All stories by Helen Hawkins on BroadwayStars

Sunday, December 15, 2024

Swan Lake, Sadler's Wells review - 30 years on, as bold and brilliant as ever by Helen Hawkins

Matthew Bourne's masterly reinvention has become a classic itself How do you refresh a masterpiece? Bringing back his first and still greatest hit, Swan Lake, Matthew Bourne seems to have ch…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 01:48PM
Friday, December 13, 2024

The Little Foxes, Young Vic review - timeshifted production that blurs the play’s focus by Helen Hawkins

Lillian Hellman’s family feud set in 1900 Alabama doesn’t survive a confused updating The Young Vic has opened under a new artistic director with a puzzle play. The puzzle is, why stage …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:48PM
Wednesday, December 11, 2024

The Producers, Menier Chocolate Factory review - liberating taboo-busting fun for grown-ups by Helen Hawkins

Director Patrick Marber does Mel Brooks's 1967 musical proud There is something deliciously perfect about the timing of The Producers’ arrival at the Menier Chocolate Factory. In these twi…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:06AM
Friday, November 29, 2024

The Purists, Kiln Theatre review - warm, witty, thoughtful and un-woke by Helen Hawkins

Dan McCabe's play about ageing hiphop stars makes a winning European debut Watching Dan McCabe’s 2019 play, older folk might be reminded of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band’s indelible lyrics,…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 11:18AM
Friday, November 1, 2024

Guards at the Taj, Orange Tree Theatre review - miniature marvel with rich resonances by Helen Hawkins

Rajiv Joseph’s play pitting beauty against duty gets an impressive staging It’s 1648 in Agra, and an excitable young guardsman has come up with an idea: a giant flying platform that he c…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 11:02AM
Friday, October 18, 2024

The Fear of 13, Donmar Warehouse review - powerful analysis of a gross injustice by Helen Hawkins

A magnificent Adrien Brody leads a moving production by Justin Martin There is star casting, and there is casting the right star – not the same thing. The Donmar’s new production, The Fe…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:42AM
Thursday, October 17, 2024

The Duchess [of Malfi], Trafalgar Theatre review - actors imprisoned by confused time travelling by Helen Hawkins

Zinnie Harris's modern take robs the play of its tragic potential John Webster’s sour, bloody tale of brotherly greed and vice has been updated by the playwright Zinnie Harris, who also di…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:54AM

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, Marylebone Theatre review - explosive play for today by Helen Hawkins

Nathan Englander probes a divide in modern Jewish identity; Patrick Marber directs An incendiary play has opened at the Marylebone, the adventurous venue just off Baker Street. Bigger houses…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 05:32AM
Thursday, October 10, 2024

Gigi and Dar, Arcola Theatre review - a war-game of two halves by Helen Hawkins

Josh Azouz and Kathryn Hunter concoct an uneasy mix of comedy and tragedy The writer-director Josh Azouz and actor-director Kathryn Hunter have collaborated on a piece exploring the ethics o…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:42AM
Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Bellringers, Hampstead Downstairs review - mordant comedy about the end of the world by Helen Hawkins

Daisy Hall's astonishing debut is both darkly funny and deadly serious As hurricanes rip into the American Gulf states with increasing ferocity, eastern Europe disappears underwater and eve…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:36PM
Friday, October 4, 2024

Lear, Barbican Theatre review - a very stormy saga, Korean-style by Helen Hawkins

Changgeuk Company bring an epic poem quality to the familiar tale What do the cult TV show Squid Game and National Changgeuk Company of Korea’s Lear have in common? Oddly, a K-Pop producer…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:06PM
Tuesday, October 1, 2024

The Cabinet Minister, Menier Chocolate Factory review - sparkling tour de force of a farce by Helen Hawkins

Pinero's play emerges fresh-minted in an exquisite production The stock of the late 19th century playwright Arthur Wing Pinero has just received a significant boost, thanks to the brilliant …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:12AM
Monday, September 30, 2024

A Face in the Crowd, Young Vic review - lame rehash of a 1950s film satire by Helen Hawkins

Spirited performances of Elvis Costello’s bland songs can’t save this new musical It’s hard to work out why Kwame-Kwei Armah chose to end his tenure at the Young Vic by directing this …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:06PM
Friday, September 27, 2024

Coriolanus, Olivier/National Theatre review - ambitious staging but the tragedy goes missing by Helen Hawkins

Lyndsey Turner's fast-paced production doesn't let the audience engage with its hero The National’s new production of Coriolanus has to be one of the most handsome to appear on the Olivier…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:18AM
Friday, September 13, 2024

Our Country's Good, Lyric Hammersmith review - lively but patchy revival by Helen Hawkins

Timberlake Wertenbaker's updated version takes particular aim at colonialism The latest Greatest Hit to land at the Lyric is Timberlake Wertenbaker’s 1988 award-winning play about a perfor…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 05:12AM
Thursday, August 29, 2024

A Night with Janis Joplin: The Musical, Peacock Theatre review - belting Blues singing in an oddly sanitised format by Helen Hawkins

