All stories by Mark Fisher on BroadwayStars

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Indigenous Contemporary Scene review – resistance, revenge and jolly cabaret by Mark Fisher

Songs in the Key of Cree, Deer Woman and Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools, three shows by Canada’s Indigenous artists, are presented at the Edinburgh festival This summer, Canada’s National I…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AM
Friday, August 2, 2019

Rich Kids: a History of Shopping Malls in Tehran review – dazzling and discombobulating by Mark Fisher

Traverse, EdinburghJavaad Alipoor’s kaleidoscopic show delves below the compellingly shocking behaviour to lay bare an epoch-spanning vision of human waste The sensation of racing a high-p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:48PM
Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Heritage review – sectarian feuds poison Canada's prairies by Mark Fisher

Pitlochry festival theatreForbidden love blooms between Catholic and Protestant settlers in Nicola McCartney’s razor-sharp study of cultural identity Imagine Romeo and Juliet transplanted …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:32AM
Sunday, July 21, 2019

Hamlet/Richard III review – all is angry in the garden by Mark Fisher

Glasgow Botanic Gardens A superb Nicole Cooper plays Hamlet as a fiercely wronged daughter, while a stripped-down version of Richard reveals an impulsive gambler on a wild streak ★★★�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM
Sunday, July 14, 2019

Re:Creating Europe review – voices from history echo through Brexit by Mark Fisher

The Lowry, SalfordFrom Henry V’s speech to Jona Lewie’s Stop the Cavalry, this illuminating production explores the ‘flawed family’ of Europe Way back at the start of the Brexit wars…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM

The Nico Project review – Maxine Peake digs deep into a nightmare by Mark Fisher

The Stoller Hall, ManchesterWith fascinating – and frustrating – results, the actor plays a woman seemingly possessed by the ghost of the late Velvet Underground singer When 1980s Manche…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM
Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Making a murder: true-crime stage show recreates a shocking killing by Mark Fisher

How do you re-enact a homicide for a theatre performance – and should you? Director Milo Rau invited people who knew the victim to take part On 22 April, 2012, Ihsane Jarfi left a gay bar…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42PM

Life of Pi review – triumphant tiger burns bright in a stunning show by Mark Fisher

Crucible, SheffieldTransformative puppetry, design and direction, and a great human lead, make this adaptation of Yann Martel’s book unmissable A tip for playwrights: when you want to fiel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM
Monday, July 8, 2019

The Anvil review – what does the Peterloo massacre mean today? by Mark Fisher

Various venues, ManchesterIrish company Anu’s site-specific modern stories of struggle bring the radical spirit of 19th-century protesters to life This production is billed as a response t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36AM
Thursday, July 4, 2019

The Color Purple review – a musical with heart, spirit and soul by Mark Fisher

Curve, LeicesterAlice Walker’s novel is transformed into an exuberant celebration of community and female empowerment Incest. Child abuse. Rape. Domestic violence … the foundations of A…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24PM
Wednesday, July 3, 2019

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart review – brilliant border ballads drama by Mark Fisher

New Vic, Newcastle-under-LymeThis dizzylingly funny drama boasts a tremendous cast, witty costumes and surprising set ‘This is not a ballad,” says Prudencia Hart early on in David Greig�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM
Monday, June 24, 2019

Robert Icke: 'British theatre often thinks of itself as church' by Mark Fisher

As his bold new Oedipus heads to Edinburgh, the director discusses revamping Sophocles and the ‘poisonous nostalgia’ behind Brexit The teenagers in the audience are all squirms and giggl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM

Edinburgh fringe 2019: 10 essential shows by Brian Logan, Miriam Gillinson, Mark Lawson, Mark Fisher, Judith Mackrell, Bridget Minamore and Lyndsey Winship

Jessie Cave’s intimate standup, a beatbox Frankenstein and a twist on the star-crossed lovers are among the Edinburgh shows we’ve previously reviewed. Here’s what we said … Pleasance…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM
Friday, June 14, 2019

Edinburgh festival 2019: 50 theatre, comedy and dance shows to see by Mark Fisher, Lyndsey Winship and Brian Logan

There’s a Belle and Sebastian play, a show in a hair salon, Frances Barber performing Pet Shop Boys songs and top comics including Josie Long and Stephen Fry. Here’s our guide to the wor…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06AM
Tuesday, June 11, 2019

The Importance of Being Earnest review – Oscar's dazzler is wildly overdone by Mark Fisher

Albert Halls, BoltonDespite the cast’s best efforts, Oscar Wilde’s comedy gets almost no laughs in a production that tries too hard to be funny With a good Oscar Wilde aphorism, you can�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Thursday, June 6, 2019

Hobson's Choice review – saris, acid house and a Salford Cinderella story by Mark Fisher

Royal Exchange, ManchesterRelocating Harold Brighouse’s classic to Manchester’s Hindu community, Tanika Gupta finds some sharp political parallels and a very funny new cultural context I…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AM
Thursday, May 30, 2019

My Mother Said I Never Should/The Ladykillers review – love trumps farce by Mark Fisher

★★★★☆/★★☆☆☆ Theatre by the Lake, KeswickCharlotte Keatley’s 1987 work about mothers and daughters is a wonderful gesture of empathy, while a staging of the Ealing black…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AM
Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Edinburgh international children’s festival review – tricks of the light by Mark Fisher

Various venues, Edinburgh Inventive stagings keep young minds enthralled as detectives test their bravery, dancers evolve and superheroes fall out There’s an extraordinary moment in the mi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM
Friday, May 24, 2019

549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War review – feisty time-hopping agitprop by Mark Fisher

Prestonpans Town HallCutting between austerity-hit East Lothian today and the battlefields of the 1930s anti-fascist volunteers, this gutsy play reveals the complexity of righteous crusading…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03PM
Wednesday, May 22, 2019

The Duchess (of Malfi) review – indictment of patriachal power by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghZinnie Harris reframes the tragedy to take in the consequences of male violence, as Kirsty Stuart’s duchess provides a defiant centre They’re a pathetic lot, the m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:18PM
Monday, May 20, 2019

This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing review – terrific triplets by Mark Fisher

Tron, GlasgowJemima Levick revives this tale about three sisters coming of age with wit and charm The clue is in the socks. We’re faced by three girls, identical in their yellow coats, red…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18PM
Friday, May 10, 2019

Hugh Jackman live review – he really is the Greatest Showman by Mark Fisher

SSE Hydro, GlasgowThe renaissance man’s song-and-dance spectacular skips merrily through his acting career with celebrity pizzazz and unashamed sentimentality Is there a market Hugh Jackma…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03PM
Monday, April 29, 2019

Lost at Sea review – salty detective drama goes down a storm by Mark Fisher

Perth theatreMorna Young’s personal tale of trawlermen risking their lives for pay evokes the romance and brutal realism of the sea Margaret Thatcher’s greed-is-good ethos left its mark …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:06AM
Monday, April 15, 2019

Intemperance review – sepia-toned tragicomedy offers only despair by Mark Fisher

New Vic, Newcastle-under-LymeIn this revival of Lizzie Nunnery’s debut about a family in the 19th-century Liverpool slums, misery is piled upon misery – for the audience and the characte…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:00PM
Friday, April 12, 2019

West Side Story review – exhilarating show sidesteps Broadway blueprint by Mark Fisher

Royal Exchange, ManchesterSarah Frankcom and Aletta Collins ditch Jerome Robbins’ choreography and keeps the stakes high in a superb production For more than 60 years, productions of West …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:10AM
Monday, April 1, 2019

Creditors review – Strindberg lays bare the self-pitying male psyche by Mark Fisher

Theatre By the Lake, KeswickHoward Brenton’s no-nonsense translation of Strindberg’s astute drama charts the marriage of a failed artist and his more successful wife Adolf is in the mid…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:00AM
Sunday, March 31, 2019

Dear Europe review – a tearful love letter from Scotland to the continent by Mark Fisher

SWG3, GlasgowOriginally planned to coincide with the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, the National Theatre of Scotland’s night of cabaret and comedy was performed under a sombre cloud Imagin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:21AM
Friday, March 29, 2019

The shock of the nude: Brazil's stark new form of political protest by Mark Fisher

In a defiant riposte to president Bolsonaro and intolerance, performers at São Paulo’s international theatre festival are reclaiming the rights to be seen and to be different If ever ther…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:41AM
Thursday, March 28, 2019

Nora: A Doll's House review – Ibsen gets three heroines in feminist rewrite by Mark Fisher

Tramway, Glasgow Stef Smith’s excellent adaptation has Noras experience economic and emotional pressures through history There are three door frames and three cavernous pathways to an unce…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:47PM
Wednesday, March 13, 2019

From Shore to Shore review – drama while you dine at a Chinese restaurant by Mark Fisher

Yang Sing restaurant, ManchesterThis rich, dreamlike play feeds body and soul as it chronicles the complex lives of migrants from China Cheung Wing is looking back over his life. He’s been…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:04AM
Monday, February 25, 2019

Glory review – get in the ring for a wrestle with racism by Mark Fisher

Dukes, LancasterThree young fighters grapple with a world of blue-eyed heroes and foreign-looking villains in Nick Ahad’s witty play Real life has a way of sneaking into the theatre. Only …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:46AM

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