more absurd? by Gareth Llŷr Evans

The Other Room, CardiffSet on the scaffolding atop a building that never gets finished, Matthew Trevannion’s two-hander is full of dazzling ideas What goes up must come down. Gravity, ligh…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54AM
Sunday, March 26, 2023

Of Mice and Men review – an evocative production with quietly radical casting by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Birmingham Rep theatreWiliam Young, an actor with learning disabilities, gives an affecting, lived-in performance as Lennie in this assured adaptation of Steinbeck’s Dust Bowl classic In …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:00AM
Monday, March 6, 2023

Sorter review – an unflinching account of opioid addiction by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Swansea Grand theatreRichard Mylan’s grim narratives are filled with sympathy and compassion, lifted by Sophie Melville’s all-consuming and fearless performance As noted in a programme g…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00AM
Friday, September 30, 2022

The Famous Five review: forget shipwrecks and spies – the fate of humanity now lies in their hands by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Theatr Clwyd, MoldBrisk direction, plucky performances and complex lyrics propel this original adaptation, as the hunt for a source of renewable energy comes under threat To paraphrase that …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AM
Friday, September 23, 2022

Othello review – taut update from the superb Watermill ensemble by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Watermill theatre, Newbury An excellent cast animate Karla Marie Sweet’s adaptation with a drilled menace, while contemporary songs are employed to remarkable effect Karla Marie Sweet’s …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:25AM
Thursday, July 21, 2022

Huno review – unnerving drama set in a waterlogged dystopia by Gareth Llŷr Evans

The Other Room, CardiffMelding ancient stories with current crises, Tamar Williams’s clever version of Branwen’s story from the Mabinogi is elegantly directed In a week when the climate …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:33PM
Thursday, July 14, 2022

A Pretty Sh*tty Love review – powerful exploration of domestic abuse by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Theatr ClwydBoth actors excel in Katherine Chandler’s fictionalised account of the attempted murder of a Swansea woman in 2015 Carl walks into a cafe in Swansea where Hayley works as a wai…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54AM
Thursday, May 26, 2022

Celebrated Virgins review – a loving tribute to the Ladies of Llangollen by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Theatr ClwydFifty years of a tender idyll are reimagined with dignity, grace – and the odd meta moment At the time of her death in 1829, at the grand age of 90, Eleanor Butler had been liv…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Wednesday, May 18, 2022

A Hero of the People review – Ibsen watered down in Wales by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Sherman theatre, CardiffWhile there are some strong performances and the conceit is intriguing, this modern-day version of the classic fails to convince Towards the end of Brad Birch’s rei…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM
Friday, April 8, 2022

The Meaning of Zong review – a masterful meditation on the legacy of slavery by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Bristol Old VicGiles Terera’s lyrical and inventive drama about a brutal episode in British history brims with urgency, pain and ultimately pride In November and December 1781, 132 enslave…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM
Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Dance to the Bone review – intoxicating songs and invigorating moves by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Sherman theatre, CardiffThe drama may miss a beat, but the music, sleek production and talented ensemble provide a tempting treat for the soul In the week that saw the lifting of almost al…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06PM
Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Petula review – giddy intergalactic voyage ends with a bump by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Sherman theatre, CardiffThis stylish play packs a lot in and has strong performances but its darker nuances are smothered by whimsy Performed and captioned in Welsh, English and some French,…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12PM
Wednesday, March 9, 2022

What Remains of Us review – highly charged reunion of a divided Korean family by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Bristol Old VicA father and daughter meet for the first time in 50 years in this evocative and powerful exploration of grief It is August 2000. In a Seoul hotel at the second state-organised…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM
Wednesday, December 1, 2021

A Christmas Carol review – a clever, Cardiffian spin on the Christmas classic by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Sherman theatre, CardiffPanto tropes are happily pooh-poohed with a gender-swapped Scrooge and properly terrifying puppetry in Joe Murphy’s triumphant Dickens redo Attend the tale of Ebbi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03PM
Monday, October 25, 2021

Isla review – a touching and troubling inquiry into our relationship with AI by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Theatr Clwyd, MoldMark Lambert is superb as a widower given a digital assistant in Tim Price’s rumination on loneliness, privacy and ethics It is March 2020, and widower Roger (Mark Lamber…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12AM
Friday, October 1, 2021

Anfamol review – fearlessly forthright single-motherhood monologue by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Sherman theatre, CardiffNo details are spared in Rhiannon Boyle’s frank and funny exploration of the sperm bank route to parenthood, starring the charismatic Bethan Ellis Owen A Welsh idio…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12PM
Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Missing Julie review – gripping take on Strindberg simmers with tension by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Theatr Clwyd, MoldKaite O’Reilly relocates August Strindberg’s classic to a Welsh stately home in postwar, post-pandemic 1921 ‘What do you know about magnificence?’ asks Christine th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:18PM
Wednesday, September 8, 2021

(Not) the End of the World review – a terrifying, daring look at climate hypocrisies by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Schaubühne, BerlinThe multiverse in Chris Bush’s Kein Weltuntergang, directed by Katie Mitchell, lays bare our contradictions and complicity in the climate crisis Ambivalence and contradi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM
Sunday, August 22, 2021

Curtain Up review – audience livens up poignant grab bag of short plays by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Theatr Clywd, MoldLetting the audience choose props and costumes adds both absurd and affecting possibilities to this selection of 15 new short plays Directed by Theatr Clwyd’s artistic di…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:42PM
Thursday, August 19, 2021

Winners review – expansive parody of capitalism pops with kinetic energy by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Theatre on the Downs, BristolClear in its message and the targets of its take-downs, this play’s rhetoric is persuasive but it leaves you yearning for more Performed in Bristol’s new pop…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:32AM
Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Possible review – as intimate as livestreamed theatre can be by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Available onlineShôn Dale-Jones’s autobiographical show tells the story of his lockdown through texts, WhatsApp group chats and Zoom calls with loved ones Like the denizens of Love Island…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AM

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 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime