All stories by Kate Wyver on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Monster Show review – trans take on Frankenstein is a stomping experiment by Kate Wyver

Camden People’s theatre, LondonDressed as the creature, Hester Stefan Chillingworth live-dubs the 1931 movie and reframes the narrative The 1931 movie Frankenstein plays silently on the ba…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM
Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Portia Coughlan review – drama rich with secrets and mourning by Kate Wyver

Almeida theatre, LondonMarina Carr’s play is beautifully bleak and Alison Oliver’s central performance as a woman lost in grief is matched by a mighty cast The preoccupation with death i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:07AM
Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Dredging, destruction and date rape drugs: Take Me Somewhere’s daring performance art by Kate Wyver

Electrifying shows at Glasgow’s international festival include Brazilian artist Carolina Bianchi putting her body on the line to highlight violence against women A teenager in a balaclava …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:13AM
Sunday, October 8, 2023

Shooting Hedda Gabler – Ibsen update is a brilliantly unnerving study of coercive control by Kate Wyver

Rose theatre, KingstonA demanding director drives his cast into discomforting areas in this clever play critiquing the patriarchal power structures of the movie business The clench of a gun…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:07AM
Thursday, September 21, 2023

Mlima’s Tale review – haunted by the elephant who would not forget by Kate Wyver

Kiln theatre, LondonIra Mandela Siobhan plays a pachyderm in Lynn Nottage’s indictment of the ivory trade, leaving traces on those who murdered him and sold his tusks The gargantuan tusks …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:25PM
Saturday, September 9, 2023

‘I make the cocktails, then jump on stage and do mind reading’: the people running Britain’s tiniest theatres by Kate Wyver

From the magician who stops his show to serve at the bar to the actor who drives entire plays around in his car, for these theatre-lovers small really is beautiful When a producer rings up a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:43AM
Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Cowboys, puppet witches and toilet humour: joyously queer Edinburgh fringe shows by Kate Wyver

Coming-out tales, ventriloquism, a musical set in a public loo and glamorous late-night cabaret are among the festival’s uplifting LGBTQ+ shows No one ever pays attention when you’re han…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:13PM
Sunday, August 20, 2023

Pitch: the show about queerness in the beautiful game, made with fans and players by Kate Wyver

Growing out of the Lionesses’ success, the Edinburgh fringe play Pitch uses interviews gathered from LGBTQ+ grassroots football teams across the country With muddy knees and soggy feet, we…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:13AM
Saturday, August 19, 2023

Sian Clarke: iCON review – scatty attempt to find solace in the face of doom by Kate Wyver

Summerhall, EdinburghThe conceit that nothing we do can distract from our existential crisis falls flat amid an awkward set of audience participations in this solo show It doesn’t bode wel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:43AM
Thursday, August 17, 2023

Helios review – Greek myth comes sweetly to modern Yorkshire by Kate Wyver

Summerhall, EdinburghGig-theatre blends beguiling music with warm storytelling to retell the story of Phaeton’s theft from the sun god In an airless basement room, Wright and Grainger weav…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:49PM

Funeral review – hushed rituals provide deep communal catharsis by Kate Wyver

Zoo Southside, EdinburghBelgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed create a sombre, dreamlike atmosphere in this piece about funeral rites and mourning We queue up to give the names of our dead…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:49AM
Wednesday, August 16, 2023

The Last Show Before We Die review – heady, gut-wrenching final words by Kate Wyver

Roundabout @ Summerhall, EdinburghUsing verbatim interviews, Ell Potter and Mary Higgins turn their attention to how relationships end – including their own The boldest, bravest and strang…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:07AM
Monday, August 14, 2023

Edinburgh’s superstar magicians on secrets and surprises: ‘You have to be very good at lying’ by Kate Wyver

Magic and mentalism abounds at this year’s festival. But how are the tricks done? Some of the best performers remain tightlipped – while others reveal all “That feeling you have right …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:55AM
Thursday, August 10, 2023

The Effect review – Lucy Prebble’s intense and intoxicating encounter by Kate Wyver

Lyttelton theatre, LondonA love affair between participants in a drug trial is staged by Jamie Lloyd with a stellar cast including Paapa Essiedu and Taylor Russell Senses are sharpened in Ja…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM
Tuesday, August 8, 2023

‘Like a naughty Siri’: friendly sex robot Vanessa 5000 asks audiences to test her powers by Kate Wyver

In her Edinburgh festival show, LA comic and clown Courtney Pauroso plays a latex-clad humanoid pleasure device. But are fringegoers ready to restart her? The last time I saw Courtney Pauros…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:19PM
Monday, July 3, 2023

Cabaret legend Justin Vivian Bond: ‘When I sing, you can hear the drinks and cigarettes I’ve had’ by Kate Wyver

