All stories by Susannah Clapp on BroadwayStars

Sunday, November 5, 2023

The week in theatre: King Lear; Lyonesse; Pied Piper – review by Susannah Clapp

Wyndham’s; Harold Pinter; Battersea Arts Centre, LondonKenneth Branagh savours Lear’s words rather too much; Kristin Scott Thomas and co are left high and dry in Cornwall; but at BAC, a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM
Sunday, October 29, 2023

The week in theatre: Clyde’s; The Confessions; The Score – review by Susannah Clapp

Donmar Warehouse; Lyttelton, London; Theatre Royal BathLynn Nottage wires us into American life with her all-consuming truck-stop cafe drama; Alexander Zeldin weaves slow magic from his moth…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:04AM
Sunday, October 22, 2023

The week in theatre: Choir Boy; Portia Coughlan; The Flea – review by Susannah Clapp

Bristol Old Vic; Almeida; the Yard, LondonMoonlight writer Tarell Alvin McCraney’s elite school drama hits all the right notes; Marina Carr’s intense Irish play finds its ideal director.…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:19AM
Sunday, October 15, 2023

The week in theatre: Death of England: Closing Time; Sunset Boulevard – review by Susannah Clapp

National Theatre; Savoy theatre, LondonThe fourth in Clint Dyer and Roy Williams’s state-of-the-nation play series is precise, fierce and moving, while Nicole Scherzinger hammers home the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:25AM
Sunday, October 8, 2023

The week in theatre: Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends; Noises Off; Imposter 22 – review by Susannah Clapp

Gielgud; Theatre Royal Haymarket; Royal Court, LondonAn all-star tribute to the acid genius of the late composer offers a terrific medley of hits, Michael Frayn’s clever farce also proves …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:49AM
Sunday, October 1, 2023

The week in theatre: Boys from the Blackstuff; Vanya; Mlima’s Tale – review by Susannah Clapp

Liverpool’s Royal Court; Duke of York’s; Kiln, LondonAlan Bleasdale’s 80s TV classic about jobless workers hits home in James Graham’s adaptation; Andrew Scott is not alone in his on…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:49AM
Sunday, September 10, 2023

The week in theatre: Never Have I Ever; God of Carnage – review by Susannah Clapp

Minerva theatre, Chichester; Lyric Hammersmith, LondonAn evening of drinking turns dangerous in the sharply funny debut play from The Guilty Feminist’s Deborah Frances-White. And the set i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:25AM
Sunday, August 27, 2023

The week in theatre: A Mirror; Next to Normal – review by Susannah Clapp

Almeida; Donmar Warehouse, LondonSam Holcroft’s unsettling new play about censorship features a menacing performance from Jonny Lee Miller, while a musical drama exploring bipolar disorder…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:33AM
Sunday, August 20, 2023

The week in theatre: The Effect; Makeshifts and Realities – reviews by Susannah Clapp

Lyttelton, London; Finborough, LondonJamie Lloyd galvanises Lucy Prebble’s drama about two patients who on a drug trial, while a trilogy of pre-first world war playlets captures a forgotte…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:07AM
Sunday, August 13, 2023

The rise of actor Patsy Ferran: ‘I’m a bit of a duck: calm on the surface…’ by Susannah Clapp

She cancelled her honeymoon to star in A Streetcar Named Desire with four days’ notice – then won the 2023 Critics’ Circle best actress award. She talks to the Observer’s theatre cri…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:55AM

The week in theatre: Thrown; Dusk; Food review – plenty of fervent grappling with big ideas by Susannah Clapp

Traverse; Lyceum; Studio, EdinburghNat McCleary’s new play gets to grips with Scottish identity; a French-language take on Lars von Trier glides between stage and screen; and dinner is ser…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:55AM
Sunday, August 6, 2023

The week in theatre: Rock Follies; The Crown Jewels – review by Susannah Clapp

Minerva, Chichester; Garrick, LondonThe wit and sharpness of the 70s TV series about a pioneering all-female band is partially captured in a spirited stage adaptation. As for Simon Nye’s n…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:49AM
Sunday, July 30, 2023

The week in theatre: Alter; Word-Play; Ride – review by Susannah Clapp

Secret location, Milton Keynes; Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court; Southwark Playhouse Elephant, London Catalan company Kamchàtka create an enticing piece of site-specific theatre in th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:13AM
Sunday, July 9, 2023

Manchester international festival theatre roundup – carnival, canals and the Milky Way by Susannah Clapp

Home; Versa Manchester Studios; Royal Exchange, ManchesterThe rigidity of othering is blown away, along with Asian stereotypes. Plus, a mixed reality celebration of Ryuichi Sakamoto and a wa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:19AM
Sunday, July 2, 2023

The week in theatre: As You Like It; Tambo & Bones; Stumped – review by Susannah Clapp

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; Theatre Royal Stratford East; Hampstead theatre, London Seasoned actors turn Shakespeare’s romcom on its head in an enchanted RSC production…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:19AM
Sunday, June 25, 2023

The week in theatre: Dear England; The Pillowman; The Third Man – review by Susannah Clapp

Olivier theatre; Duke of York’s theatre; Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonJoseph Fiennes scores as Gareth Southgate in a rousing football drama; Lily Allen glimmers in a low-voltage Martin …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:37AM
Sunday, June 18, 2023

