All stories by Michael Billington on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Cleansed review – Katie Mitchell plunges us into Sarah Kane's chamber of horrors by Michael Billington

Dorfman, LondonLove is tested to its limits in a series of cruel experiments, in which the cumulative effect is numbing rather than redemptiveEven by her own standards, Sarah Kane’s 1998 p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:55AM

Posh – review by Michael Billington

Duke of York's, LondonWith even a Tory attacking the "arrogant, posh boys" who run her party, now seems a good time to revive Laura Wade's 2010 play.It has undergone a good deal of revision …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:52AM
Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Cyrano de Bergerac review – strutting Kathryn Hunter follows her nose by Michael Billington

Southwark Playhouse, LondonThe shape-shifting actor brings poetic wit to her swashbuckling hero, though this all-female staging of Glyn Maxwell’s adaptation makes no sharp pointsReduced Ed…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:19AM
Friday, February 19, 2016

Poppy + George review – cross-dressing postwar drama shows we are what we wear by Michael Billington

Watford Palace theatreDiane Samuels’ play, set in an East End tailor’s, about four characters in search of an identity, produces some fascinating arguments around feminismDiane Samuels, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:46AM
Wednesday, February 17, 2016

The Encounter review – Simon McBurney's head trip up the Amazon by Michael Billington

Barbican, LondonInspired by US photographer Loren McIntyre’s experiences with Brazilian rainforest tribes, this transporting Complicite show is a triumph of sound designSimon McBurney is a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:01AM
Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Hand to God review – satanic sock-puppet satire gives in to temptation by Michael Billington

Vaudeville, LondonRobert Askins’s Broadway hit about a Bible belt teenager in thrall to a foul-mouthed puppet is merely crudeAmerican religious fervour inevitably breeds a reaction. Althou…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:15AM
Sunday, February 14, 2016

Uncle Vanya review – Dylan, doom and desire in a radical revision by Michael Billington

Almeida, London Its setting in rural England is problematic, but Robert Icke’s modernised version of Chekhov’s masterpiece is rich in psychological detailRobert Icke seems on a personal …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:22AM
Friday, February 12, 2016

Nell Gwynn review – Gemma Arterton sparkles in chaotic comedy by Michael Billington

Apollo, LondonJessica Swale’s play about the orange-seller turned actor cannily mixes Carry On gags with an explicitly feminist messageIt is tricky to transfer a play from the noisily inte…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:07PM

Doctor Faustus review – devilish ritual and punk cabaret at the RSC by Michael Billington

The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonOliver Ryan and Sandy Grierson share the roles of the doctor and the demon in Maria Aberg’s darkly inventive, richly psychological productionIt is fascinating …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:27AM
Thursday, February 11, 2016

The End of Longing review – Matthew Perry's flimsy play about friends in need by Michael Billington

Playhouse, LondonThe actor best known as Chandler Bing returns to the London stage with a self-written confessional drama that feels like an extended sitcomMatthew Perry is a likable actor w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:07PM
Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Any Means Necessary review – sex, spies and activists in Nottingham drama by Michael Billington

Nottingham PlayhouseKefi Chadwick’s play about an undercover police officer infiltrating a protest group is a powerful exploration of the corrosiveness of informingThe case of police spies…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:14AM
Tuesday, February 9, 2016

In the Night Time (Before the Sun Rises) review – the terrors of parenthood by Michael Billington

Gate, LondonNina Segal turns a baby’s nursery into an arena where an anxious couple explore private nightmares and global catastrophesIn Sarah Kane’s Blasted, a Leeds hotel room opens up…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:56AM
Sunday, February 7, 2016

Battlefield review – Peter Brook's return to the Mahabharata is breathtaking by Michael Billington

Young Vic, LondonThe director’s new work based on the ancient text is one of aesthetic beauty and great skill, if less convincing as a parable of our times Three decades ago, Peter Brook�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:08AM
Friday, February 5, 2016

Rabbit Hole review – parents torn apart in a tragedy haunted by Ibsen by Michael Billington

Hampstead theatre, LondonClaire Skinner and Tom Goodman-Hill play a couple struggling to cope with their son’s death in a play handled with finesse by director Edward HallThis 2006 play by…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM
Thursday, February 4, 2016

William Gaskill: a fighter who stayed loyal to his writers by Michael Billington

Gaskill, who was Royal Court artistic director at a time that was rich, bloody and embattled, helped to hasten the demise of stage censorship in BritainWilliam (“Bill” to everyone in the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:58PM
Wednesday, February 3, 2016

