All stories by Mark Fisher on BroadwayStars

Sunday, August 6, 2023

England & Son review – Mark Thomas’s funny and ferocious telling of a lost childhood by Mark Fisher

Roundabout @ Summerhall, EdinburghPlaywright Ed Edwards frames the story of a juvenile offender through the lens of colonialism In his 2018 play The Political History of Smack and Crack, Ed …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:55AM

No Love Songs review – new parents are torn apart in gig-theatre show by Mark Fisher

Traverse, Edinburgh A mother is overwhelmed by postnatal depression, just as her musician partner gets a big break, in this heartfelt show drawn from life There is a tremendous amount of hea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:25AM
Saturday, August 5, 2023

Heaven review – the bittersweet taste of love by Mark Fisher

Traverse, Edinburgh A couple gradually face up to the emotional life choices they’ve made, in this compellingly acted, exquisitely written play by Eugene O’Brien It is a game we all pl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:13PM

Guffy review – twisty tale of flawed motherhood by Mark Fisher

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh The traumatic secret at the heart of Glenna Morrison’s play hits the audience as a shock – but would the drama be greater if we knew all along? Many people…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:37AM
Friday, August 4, 2023

Ramalama Ding Dong review – engaging tales of cultural crossfire in Swansea by Mark Fisher

Summerhall, EdinburghWelsh-Iranian musician Roshi Nasehi spins her heritage into standup that is most impressive when she works the stories into sound pieces Having established herself as a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:55AM

Pleasure Little Treasure review – a jolly take on toxic masculinity by Mark Fisher

Underbelly Cowgate, EdinburghNamed after a song by Elina Alminas’s Estonian father’s favourite band, Depeche Mode, this show takes on the boorish failings of the former Soviet republic P…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:55AM
Thursday, August 3, 2023

The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria review – a monarch’s missing morals by Mark Fisher

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghWittily drawn historical drama follows self-effacing leader ill-equipped to deal with the encroaching Nazi menace If you think actor Joseph Cullen is cartoonish at t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:13AM
Friday, July 28, 2023

Around the World in 80 Days review – Fogg on the Lune by Mark Fisher

Williamson Park, LancasterSam Jones brings innocent charm to the role of Jules Verne’s hero in an outdoor version that roams around the park if not quite the globe Jules Verne’s caper is…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:49AM
Monday, July 17, 2023

Jekyll and Hyde review – Shakespearean style shows another side to Stevenson thriller by Mark Fisher

Glasgow Botanic GardensBard in the Botanics stages Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novella as a tense three-way struggle that asks big questions about human nature It is not quite a Dylan…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:13AM
Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Chester’s Mystery Plays: good v evil parables at their most elemental by Mark Fisher

Director John Young energises this medieval community-theatre tradition with a dynamic and dreamlike journey from the crucifixion to the last judgment It is an inspired idea to present the M…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:04AM
Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Smackdown in Scotland: the full-tilt drama grappling with national identity by Mark Fisher

What can the ancient sport of backhold wrestling tell us about today’s struggles over unity and tradition? Our writer heads to the Highlands to see On the far side of the field, a girls’…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:25AM
Sunday, July 2, 2023

We Cut Through Dust review – mixed messages from post-apocalyptic Manchester by Mark Fisher

Manchester international festivalThe audience tour the city listening to a series of voice notes sent by a world-weary survivor. But this promenade performance falters with its form and sens…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:55PM

untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play review – ferociously funny satire calls out centuries of colonialist dramas by Mark Fisher

Royal Exchange, ManchesterKimber Lee’s punky polemic circles through pastiches of Madama Butterfly, South Pacific and M*A*S*H, dissecting years of racist, imperialist and misogynistic trop…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AM
Friday, June 9, 2023

Lear review – all-female cast add novelty and confusion to the tragedy by Mark Fisher

Hope Mill theatre, ManchesterCoronation Street’s Christine Mackie gives a passionate performance as the raging patriarch in a production that has moments of invention but too little clarit…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:25AM
Thursday, June 8, 2023

A Streetcar Named Desire review – rage restrained, then turned up to 11 by Mark Fisher

Pitlochry Festival theatreKirsty Stuart’s Blanche is convincingly respectable in this revival of the Tennessee Williams classic, before she spectacularly unravels It must be tempting for a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:19AM
Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Fleabag star Andrew Scott to bring one-man Uncle Vanya to West End by Mark Fisher