In memory of Glenda Jackson: ‘She touched something central about what it means to be alive’ by Susannah Clapp and Chris Bryant

Two people who watched the actor and Labour politician closely remember her desire to get to the truth that made her so powerful on stage, screen and in parliament I thought I had seen Glen…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:25AM

The week in theatre: Romeo and Juliet; When Winston Went to War With the Wireless; Groundhog Day – review by Susannah Clapp

Almeida; Donmar Warehouse; Old Vic, London Danger stalks the radiant lovers in Rebecca Frecknall’s tumultuous, twilit Romeo and Juliet; a 1920s battle for the soul of BBC radio couldn’t …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:25AM
Sunday, June 11, 2023

The week in theatre: Patriots; All of It; Yours Unfaithfully – review by Susannah Clapp

Noël Coward; Royal Court; Jermyn Street, LondonPeter Morgan’s oligarch drama transfers to the West End with added historical weight; Kate O’Flynn evokes the mastery of Billie Whitelaw; …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:33AM
Sunday, May 28, 2023

The week in theatre: The Second Woman; Brokeback Mountain; Once on This Island – review by Susannah Clapp

Young Vic; @sohoplace; Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, LondonRuth Wilson mesmerises in a 24-hour breakup with 100 different actors; tender moments illuminate a faithful yet distanced adapt…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:06AM
Sunday, May 21, 2023

The week in theatre: Operation Mincemeat; 4000 Miles; The Circle – review by Susannah Clapp

Fortune, London; Minerva, Chichester; Orange Tree, RichmondSplitLip honour as well as spoof with their all-conquering espionage musical. Elsewhere, Eileen Atkins at her most subtle, and a ne…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:48AM
Sunday, May 14, 2023

The week in theatre: August in England; Blue Now; The Vortex – review by Susannah Clapp

Bush theatre, London; Theatre Royal Brighton; Chichester Festival theatreIn his powerful debut play, Lenny Henry draws his audience deep into the life – and its shattering – of a Windrus…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:02AM
Sunday, May 7, 2023

The week in theatre: The Motive and the Cue; A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction; Jules et Jim; Supernova – review by Susannah Clapp

Lyttelton; Barbican; Jermyn Street; Omnibus, LondonSam Mendes reignites Gielgud and Burton’s Broadway Hamlet; a climate crisis play is powered by bikes and eco-shaming; Timberlake Wertenba…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AM
Sunday, April 30, 2023

The week in theatre: Retrograde; The Secret Life of Bees; Dixon and Daughters – review by Susannah Clapp

Kiln; Almeida; Dorfman, LondonIn his quickfire new McCarthy-era play, For Black Boys… creator Ryan Calais Cameron speaks his mind; a civil rights musical buzzes with potential; and Deborah…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:12AM
Sunday, April 23, 2023

The week in theatre: Dancing at Lughnasa; Private Lives – review by Susannah Clapp

Olivier theatre; Donmar Warehouse, LondonBrian Friel’s thoughtful 1930s drama remains absorbing, while Noel Coward’s classic has fine cigarette work but fails to ignite This is a product…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AM
Sunday, April 16, 2023

The week in theatre: Hamnet; You Bury Me; Pussycat in Memory of Darkness – review by Susannah Clapp

Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; Orange Tree; Finborough, LondonShakespeare’s wife moves centre stage in Lolita Chakrabarti’s pivotal adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet, while…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54AM
Sunday, April 9, 2023

The week in theatre: A Little Life; Sea Creatures – review by Susannah Clapp

Harold Pinter; Hampstead, LondonJames Norton elevates Ivo van Hove’s knotty adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s bestseller. And to the sea as Cordelia Lynn’s breezy new play sets a family…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54AM
Sunday, March 26, 2023

The week in theatre: Debate, Black Superhero, Further than the Furthest Thing – review by Susannah Clapp

Stone Nest; Royal Court; Young Vic, all London An intimate venue brings Baldwin and Buckley’s clash back to life; Danny Lee Wynter falls foul of a caped crusader (and too much exposition);…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:30AM
Sunday, March 5, 2023

The week in theatre: Women, Beware the Devil; Romeo and Julie; Shirley Valentine – review by Susannah Clapp

Almeida; Dorfman; Duke of York’s, LondonDirector Rupert Goold and co have a field day with Lulu Raczka’s elusive new Jacobean folk horror; star-crossed Cardiff teenagers snare hearts and…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:30AM
Sunday, February 26, 2023

The week in theatre: Grenfell: System Failure; Medea; Trouble in Butetown – review by Susannah Clapp

Playground; @sohoplace; Donmar Warehouse, LondonRichard Norton-Taylor and Nicolas Kent’s second Grenfell drama is a shocking dissection of negligence; Sophie Okonedo breathes fire as Medea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:30AM
Sunday, February 19, 2023

The week in theatre: Phaedra; Sylvia; Standing at the Sky’s Edge – review by Susannah Clapp

Lyttelton; Old Vic; Olivier, LondonJanet McTeer is mighty in Simon Stone’s electric remaking of myth; dance, not speech, powers Kate Prince’s suffragette musical; and Richard Hawley’s …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:30AM

All that Chat