Youthful Elsinore reflects life in present-day London It is a truism that every Hamlet is different, depending more than any other play on the casting of the lead. Each production moulds it…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:42PMThis serpentine classic is perfectly placed in every sense Lucy Bailey's production of Christie's Witness for the Prosecution, first staged at County Hall in 2017, has a few years to make up…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:03PMThoughtful and funny revival of a familiar classic Pinter wrote The Dumb Waiter in 1957 (although it wasn't seen in London until 1960) the year before The Birthday Party received its notorio…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:18PMLive performance, film and digital play combine in this misfired interactive experience There is a promising production struggling to get out of this muddled concept. Creation Theatre (here …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:33PMSimon Godwin's debut film is part dressed-down rehearsal, part cinematic flourish Shakespeare's enduring tale of star-crossed lovers is especially pertinent in a pandemic. The fatal plot twi…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:42PMInnovative technology places actors virtually in the Palace Theatre, Manchester The story of Romeo and Juliet is well known, worth revisiting endlessly and always relevant. But there is anot…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:32PMFree reading for charity of Wycherley's first Restoration comedy Swaggering rakes, posturing fops, sexual intrigue, illicit encounters, wit, artifice, wigs, fans and beauty spots - these ar…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:54PMMichelle Terry, John Light and Pearce Quigley lead an inventive cast relishing the comic potential of the Elizabethan stage What could be better for a lockdown summer night "out" than a virt…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:42AMStef Smith brings exhilarating spirit to a familiar classic Ibsen's Nora slammed the door on her infantilising marriage in 1879 but the sound of it has continued to reverberate down the year…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:12PMRebecca Frecknall directs a production which ultimately finds its heart This play can be a challenge for modern audiences: a woman who is ostensibly in a position of power, "a prince" in Ren…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:33AMA vigorous Paterson Joseph meets the Christmas spirits "Dickensian" commonly means both sentimental Victorian, apple-cheeked family perfection (especially at Christmas) and abject poverty. …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:48PMWelsh parable of the second coming makes unusual seasonal fare This is the third Emlyn Williams piece to be presented here in a decade: The Druid's Rest in 2009 was followed by the enormous …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:18PMGender changes provide a new perspective on the balance of power This is one play by Shakespeare ripe for tinkering. It's well nigh impossible now to take it at face value and still find rom…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:48AMCommunicator par excellence on a journey from Gandalf to Macbeth via panto, Coronation Street and gender politics Reviewing Ian McKellen's show is, in one sense, like appraising the Taj Maha…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:03PMThe Spanish classic with an Irish accent Earthiness, lyricism, fatalism, the undeniable force of passion, of ecstatic attraction, known as "duende": these are the familiar ingredients of Lor…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:18PMTanika Gupta's layered version launches a new era Newly arrived from a much-lauded stint at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Rachel O'Riordan has undertaken to make "work of scale by women" du…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:54PMSamantha Womack lurches valiantly through this scarcely credible crime drama It may help if you love the book. It was a runaway bestseller, so fans must be legion, but a suspenseful story wh…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:18PMAs The Night of the Iguana opens, the actor renowned for playing dual roles talks Tennessee Williams, Pinter - and Wallis Simpson Lia Williams is not an actor who looks for easy options. Twi…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:24PMDoubling, humour and an outstanding female Henry V Henry IV Part One (***)
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 05:48AMArthur Miller's tragedy from an African-American viewpoint The Young Vic, a welcoming theatre with a culturally diverse audience, has been home to memorable Miller revivals before, notably I…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 11:42PMThe Shadowlands playwright talks about C S Lewis, love, pain and being a writer It is 30 years since Shadowlands, William Nicholson's much-loved play about C S Lewis's unexpected love affair…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:59PMTwo-hander provides multifarious acting opportunities but insufficient focus Obstetrician Dr Mary Barton had the best of intentions. As a missionary in India she had observed the poor treatm…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:45PM★★ TARTUFFE, NATIONAL THEATRE Morality-heavy version of the comedy classic Brexit provides an unwelcome motor for John Donnelly's Molière-with-a-twist Here's a recipe for a successful N…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:41PMA rediscovered early work by one of the giants of Twentieth Century theatre focuses on a woman's struggle for independenceRemembering meeting Harley Granville Barker when casting him as…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:42PMJacobean and contemporary justice collide in audience-involving dramaForget the cloak in the puddle. Never mind potatoes and tobacco. The children's book cliché of Sir Walter Raleigh (or Ra…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:36PMThe director talks about Macbeth in the candle-lit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, cross-gender casting and the director's roleRobert Hastie is a little late for our meeting. Directing Shakesp…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:24AMRSC transfer presents a crowd-pleasing mix of metatheatrical comedy and music with, ultimately, a touch of melancholy Don Quixote and his paunchy sidekick long ago escaped the pages of Migue…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:36PMHorror flick echoes fail to meet all the play's challengesIt has been said before: Macbeth's reputation for bad luck has more to do with the difficulty of bringing off a successful prod…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:06PMAn ambitious celebratory series kicks off in fine fashionTen years after Pinter's death, Jamie Lloyd has set about honouring the Twentieth Century's outstanding British playwright in an ambi…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:04AMDidactic theatre piece stronger on facts than dramaThe title of Tony Harrison's teacherly entertainment - it can't be called a play - refers to the square bullets invented by James Puckle to…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 06:06PMOscar Wilde's best-loved comedy with extra homo-erotic innuendoAny actor playing Lady Bracknell must dread the moment when she (or, indeed, he) has to deliver that unforgettable line ab…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:32AM