A wealth of musical talent keeps this gig musical afloat The signs in the Peacock’s foyer warn that this show features "very loud music”. Exactly what Janis Joplin fans want to hear. Thi…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:36AM
Thursday, August 22, 2024

The 39 Steps, Trafalgar Theatre review - return of an entertaining panto for grown-ups by Helen Hawkins

Patrick Barlow’s brand of silly still delivers a sly Hitchcock spoof Before the Plays That Went Wrong and the multi-role six-hander Operation Mincemeat, there was Patrick Barlow’s adapt…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:54AM
Thursday, August 15, 2024

Death of England: Michael / Death of England: Delroy, Soho Place review - thrilling portraits, brilliantly performed, of rebels without a cause by Helen Hawkins

Roy Williams and Clint Dyer's protagonists rage against the limits of their lives Two boys in east London, one Black, one white, grow up together, play pranks at school, then decades later h…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:44AM
Friday, August 9, 2024

The Grapes of Wrath, NT Lyttelton review - a bleak journey into migrant purgatory by Helen Hawkins

The National's finely acted staging of Steinbeck's grim classic is a tough watch It’s a brave company that embarks on a staging of John Steinbeck’s award-winning 1939 novel The Grapes of…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 06:08AM
Tuesday, August 6, 2024

A Chorus Line, Sadler's Wells review - high-kicking fun that's low on pathos by Helen Hawkins

Michael Bennett's 1975 hit has plenty of pizzazz but not enough emotional oomph A Chorus Line reigned supreme on Broadway from 1975 to 1990, a bold, bare-bones piece that for once put musica…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 05:54AM
Monday, July 22, 2024

Red Speedo, Orange Tree Theatre review - two versions of American values slug it out by Helen Hawkins

Timely arrival for Lucas Hnath's play about the cost of winning Before Lucas Hnath wrote Red Speedo, he had heard a 2004 speech at a hearing investigating baseball doping that declared the p…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 05:36AM
Saturday, July 20, 2024

ECHO, Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs - enriching journey into the mind of an exile by Helen Hawkins

Nassim Soleimanpour's latest 'cold read' work is a unique experience The Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour is many things, some seemingly contradictory: a) a clever, poetic playwright w…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:02PM
Monday, July 15, 2024

More Than One Story review - nine helpings of provocative political theatre by Helen Hawkins

Cardboard Citizens shine an unforgiving light on poverty in the UK A stark end-title at the end of this collection of short films sums up the dire situation the UK is in: one in five people,…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:06AM
Friday, July 12, 2024

Visit from an Unknown Woman, Hampstead Theatre review - slim, overly earthbound slice of writer's angst by Helen Hawkins

Christopher Hampton's love of Stefan Zweig's text becomes a drawback Who was Stefan Zweig? It's likely that it's mostly older folk who studied German literature at A-level who have encounter…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:48PM
Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Grud, Hampstead Theatre review - sparky investigation of a geeky friendship by Helen Hawkins

Two awkward science nerds and a violent alcoholic father are oddly likeable company Sarah Power, the writer of Grud, now in the Hampstead’s smaller space, is a self-confessed geek who e…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:36PM
Monday, July 8, 2024

Skeleton Crew, Donmar Warehouse review - slow burn that satisfyingly catches fire by Helen Hawkins

A fine cast spell out the cost of survival in today's ailing industries For a long stretch of its first half, Dominique Morrisseau’s 2016 award-winner, Skeleton Crew, seems a conventional…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:32PM
Saturday, June 29, 2024

Mean Girls, Savoy Theatre review - standout performances save a thin score by Helen Hawkins

Fans of the film will love it, but it's like being in a pink fever dream Nothing anybody over the age of 30 says about the new Mean Girls musical, spawn of Tina Fey’s witty script for the …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:48PM
Friday, June 28, 2024

The Secret Garden, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre review - adaptation more edifying than beguiling by Helen Hawkins

A production with a green message for younger audiences It's a bold move by Regent's Park Open Air Theatre to tackle Frances Hodgson Burnett's children's classic, a story that's been notably…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:54AM
Thursday, June 20, 2024

Kiss Me, Kate, Barbican review - an entertaining, high-octane Cole Porter revival by Helen Hawkins

'Brush Up Your Shakespeare' brings the house down in a strongly cast lineup Lincoln Center’s Bartlett Sher is back in town to direct the Barbican’s latest summer blockbuster, Cole Porter…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:54AM
Monday, June 10, 2024

Wedding Band, Lyric Hammersmith review - revelatory staging of a Black classic by Helen Hawkins

Alice Childress's 1962 play about interracial love has lost none of its richness and fire Alice Childress’s Wedding Band has arrived at the Lyric Hammersmith like an incendiary bomb, a wea…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:42AM
Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Passing Strange, Young Vic review - exuberant pocket musical with a thoughtful core by Helen Hawkins

Giles Terera excels leading a livewire cast in an irreverent look at Black identity From New York’s Public Theater, the venue that nurtured Hamilton, comes another estimable pocket musical…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:32AM

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