All stories by Lyn Gardner on BroadwayStars

Friday, July 22, 2016

Jesus Christ Superstar – review by Lyn Gardner

O2 Arena, London"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," cries an agonised Jesus on the cross. But it's the good lord, otherwise known as composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who sho…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:50AM

Five of the best... theatre shows this week by Lyn Gardner

Titanic | The Book Of Mormon | Bugsy Malone | The Flying Lovers Of Vitebsk | Young Chekhov: Platonov, Ivanov & The SeagullIn recent years, most shows that have docked at the Charing Cros…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:50AM

Jesus Christ Superstar review – a gorgeous, thrilling, heavenly musical by Lyn Gardner

Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, LondonWit, lyricism and satirical bite abound in this dramatic revival of the classic rock opera with a first-rate castIt might not qualify as a miracle, bu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:50AM

Edinburgh festival 2016: 21 unmissable shows for kids and their families by Lyn Gardner

With shows aimed at all ages, and creatives including Akram Khan, Paines Plough, Julia Donaldson and Dr Seuss, there’s a bewildering choice at Edinburgh this year. Here’s our top 21. Don…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:24AM
Thursday, July 21, 2016

The Future review – teens tackle destiny by Lyn Gardner

The Yard, LondonSix energetic 16-year-olds mine their own experiences, making a show in just three weeks about everything from humanity’s survival to sibling anxietiesWhen adults and teena…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:15AM
Monday, July 18, 2016

Artists need the right attitude for theatre at Latitude by Lyn Gardner

A caravan, a shipping container and a freshly made double bed are the settings for inventive productions at the festival, where theatre-makers must work hard to hold the audience’s attenti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:15PM

Plan your week’s theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

Martin McDonagh’s The Lonesome West is in Glasgow, you can see a preview of Paines Plough’s Edinburgh season in Hackney, Cuttin’ It is in Sheffield and the wonderful Departure Lounge i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:40AM
Sunday, July 17, 2016

Stalking the Bogeyman review – vengeful odyssey lacks tension by Lyn Gardner

Southwark Playhouse, LondonThis telling of David Holthouse’s quest for revenge on the man who raped him as a child works less well on stage than on the radio or in journalismSome stories n…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:37AM
Friday, July 15, 2016

The Letter of Last Resort/Good With People – Edinburgh festival review by Lyn Gardner

TraverseSome plays go together like fish and chips; other pairings are less obvious, but the effect is explosive. Neither is quite the case with this intelligent, finely written and acted bu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:39AM

Five of the best... theatre shows this week by Lyn Gardner

Hug | Cuttin’ It | The Truth | Faith Healer | Funny GirlPolyphonic singing has the ability to make it feel as if you are being massaged by sound, and Verity Standen uses it to brilliant ef…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:39AM
Thursday, July 14, 2016

Matt Smith took a huge risk with Unreachable – the result is unmissable by Lyn Gardner

The Doctor Who star could have played it safe when he returned to theatre. Instead he joined an ensemble creating a show from scratch in rehearsals. Career suicide? Not at all When Matt Smit…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18AM

Great artistic directors know when to make an exit by Lyn Gardner

Christopher Haydon is stepping down as the AD of London’s Gate theatre after five years in the post. Finding the right time to move on is vitalHow long should an artistic director stay in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:40AM
Wednesday, July 13, 2016

I Heart Catherine Pistachio review – wild two-man show about a freaky family by Lyn Gardner

The Yard, LondonEncounter’s bad-taste comedy is weird, macabre and totally over the top but it’s grounded in emotional truthThe horrible Wormwood parents in Roald Dahl’s Matilda have n…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM

Lifegame | Theatre review by Lyn Gardner

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonImprobable's Lifegame, a cross between This is Your Life and a madly inventive improv game, is all heart, but with a mighty whack of skill thrown in, too. The premis…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:10AM
Tuesday, July 12, 2016

The Stripper review – Richard O'Brien's tediously sleazy musical is a grind by Lyn Gardner

St James Studio, LondonA sex-obsessed cop chases an investigation all the way to a burlesque dive in a preposterous, nastily misogynistic show that quickly runs out of steamSince the success…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:44AM

Glasgow's Imaginary festival is true to the creative spirit of Adrian Howells by Lyn Gardner