From kicking out the teeth of a dead cow onstage to popularising the prefix Mx, the performer has blazed a trail. Now 60, Bond talks about channeling rage into comedy – and nonconformity i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:19AM
Friday, June 30, 2023

‘I need to do this’: Maxine Peake on her daring dystopia play performed in a library by Kate Wyver

Kay Dick’s novel They was almost forgotten – but its dark predictions are eerily prescient. Perfect fodder for Peake and her new company to bring to life in Manchester In the dead of nig…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:19AM
Friday, June 9, 2023

Es & Flo review – devoted couple contend with the brutality of dementia by Kate Wyver

Kiln theatre, LondonTender portrait of a woman caring for her love – joy and affection seep through performances that ache with the tragedy of seeing your partner slip away Es and Flo danc…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:25AM
Friday, June 2, 2023

‘I want it to feel quite feral’: Rebecca Frecknall on staging Romeo and Juliet by Kate Wyver

From Cabaret to Streetcar, the West End’s hottest director has a reputation for finding leads who put bums on seats. ‘I just go on my gut,’ she says How do you tell a story to an audie…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM
Monday, May 29, 2023

Encore! Surefire shows returning for the Edinburgh festival in 2023 by Chris Wiegand, Anya Ryan, Brian Logan, Mark Fisher, Kate Wyver, Arifa Akbar and David Jays

In the run-up to the festival, our writers will choose new productions that have caught their eye – but here’s a selection of those we’ve already reviewed Richard Marsh has clearly see…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24AM
Tuesday, May 23, 2023

A Midsummer Night’s Dream review – giddy shenanigans with a brilliantly chaotic Puck by Kate Wyver

Shakespeare’s Globe, LondonThis bright, bold show tries to balance humour and darkness but tends to land on the silly side of things Michelle Terry’s Puck is an agent of chaos. She slink…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Monday, May 8, 2023

Blue Now review – remarkable retelling of Derek Jarman’s final film by Kate Wyver

Theatre Royal BrightonSearing collection of diary excerpts, brought to life by prominent queer voices, recalls the devastation of Aids with fury and frankness A mesmeric reckoning with the d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:32AM
Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Blanket Ban review – startling account of abortion laws in Malta by Kate Wyver

Southwark Playhouse, LondonMaltese duo use firsthand interviews – and warm humour – to highlight the lack of reproductive rights on the island When Marta Vella says “I love Malta” th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:42AM
Sunday, April 30, 2023

It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure review – a darkly comic satire on disability by Kate Wyver

Soho theatre, LondonThis debut from disability-led theatre company FlawBored is not afraid to make us squirm as it skewers virtue signalling and corporate buzzwords What starts as an audio-d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:32AM
Thursday, April 20, 2023

No ID review – a frank, funny and intimate exploration of gender transition by Kate Wyver

Royal Court theatre, LondonTatenda Shamiso sings delighted duets with the person he once was and considers the logistical hurdles he has jumped to access treatment Warmly lit on a cluttered …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM
Friday, April 14, 2023

Private Lives review – Coward’s comedy becomes a stark theatre of cruelty by Kate Wyver

Donmar Warehouse, LondonStephen Mangan and Rachael Stirling bare their teeth in a show that dials up the violence and sometimes struggles to navigate the humour Love is a tempestuous, abusiv…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:12AM
Wednesday, April 12, 2023

‘Explicitly queer and trans’: the 1580s play that inspired Shakespeare’s cross-dressing love plots by Kate Wyver

John Lyly’s long-forgotten Galatea – featuring gods, mortals and a highly elastic approach to gender and sex – is being revived at the Brighton festival. We meet the team behind it Wi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM
Friday, March 31, 2023

TV-to-stage plays like Stranger Things are turning theatre upside down. They could make it or break it | Kate Wyver by Kate Wyver

Adaptations of existing media get new fans in the building, but they also rob new plays of space Pay attention to the posters lining the walls of Tube stations, and at least half of the stag…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:06AM
Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Enter stage right: the new wave of musicals taking on the West End adaptations by Kate Wyver

With everything from Bake Off to Pretty Woman putting bums on seats in Theatreland, launching an original homegrown production is harder than ever. But might salvation be at hand in the unli…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Friday, March 17, 2023

Marjorie Prime review – gently uncanny sci-fi shows us how to love an AI by Kate Wyver

Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonAnne Reid shines in this delicately written drama about a woman with dementia living with a robot re-creation of her late husband as a young man Jordan Harris…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:58AM
Thursday, March 2, 2023

Hedda Gabler review – queer update of Ibsen’s intense story of desire by Kate Wyver

Reading Rep theatreIt makes sense to rethink the sexual currents running through the classic drama, but this version has lost the nuance it needs Queering Hedda Gabler feels completely natur…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:09AM

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