The Master Builder review – Fiennes at the height of his powers by Michael Billington

Ibsen’s play about an architect jealous of rivals and haunted by guilt presents a searing self-portrait for a magnetic actorYou come out of most classic theatre these days discussing the d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:40PM

Looking back at great theatrical disasters by Michael Billington

Way Upstream once flooded the National. As the play is revived, Michael Billington takes a look at great theatrical disastersTheatre is a disaster area: a world of precarious illusion in whi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:19AM

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom review – August Wilson's blues still electrify by Michael Billington

Lyttelton theatre, LondonThis big, bold piece about 1920s race relations is a play of passion and power, starring a majestic Sharon D Clarke as the bisexual singerAugust Wilson’s play has …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:10AM
Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Red Velvet review – Adrian Lester gives us fire, fury and grandeur by Michael Billington

Garrick, LondonLester’s magnificent acting makes you nostalgic for a vanished gestural style in this welcome revival of Lolita Chakrabarti’s play about racial prejudicePlays about theatr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:39AM
Monday, February 1, 2016

Frank Finlay: the no-nonsense star who moved like a dancer by Michael Billington

Whether playing charismatic leaders or acting as a fine foil to Olivier, Finlay brought a robust intelligence and grace to his stage rolesLike a lot of northern actors – think of Albert Fi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:44AM

Shakespeare Solos: peer into the minds of Lear, Hamlet and Titania by Michael Billington

The Guardian’s new series of performance videos catch the intricate thought processes behind Shakespeare’s lines How do you make Shakespeare instantly available? One answer is to film st…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:20AM
Thursday, January 28, 2016

Alone Together review – Caryl Churchill's wry chit-chat cradles catastrophe by Michael Billington

Royal Court, LondonLinda Bassett, Kika Markham, June Watson and Deborah Findlay deliver pitch-perfect performances in Churchill’s apocalyptic and compassionate conversation piece Related: …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:19PM
Wednesday, January 27, 2016

The Mother review – Gina McKee stuns in poignant Freudian study by Michael Billington

Tricycle, LondonMcKee gives a first-rate performance in Florian Zeller’s play about a woman floundering between hostility and gaiety as her family falls apartIt is important to remember th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:58AM
Tuesday, January 26, 2016

The Pianist of Willesden Lane review – tribute to a determined musical survivor by Michael Billington

St James, LondonMona Golabek’s original solo show tells of her mother’s steadfast desire to be a concert pianist, in spite of the Holocaust, evacuation and warThis solo show with music m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:16AM

Yen review – moving account of poverty and love that subverts expectations by Michael Billington

Royal Court, LondonAnna Jordan’s prize-winning play faultlessly captures the mix of violence and virtue at the edge of society with acting of absolute convictionThe good thing about this B…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:10AM
Monday, January 25, 2016

Theatre review: Equus / Gielgud Theatre, London by Michael Billington

Gielgud Theatre, LondonForget all the prurient press speculation about Harry Potter's private parts. The revelation of this revival is that Daniel Radcliffe really can act, proving that his …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:18PM
Saturday, January 23, 2016

Theatre review: God of Carnage / Gielgud Theatre, London by Michael Billington

Gielgud Theatre, LondonThe first night of Yasmina Reza's new play was disrupted by a power failure. At one point Cameron Mackintosh, the theatre owner, appeared to explain: "I haven't s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:26AM
Friday, January 22, 2016

Herons review – shocking savagery of Simon Stephens's East End revenge drama by Michael Billington

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonThis expressive revival of Simon Stephen’s graphic play about teenage barbarity underplays social factors in favour of grotesque animal horrorSimon Stephens’s pl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:04AM
Wednesday, January 20, 2016

The Veil – review by Michael Billington

Lyttelton, LondonConor McPherson has in the past shown a genius for investing the melancholy of modern Irish life with a sinister undertow. Now he has thrown caution to the winds by setting …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:21PM

4000 Days review – Alistair McGowan stars in intriguing amnesiac drama by Michael Billington

Park theatre, LondonA coma patient’s mother and lover perform a primal tug of war for his soul in a deftly acted if somewhat cautious playThe nature of memory has long magnetised dramatist…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:37AM
Tuesday, January 19, 2016

The Rolling Stone review – urgent drama about Uganda's anti-gay laws by Michael Billington

Orange Tree, LondonThe impact on one Ugandan family of the country’s homophobic legislation is a rich premise explored with visible passion in Chris Urch’s playBig issues alone don’t m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:22AM

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