All stories by Kate Wyver on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 23, 2022

Everyday review – witchy rituals and a search for safety by Kate Wyver

New Diorama, LondonDeafinitely Theatre’s evocative and tender show was inspired by real stories of abuse against deaf women and non-binary people In British Sign Language, the sign for a w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM
Friday, May 20, 2022

Bliss review – relentlessly grim drama haunted by the ghosts of war by Kate Wyver

Finborough, LondonHunger and disease stalk Russia in the aftermath of conflict in this play based on a story by Andrey Platonov This is a glum, plodding production depicting a grim, hard-hea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM
Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Snatched review – former Corrie star’s solo show is sharp and funny by Kate Wyver

Soho theatre, LondonMelissa Johns articulates how she learned to navigate an ableist world as a woman with one and a half arms Bullies sneak in at the sidelines of this story, but Melissa Jo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AM
Monday, May 16, 2022

I Want My Hat Back: Jon Klassen classic goes from shoebox-sized puppet show to the stage by Kate Wyver

Two friends delighted half a million kids with a tiny production in a cardboard box. Now they’re sizing up the much-loved bulbous bear for the Little Angel theatre ‘We made nearly half a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM
Thursday, May 12, 2022

Julius Caesar review – the revolution is rerouted in scattered Shakespeare by Kate Wyver

Shakespeare’s Globe, LondonLess a tense examination of a failing republic, or even of women in power, there is little electricity or danger here The Globe’s audience serve as the easily …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24PM
Tuesday, May 10, 2022

‘It’s hard to find a teacher for sword-swallowing’: the thrilling skills of circus showwomen by Kate Wyver

Pioneering female entertainers, including a 1930s clown and a Wall of Death stunt rider, are celebrated in a show by a fearless group of performers Female performers in British variety acts …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:48AM
Monday, May 2, 2022

‘I want to create a lesbian mecca’: Iman Qureshi on her play about a glorious women’s choir by Kate Wyver

After seeing how moved gay men were by The Inheritance, the playwright wanted to write something that would strike a chord with women – so came up with The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs A gr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18AM
Monday, April 11, 2022

I Know I Know I Know review – astute drama uncovers an abusive relationship by Kate Wyver

Southwark Playhouse, LondonSecrets bite and speeches overlap as we realise musician Max has been grooming Alice since she was 16 The tension is like a tidal wave in Flora Wilson Brown’s da…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:33PM
Sunday, April 3, 2022

Telethon review – a 24-hour charity special is squeezed into 90 minutes, but it still feels too long by Kate Wyver

Shoreditch Town Hall, LondonMemes and the personal drama of worn-out celebrity take centre stage as an energetic trio of C-listers unite to fight the climate crisis A wealth of ideas have be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:42AM
Wednesday, March 23, 2022

The Marriage of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein review – upstaged by wedding guests by Kate Wyver

Jermyn Street theatre, LondonThis fantasy ceremony for the modernist couple is too preoccupied with the famous men cavorting around them Attempting to combine absurdist farce, genuine traged…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AM
Thursday, March 17, 2022

Tom Fool review – money bites in deeply felt family drama by Kate Wyver

Orange Tree theatre, RichmondFranz Xaver Kroetz’s play is a sharp exploration of the way finances wriggle their way into the existing rifts of everyday life What quiet, splintering perform…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM
Thursday, March 10, 2022

Fiji review – human-flesh dinner date is remarkably tender by Kate Wyver

Omnibus theatre, LondonUnnerving but surprisingly funny two-hander inspired by ‘consensual cannibal’ Armin Meiwes I’m loth to kink-shame, but I’m not sure I can get behind consensua…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54PM
Tuesday, March 8, 2022

And now for a song about the clitoris! The joy of sex education by Kate Wyver

With gags, tunes and dance, The Family Sex Show celebrates sexual pleasure, equality and independence. What is there to be embarrassed about, asks theatre-maker Josie Dale-Jones ‘I remembe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:18AM
Thursday, March 3, 2022

The Merchant of Venice review – heart-wrenching revenge remix by Kate Wyver

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonAbigail Graham trims and reshuffle’s Shakespeare’s play with glitzy gameshow scenes and a brutal, lonely reckoning A stained, lidless plastic container res…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:36AM
Thursday, February 10, 2022

‘Audiences want an event’: inside the groundbreaking new version of Jekyll and Hyde by Kate Wyver

Is it a play? Or is it a film? There are two sides to director Hope Dickson Leach’s ambitious staging of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale “Cinema is about change,” says Hope Dic…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06AM
Monday, February 7, 2022

‘I wanted to know what the human body is capable of’: the drama set entirely in water by Kate Wyver

Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s new play is a story of sisters, pain and the gruelling long-distance swim to cross the Channel Grief, says playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, is an endurance test. “…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:18AM
Friday, January 28, 2022

The Glow review – myth and history collide in a sci-fi spine-tingler by Kate Wyver

Royal Court, LondonAlistair McDowall’s enthralling meditation on time and mortality features a sword-fighting knight and a Victorian medium With a slowly unravelled mystery at its centre, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:48AM
Thursday, January 27, 2022

‘You have to double-cross the audience’: the director turning Cluedo into a theatre murder mystery by Kate Wyver

Will it be Miss Scarlett with the lead pipe? Or that horrid Colonel Mustard? Mark Bell explains why the board game’s enduring appeal makes it ideal for the stage ”There are always moment…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:18AM
Thursday, January 20, 2022

Moulin Rouge! The Musical review – wonderfully wild but close to karaoke by Kate Wyver

Piccadilly theatre, LondonWith pyrotechnics, a looming elephant, scenery to die for and a cast with energy to burn, this revival only falters when it tries to update the tunes At the end of …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24PM
Wednesday, January 19, 2022

You’re on! The understudies who saved Christmas as Omicron raged by Kate Wyver

As Covid hit casts, understudies suddenly found themselves needed everywhere – with little warning. We meet these unsung heroes, including a Beanstalk Jack who took on three other last-min…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM
Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Three pantos in one day? Oh yes I did! by Kate Wyver

A triple bill of Sleeping Beauty, Jack & the Beanstalk and Dick Whittington brings giggles, cheer, glitter galore and, well, a bit of a headache My head is filled with nothing but glitte…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:06AM
Thursday, December 9, 2021

Fair Play review – dynamic two-hander tracks gender and race in sport by Kate Wyver

Bush theatre, LondonElla Road’s remarkable play, directed by Monique Touko, is a tender and intimate story of teenage friendship and athletics A pair of talented teenage runners are dangli…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Monday, December 6, 2021

‘I cried every day at work – now I am here!’ Spring Awakening’s fresh cast step on stage by Kate Wyver

Frank Wedekind’s banned 19th-century classic, now a youth rock musical, is back on stage – with a young cast who came of age in the pandemic No one saw Spring Awakening for the first 15 …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:33AM
Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Redemption review – a powerful journey of hope, grief, grime and soul by Kate Wyver

The Big House, LondonThis immersive show creates a raucous energy as Maz runs away from her care home and tries to carve her place in the music scene Every year there are new immersive shows…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM
Thursday, November 18, 2021

The Wife of Willesden review – Zadie Smith’s boozy lock-in is a bawdy treat by Kate Wyver

Kiln theatre, LondonThe author’s debut play lets one of Chaucer’s most revolutionary characters loose in modern-day Kilburn in a celebration of community and a life well-lived For her de…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM
Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Rare Earth Mettle review – secret deals and wordy debates by Kate Wyver

Royal Court, LondonEverything here is plot as Al Smith’s play speeds over many huge issues with little time to register their impact In Al Smith’s ambitious and cynical new play, everybo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM
Thursday, October 21, 2021

‘It’s going to be bigger, stranger’: Neil Gaiman on the return of The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Kate Wyver

Two years after its first staging, Gaiman’s dark fairytale has returned, this time to the West End. The author, cast and creative team discuss bringing the eldritch magic of childhood to l…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AM
Monday, October 18, 2021

Yellowfin review – shocking testimony from a world with empty oceans by Kate Wyver

Southwark Playhouse, LondonThree senators at a hearing in Washington DC try to find out where all the fish have gone in Marek Horn’s smart but deliberately frustrating one-room play Tuna h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:18AM
Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Foxes review – shattering tale of faith and family by Kate Wyver

Theatre 503, LondonDexter Flanders’ tender debut about a fractured family shows the tensions and compromises faced by Black gay men Through the story of one beautiful, fractured family, t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:03PM

Ian McDiarmid: ‘Why should older people go quietly? We’ve still got things to say and things to do’ by Kate Wyver

The Olivier-winning actor who plays Emperor Palpatine in the Star Wars series talks to Kate Wyver about the fight against ‘end-of-life serenity’, adapting Julian Barnes for the stage, an…

SOURCE: The Independent at 02:32AM
Friday, October 8, 2021

Athena review – teenage duellists take a hesitant stab at friendship by Kate Wyver

Yard theatre, LondonTwo vividly portrayed fencers shuffle towards a climactic battle in this smart, galvanising coming-of-age drama The verbal sparring is sharp and pointed in Gracie Gardne…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM

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