All stories by Mark Lawson on BroadwayStars

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Peter Bowles: a commanding talent who was so much more than a sitcom star by Mark Lawson

The classy actor could play both establishment and villainous characters with aplomb. He was naturally charming and hugely admired by great men of theatre like Harold Pinter Peter Bowles die…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54PM
Thursday, March 3, 2022

When We Dead Awaken review – Ibsen’s final play explores an artist’s farewell by Mark Lawson

Coronet theatre, LondonThis drama about a sculptor looking back on his life is powerfully staged by the Norwegian Ibsen Company In the last year of the 19th century, when Henrik Ibsen began …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:06PM
Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Patrick Stewart: ‘I asked to play Ophelia in McKellen’s Hamlet – but the timings didn’t work out’ by Mark Lawson

As he beams aboard another Star Trek adventure, the 81-year-old actor talks about playing Picard as an intergalactic Prospero, hitting the bottle during Macbeth – and reaching page 310 of …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:03AM
Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Hamlet review – Freddie Fox’s alcoholic prince goes to church by Mark Lawson

Holy Trinity Church, GuildfordFox is emotionally wrenching in Tom Littler’s inventive and streamlined production, which explores the play’s integral Christianity Shakespeare gives a vari…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM
Thursday, January 27, 2022

Barry Cryer was cheeky, kind and a canny engineer of comedy | Mark Lawson by Mark Lawson

A generous-hearted jokesmith, Cryer created laughs for generations of comics, was a consummate performer and had a lifelong commitment to wit ‘An honorary uncle to countless comics’: Jac…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:36PM
Wednesday, January 26, 2022

The Palace of Varieties review – the Beast of Bolsover snarls at Thatcher and spars with Boris Johnson by Mark Lawson

Derby theatreUsing music hall and Broadway songs to tell the story of former MP Dennis Skinner’s colourful Commons battles makes surprising sense Writers often say that content dictates fo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AM
Friday, January 21, 2022

Whodunnit? Ask Emma Thompson and her surprise super-sleuths by Mark Lawson

Ian McKellen and Sanjeev Bhaskar will also take to stage and solve a crime without rehearsal in starry fundraising drama at London theatre Actors have nightmares of going on in a play for wh…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:54PM
Sunday, January 16, 2022

The 4th Country review – three’s a crowd in confused Northern Ireland drama by Mark Lawson

Park Theatre, London Interweaving triple narratives of lovers, siblings and soldiers doesn’t give enough space to explore the complexities of British rule The title of The 4th Country pres…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:33AM
Thursday, December 16, 2021

‘You immediately tell your friends to cancel their tickets’ – what’s it like to star in a flop? by Mark Lawson

How does it feel to go back on stage night after night in a play that’s been mauled by critics and deserted by audiences? Richard Eyre and other directors and actors relive their trauma Mo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54AM
Wednesday, December 15, 2021

A Fight Against … review – Chilean playwright’s sparky sketches by Mark Lawson

Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, LondonPablo Manzi’s political scenes, which span several decades and are powerfully performed, could perhaps lead to a future epic Thirty years ago, the Royal…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:33AM
Friday, December 10, 2021

Best of Enemies review – James Graham’s superb study of media and politics by Mark Lawson

Young Vic, LondonDavid Harewood and Charles Edwards go head-to-head as William F Buckley Jr and Gore Vidal respectively in an enthralling play based on a 1968 TV debate James Graham speciali…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AM
Tuesday, December 7, 2021

The Play What I Wrote review – Tom Hiddleston has a laugh in farce masterclass by Mark Lawson

Birmingham Repertory theatreThe A-lister provided joyous shock on opening night, as Morecambe and Wise’s screen routines return to the boards Regularly drawing TV audiences in the 1970s th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM
Friday, November 26, 2021

Stephen Sondheim: a daring and dazzling musical theatre icon by Mark Lawson

The American composer and lyricist, who has died aged 91, shaped the musical artform with his wise, witty and extravagantly clever work Stephen Sondheim achieved such acclaim – for deepeni…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06PM

Yes So I Said Yes review – prepare to be appalled by Mark Lawson

Finborough theatre, LondonDavid Ireland’s provocative, surreal, intensely brutal farce finds a former loyalist paramilitary seeking mediation from Eamonn Holmes for a dispute with his neig…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM
Thursday, November 4, 2021

Bobby & Amy review – gripping drama about foot-and-mouth disease by Mark Lawson

North Wall, OxfordWill Howard and Kimberley Jarvis portray more than 20 characters with ease in this superb tale set against the 2001 disaster The new BBC Two documentary Blair and Brown: Th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06PM
Friday, October 29, 2021

