Thursday, December 19, 2013
Barbican, LondonChildren just want to laugh at this type of play, or at least believe in the characters, but there's not much chance of either hereMaking theatre for children is not child's …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:47AMCrucible theatre, SheffieldTutti Frutti's charming new take on Aesop's fable celebrates storytelling, families and quality knitwearClickety-click go the knitting needles – and they're not…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:31AMSick of booking fees? Want to see more new writing and less Shakespeare? More cash for the regions? Share your suggestions for how to improve theatreNext Friday, at Oval House in south Londo…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:19AMWednesday, December 18, 2013
Nuffield, SouthamptonThis adaptation of ETA Hoffmann's short story looks good, but fails to engage with its darknessNarrative was never the strongest point of Hattie Naylor and Paul Dodgson'…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:20AMTuesday, December 17, 2013
Crucible, SheffieldDaniel Evans finds some darkness lurking amid the cheer in this joyful pack of brilliant songsDaniel Evans's last two Christmas presents to the people of Sheffield have be…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:08AMMonday, December 16, 2013
Great sets can enhance a production – but can they also disguise weak material?"Too much visual spinning; too many skinny texts," declared Susannah Clapp yesterday, in her review of Georg …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:19PMSouthwark Playhouse, LondonThis affectionate send-up of Scott's expedition to the south pole has fine comic moments, but feels unfinishedThere is a moment in Tinder's affectionate send-up of…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:31AMSunday, December 15, 2013
The Shed, LondonIt takes a while to get going, but when it does, this adaptation of Ross Collins' picture book about a young girl and her troublesome elephant friend really is a joyDespite a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:45PMSaturday, December 14, 2013
A Gay In A Manger | Silly Kings | The Schoolmistress | Moominland MidwinterA Gay In A Manger, GlasgowThere is a tradition of alternative adult festive entertainment across the land. Some of …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00AMFriday, December 13, 2013
Bristol Old VicLittle Bulb's three-hander family show offers a deliciously comic glimpse into the English polar expeditionEat your heart out, David Attenborough! Little Bulb have Antarctica …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:01AMThursday, December 12, 2013
Julie Walters says that Educating Rita has transformed many women's lives. But can a play really make you walk out on your husband?There's plenty of debate about whether theatre can change t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:45AMShe's planted a room with trees and done a show in a pool – but can theatre-maker Geraldine Pilgrim bring the Victorian East End to life?One of Geraldine Pilgrim's earliest memories is of …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:00AMTuesday, December 10, 2013
Jo Brand struggles in the pantomime mecca of SW19 New Wimbledon, LondonThe end of the District line in SW19 has always been a pantomime mecca with Arthur Askey, Tommy Cooper and Danny La R…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18PMYoung Vic, LondonPhelim McDermott thrusts disability into the spotlight and explores the dark heart of the famous fairytalePerformer Mat Fraser is explaining his disability. Assured that it …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:50AMMonday, December 9, 2013
Tobacco Factory, BristolGripping and spirited devised show about Sinbad's lack of sailing prowess that suffers from a choppy narrative – it's snack theatreThere are some hard Christmas act…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:44PMThere have been reports that panto dames and principal boys are under threat, but pantomime is a constantly evolving formThere has been dismay and discord in pantoland this week. Reports in …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:26AMSunday, December 8, 2013
Soho theatre, LondonThis filthy new musical version of Anthony Neilson's 1995 Christmas play about an out-of-sorts city boy piles on the sentimentalityGary (Navin Chowdhry) is a former city&…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:34AMFriday, December 6, 2013
Bristol Old VicThere's plenty to enjoy in this fairytale, including an ingeniously floating mermaid and plenty of panto-style wickednessThe world in which writer Joel Horwood and the directo…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:37AMThursday, December 5, 2013
Curve, LeicesterThe windy city is a vision of hell in Paul Kerryson and Drew McOnie's galvanising makeover of the popular musicalMurder gets the razzle-dazzle treatment in Paul Kerryson's ga…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AMPoor pictures can be dull, and mediocre films appalling, but only bad theatre leaves you with a sense of physical painAs the Guardian's John Crace discovered earlier this week, even David Ha…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:55AMWednesday, December 4, 2013
Lyric Hammersmith, LondonIt's full of politics, in-jokes and localism, but this year's Lyric panto is underpowered and lacks a narrative focus – three beansIt's only the start of December …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:44AMTuesday, December 3, 2013
Rose, KingstonThe circus sequences provide the thrills in a production that is seriously let down by its storytellingBased on a 17th-century design, the Rose has much in common with a circus…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:47AMMonday, December 2, 2013
Hackney Downs Studios, LondonInspired by the lives of its cast – all recent care-leavers – this pulsating, angry promenade production sizzles with energyLatitia has been in care since sh…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:30PMSunday, December 1, 2013
Print Room, LondonA rational lawyer succumbs to passion with tragic consequences in actor Geraldine Alexander's well-acted first playCatherine (Hermione Gulliford) is middle-aged with a husb…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:45AMThursday, November 28, 2013
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court, LondonThis playful show takes the audience on a journey through food facts, inequities and ideas – with dinner thrown inThe Royal Court's studio spac…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:30PMWednesday, November 27, 2013
Arcola, LondonThe story of the pre-Raphaelite muse and painter is sad, but lacks fresh insight, despite Emma West's superb performanceYou may not recollect the name, but you will certainly k…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:10PMOval House, LondonThis adaptation of a 17th-century tome on depression captures the original's insight, but fails to reimagine its wordy weightIf you are fearful of losing your wits, then yo…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:35AMEver been to a show and not been sure how to categorise it? Is pigeonholing by artform helpful, or does boundary-breaking work need new terms?Whether in the reviews pages or as individuals i…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:59AMTuesday, November 26, 2013
Southwark Playhouse, LondonThis dark, Canadian sibling story works hard at being kooky, but its bad-taste comedy never quite connectsSugar and Grace Ducharme are backwoods Canadian twins, mu…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:55AMMonday, November 25, 2013
Covent Garden, LondonIt's a pity this is an adult-only experience, as it's children who would really find the wonder in this Christmas adventureCovent Garden in the runup to Christmas: it sh…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:05PMLady Macbeth peeing on stage, Gloucester's flying eyeball, a cast dressed as clowns … share your stories about performances so wrong they are unforgettableAlfred Hickling's review of the N…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:14AM 