Posters for fictitious stage extravaganzas have been pasted around Glasgow – the project would have thrilled Howells, a master of theatre’s infinite possibilitiesWander around Glasgow th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:19AM
Monday, July 11, 2016

Plan your week’s theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

Syrian refugees re-imagine Euripides in Oxford, a festival organised by under 25s kicks off in York and the acclaimed Young Chekhov trilogy arrives at the NationalQueens of Syria, a re-imagi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:20AM
Sunday, July 10, 2016

Fury review – a sparky modern Medea that's all too real by Lyn Gardner

Soho theatre, LondonPhoebe Éclair-Powell’s promising story about a poor, single mother is fuelled by genuine rage and plenty of compassionMedea is shorthand for bad parent and monstrous m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:13PM
Friday, July 8, 2016

Five of the best... theatre shows this week by Lyn Gardner

The Merchant Of Venice | Needles And Opium | Our Ladies Of Perpetual Succour | The Flying Lovers Of VitebskActing alongside his daughter Phoebe, Jonathan Pryce is the real draw in this reviv…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:23AM
Thursday, July 7, 2016

Stuff Happens: David Hare's history play seems even more incisive after Chilcot by Lyn Gardner

Hare’s condemnatory 2004 drama feels positively Shakespearean in its account of the tragic consequences of our leaders’ personal ambitionsA few hours before the publication of the Chilco…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:37AM
Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Cut review – sharply staged thriller with a blunt script by Lyn Gardner

The Vaults, LondonAn engaging performance from Hannah Norris holds this atmospheric drama together but the audience is still left in the darkThe young woman welcoming us on to the aeroplane …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:43PM
Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Young people create brave theatre – but we rarely give them the freedom by Lyn Gardner

Performed by Belgian teenagers, The Hamilton Complex forces us to adjust our worldview. In the UK, adult anxieties are stifling children’s cultural experience“As a kid I never got to dec…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:25AM

New writing is a risk but it's one theatres must take by Lyn Gardner

Diversity is key to ensuring a new generation shape theatre’s future. But endless development isn’t enough – new plays must be put in front of audiencesThe theatre industry is eager to…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:06AM
Monday, July 4, 2016

Plan your week’s theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

Jonathan Pryce brings Liverpool his Merchant of Venice, Geraldine Pilgrim takes flight in the Lake District and Syrian refugees stage Euripides in London Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:03AM
Friday, July 1, 2016

Five of the best... theatre shows by Lyn Gardner

Beyond Caring | The Deep Blue Sea | Titanic | 1984 | The Taming Of The ShrewAlexander Zeldin’s devised piece is set in a meat-packing factory where a quartet of workers on zero-hours contr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:55AM
Thursday, June 30, 2016

Present Laughter review – Coward revival glosses over charmless snobbery by Lyn Gardner

Theatre Royal, Bath Sparkling bons mots and Samuel West’s fine performance as a self-obsessed matinee idol fail to disguise the deep unpleasantness of this farceBath’s annual summer love…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:21AM

Portraying animals is more than just acting the goat by Lyn Gardner

From the sheep in the NT’s As You Like It to the bunnies in the Watermill’s Watership Down, actors have excelled at the difficult task of depicting all creatures great and smallAs the Wa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:55AM
Wednesday, June 29, 2016

King Lear review – Timothy West's foolish king divides a nation by Lyn Gardner

Bristol Old VicThe generations are at war in this stunningly timely tale of political turmoil, with West delivering an intelligent performance as Shakespeare’s tragic rulerIf you want evid…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:32AM

Boys Will Be Boys: bankers' cabaret is an all-female Glengarry Glen Ross by Lyn Gardner

Top girls in the financial world are the focus of a musical show drawing on David Mamet and Peggy Lee. Its writer and director talk about female antiheroes, how they were inspired by Cate Bl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:13AM
Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Watership Down review – Rona Munro keeps the fur flying by Lyn Gardner

Watermill, NewburyMunro’s adaptation of Richard Adams’ classic novel is performed by a cast who prove that there’s much more to playing rabbits than bouncing aroundRona Munro has come …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:39AM

How to evoke a world in chaos? Let 13 teenage girls storm the stage by Lyn Gardner

The Hamilton Complex explores our attitudes towards girls on the cusp of adulthood and uses adolescence as a metaphor for society’s uncertaintyIn 1971, the British photographer David Hamil…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:34AM