Old Bridge review – star-crossed lovers in war-torn Yugoslavia by Mark Lawson

Bush theatre, LondonIgor Memic’s prize-winning debut is an affecting if slightly uneven conflict romance brought to life by vivid detail Igor Memic, winner of the 2020 Papatango new writin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06PM
Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Mum review – Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s unnerving look at motherhood by Mark Lawson

Soho theatre, LondonThis play daringly switches tone as it follows three mothers and explores exhaustion, panic and feelings of inadequacy The title of Mum – a fertile-with-ideas play by M…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PM
Friday, October 15, 2021

Home review – captivating revival of a neglected classic by Mark Lawson

Minerva theatre, ChichesterDavid Storey’s intense drama of cross-talking patients in an institution has gained fresh relevance from the pandemic Harry and Jack – distinguished-looking ol…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54AM
Thursday, October 14, 2021

The Cherry Orchard review – Ian McKellen is brilliantly poignant in resonant adaptation by Mark Lawson

Theatre Royal WindsorArtfully combining clumsiness with precision, McKellen’s Firs is the highlight of a production marked by arresting gestures and modern parallels Having recently playe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AM
Friday, October 8, 2021

The Long Song review – a vivid, harrowing staging of Andrea Levy’s novel by Mark Lawson

Chichester Festival theatreTara Tijani and Llewella Gideon are superb in this unblinking portrait of dignity amid moral horror, which follows a Jamaican woman looking back on her life An add…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM
Friday, October 1, 2021

What If If Only review – short and sharp, with shades of Scrooge by Mark Lawson

Caryl Churchill explores grief and loss with a study of a man facing different possible futures During the time it took Keir Starmer to deliver his party conference speech this week, Caryl C…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12PM
Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Indecent review – a brainy play staged with the panache of a musical by Mark Lawson

Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonSeven actors share 42 roles in Rebecca Taichman’s stunning production of Paula Vogel’s Tony award-winner about a controversial queer Yiddish play Contempo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03PM
Thursday, September 9, 2021

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof review – Big Daddy’s birthday party still blazes by Mark Lawson

Curve, LeicesterAn imaginative staging of Tennessee Williams’ classic foregrounds the southern drama’s roots in Greek tragedy One of the catchiest titles in the theatrical canon will alw…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AM

Hilary Mantel on staging The Mirror and the Light: ‘I should have been doing this all my life’ by Mark Lawson

As the third part of her Thomas Cromwell trilogy hits the stage, the writer talks about the perils of political powerplay, fleeing Brexit to Ireland and setting her next novel in more recent…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12AM
Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Colin Bateman: ‘I don’t usually get emotional while writing but this is hugely personal’ by Mark Lawson

The author of dark comic novels such as Divorcing Jack has written a play, Nutcase, drawing on his relationship with his teenage son After writing 34 books (including comedy crime novels suc…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54AM
Wednesday, July 21, 2021

The Comedy of Errors review – exhaustingly funny take on identity and reality by Mark Lawson

Garden theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonThe Royal Shakespeare Company’s outdoor production grabs every possible gag in this tale of twins and doppelgangers Even ITV’s emotive DNA-reunion sho…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Wednesday, July 14, 2021

South Pacific review – a roof-raising Rodgers and Hammerstein triumph by Mark Lawson

Chichester Festival theatreIt’s a story bordered by violence and bigotry, but this vibrant production emphasises the anti-racist message of the 1949 Broadway hit Old shows often pass nervo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM
Thursday, July 8, 2021

The Invisible Hand review – thrilling tale of money lust and morality by Mark Lawson

Kiln theatre, LondonA US bank employee is captured in Pakistan in Indhu Rubasingham’s pacy revival of Ayad Akhtar’s chillingly ingenious play A frequent critique of financial markets –…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03PM
Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Maggie & Ted review – two Tory prime ministers, one long spat by Mark Lawson

Garrick theatre, LondonMichael McManus, a former aide to Edward Heath, takes us on a rollicking ride through the politician’s clashes with Thatcher The Tory prime ministers elected in the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Sunday, June 27, 2021

Bad Nights and Odd Days review – prescient and daring Caryl Churchill by Mark Lawson

Greenwich theatre, LondonA respiratory crisis in a world tensed by terrorism is among topical themes in this compelling showcase of the playwright’s shorter, earlier works If Caryl Churchi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18PM
Friday, June 18, 2021

The Last Abbot of Reading review – Tudor history goes back where it came from by Mark Lawson

Reading Abbey RuinsBeth Flintoff’s atmospheric Reformation drama casts Henry VIII as a Boris-like bully, and is staged amid the ruins of his Catholic frenemy’s abbey With so many people …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:32AM