Vanya, adapted by Simon Stephens, will see Scott tackle all of the characters in Chekhov’s play Andrew Scott is to return to London’s West End to play every character in Uncle Vanya. The…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:19PM
Thursday, June 1, 2023

I, Daniel Blake review – Kafkaesque benefits story rekindles righteous anger by Mark Fisher

Northern Stage, Newcastle upon TynePoliticians’ glib statements frame the struggles of one man confounded by a bewildering welfare system, in an adaptation of the Ken Loach film that both …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM
Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Edinburgh international children’s festival review – the playful inner child v the serious grownup by Mark Fisher

Various venues, EdinburghFor children wondering what their parents do all day, many of the delightful shows programmed here will show them that they’re not really so grown up How curious t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM
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

Gypsy review – the ultimate stage mother rules with hard-bitten brashness by Mark Fisher

Pitlochry festival theatreMama Rose drags her two daughters from one vaudeville fleapit to the next in a bulldozer of a role There’s something of the Mother Courage about Mama Rose. Like B…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48AM
Friday, May 26, 2023

‘My instinct is to look for the gag’: Martha Watson Allpress takes Lady Dealer to the Edinburgh fringe by Mark Fisher

The writer of the acclaimed Patricia Gets Ready… returns with a lockdown-inspired comedy drama about a drug dealer having a power cut The trigger for a play can be many things: a moral dil…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:06AM
Thursday, May 25, 2023

The Lies review – from tooth fairy fibs to colonial myths by Mark Fisher

Alphabetti theatre, NewcastleDegna Stone’s ambitious play moves from the imperial to the domestic in its exploration of the legacy of untruths You can’t fault playwright Degna Stone for …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM
Friday, May 19, 2023

Dear Billy review – brilliant tribute to the Big Yin by Mark Fisher

Traverse, EdinburghGary McNair delivers verbatim interviews and misremembered Connolly routines from ordinary people in this love letter There is an air of Nick Park’s Creature Comforts ab…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:32AM
Thursday, May 18, 2023

Anna Karenina review – sparky feminist reading of Tolstoy by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghLesley Hart’s adaptation of the classic novel is driven with tremendous energy following its tragic heroine as she discards bourgeois convention It must be Saturday …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AM
Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Protest review – schoolgirls unite with the power of dissent by Mark Fisher

Northern Stage, NewcastleThis show for young audiences builds to a stirring drama of waking up to injustice and trying to right it Hannah Lavery constructs her play from simple sentences. He…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:06PM
Friday, April 28, 2023

Big Aunty review – regrets and raucous partying as siblings deal with death by Mark Fisher

Belgrade theatre, CoventryCorey Campbell’s impressionistic production can lose focus but it benefits from engaging performances We never get to see Vivienne Mavis Taylor in this devised pr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:18AM
Thursday, April 27, 2023

A Thong for Europe review – hilariously subversive Eurovision celebration by Mark Fisher

Royal Court, LiverpoolAn inspired parody of coming-out dramas meets a deliciously daft plot involving Sonia in Jonathan Harvey’s comedy Who would have thought Jonathan Harvey would write a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM
Wednesday, April 26, 2023

The Killing of Sister George review – cruel comedy is an uncomfortable watch by Mark Fisher

New Vic theatre, Newcastle-under-LymeShould we sympathise with Hayley Carmichael’s irascible radio soap star as she risks being axed, or condemn her as she bullies her young vulnerable you…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:18AM
Sunday, April 9, 2023

Stornoway, Quebec review – outlaws settle scores with Gaelic swagger by Mark Fisher

Traverse, Edinburgh Calum L Macleòid’s western-style drama pits a gunslinging Elspeth Turner against a notorious fugitive in a peculiarly Scottish corner of Canada On the back wall of Bec…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Thursday, April 6, 2023

Around the World in 80 Days review – wittily inventive travelogue speeds along by Mark Fisher

Theatre by the Lake, KeswickAn eight-strong cast and a revolving stage take us on an extraordinary adventure for adults and kids, with time-keeping as a theme Jules Verne’s 1872 novel trad…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM
Monday, April 3, 2023

Kidnapped review – razzle-dazzling Robert Louis Stevenson by Mark Fisher

Beacon Arts Centre, GreenockThere’s an optimal mix of irreverence and affection in this bracing adaptation of the swashbuckling classic With the long-running Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards