Friday, June 9, 2017
The Observer's theatre critic chooses the 10 sets that changed the face of modern theatre, from a 1912 Hamlet to Punchdrunk's immersive Faust Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:48AMSunday, June 4, 2017
The Other Palace, LondonSally Cookson’s take on the cinema classic makes for magical theatre with just bare boards, smoky light and a fine, versatile castThere is nothing like a woman with…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54AMRoyal Court, LondonGary Owen continues his exploration of male dysfunction through the generations with this fierce three-handerTwo years ago Gary Owen’s Violence and Son viscerally sugges…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54AMRegent’s Park Open Air theatre, LondonBernstein’s music, three strong women and Drew McOnie’s choreography drive his inventively staged productionI was completely taken aback by On the…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54AMSunday, May 28, 2017
Two decades ago, Susannah Clapp filed her first theatre review for the Observer. Here, she reflects on the quirks of the job, the joy of spotting new stars – and how the role of the critic…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18AMSunday, May 21, 2017
Minerva, Chichester Sharon D Clarke is extraordinary as the defiant heroine of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s dynamic musical set in 60s AmericaPolitical punch, moral intricacy – and …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54AMRoyal Court, London Seeing a man read out an anonymous woman’s sexual fantasies on stage produces curious resultsNo one knows who wrote the words of Manwatching. No one can see a script be…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54AMYoung Vic, London Brendan Cowell brings Brecht’s rebel scientist to combative life in Joe Wright’s coruscating productionHow to see what’s really going on? How to recognise interesting…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54AMSunday, May 14, 2017
Olivier, National Theatre, LondonYaël Farber’s turgid take on the biblical story leaves some fine actors stranded in the desert“It begins at the end.” You might be warned from the sta…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:24AMTheatre Royal, Stratford East, LondonEmma Donoghue’s acclaimed novel makes the leap to the stage, with a little help from young Harrison WildingEmma Donoghue has written eloquently about h…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:24AMHull Truck theatre, HullMat Fraser is genially terrifying as the dastardly king in Northern Broadsides’ urgent 25th anniversary performanceMat Fraser, who hosted the 2012 Paralympics openi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:24AMSunday, May 7, 2017
Lyttelton, LondonGaudy and unflinching, Tony Kushner’s 90s Aids drama still resonates in this bold, starry revival directed by Marianne ElliottYou can tell when a show is bound for success…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:02AMRoyal Court, London Magic runs through Butterworth’s brilliant new play, directed by Sam Mendes, with a fine stage debut from Paddy ConsidineJez Butterworth’s plays shoulder their way on…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:02AMSunday, April 30, 2017
Shakespeare’s Globe, LondonThe lovers alone convince in Daniel Kramer’s bewildering productionEmma Rice’s last season in charge of the Globe opens with loud defiance. Daniel Kramer’s…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18AMBarbican, LondonNo amount of writhing and roaring can enliven Ivo van Hove’s self-absorbed take on ViscontiIn one corner David Hare: the least likely of dramatic Brexiters, suspicious of c…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18AMLyric Hammersmith, LondonA visually dazzling staging by 59 Productions is missing a human dimensionJames Fenton, trenchant former theatre critic of the Sunday Times, once described his job a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18AMSunday, April 23, 2017
Bush theatre, LondonBrilliantly designed, Rajiv Joseph’s philosophical, whimsical play brings immensity to a small space at the refurbished west London theatreThe rejigged, refreshed Bush …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06AMUstinov Studio, Theatre Royal, Bath; Trafalgar Studios, LondonPlaywright Christopher Hampton’s talents are illuminated in two clever satires skewering the literary and academic lifeWho wou…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54AMSunday, April 16, 2017
Coliseum, LondonKatherine Jenkins and Alfie Boe sound as good as you might expect, but ‘semi-staged’ here signifies a woeful lack of acting talentThe English National Opera has said that…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48AMBarbican, LondonCheek by Jowl rise to Shakespeare’s challenge, including a wonderful awakening for Hermione. But the beast scares no oneThe Winter’s Tale is a series of dares for a direc…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48AMSunday, April 9, 2017
Dorfman, LondonNina Raine adroitly tackles barristers’ struggles with the truth as the audience becomes the jury in a rape caseMore than Consent. Heartfelt approval. It is hard to overemph…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:06AMTheatre Royal Drury Lane, LondonIf it’s a real musical you’re after, this is the one to watchForget La La Land. If you want to see hot hoofing, go to Mark Bramble’s production of 42nd …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:02AMTheatre Royal, HaymarketDamian Lewis and Sophie Okonedo do their best with Edward Albee’s provocative play, but it is too knowing for its own goodIn the seven months since Edward Albee die…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:02AMSunday, March 19, 2017
Dorfman, London Rufus Norris and Carol Ann Duffy’s verbatim drama includes a variety of voices but is already out of date in our bitterly divided nationOne of Rufus Norris’s aims since h…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:06AMRose theatre, Kingston upon ThamesCatherine McCormack and Niamh Cusack ignite April De Angelis’s five-hour staging of Elena Ferrante’s Neopolitan sagaWhat a nerve. To think that Elena Fe…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:06AMGarrick, London Heavily laboured jokes sink Griff Rhys Jones and Lee Mack in this 17th-century comedy of mannersIt may be that, all unwittingly, I have had a farsectomy. I – mostly – app…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:03AMSunday, March 12, 2017
Old Vic, LondonDaniel Radcliffe and Joshua McGuire’s split-second timing ensures this well-judged production of Stoppard’s classic fizzes with lifeWhen as a schoolgirl I saw Rosencrantz …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:42AMHarold Pinter, LondonPrepare for a high-wire showdown in James Macdonald’s fine production of Albee’s caustic classicNo one is going to accuse Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? of being …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:42AMDonmar Warehouse, LondonOutstanding performances, including Roger Allam as Roy Jenkins, enliven a timely drama about the birth of the SDPIt was an Alice Through the Looking Glass press night…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:42AMSunday, March 5, 2017
Hull Truck theatre, HullMark Addy and Caroline Quentin star in Richard Bean’s gag-heavy satirical tale of a 17th-century city governor navigating the outbreak of civil warThere is exemplar…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12AMAlmeida, LondonScott brings total empathy to the title role in Robert Icke’s inspired production Robert Icke is one of the most important forces in today’s theatre. He blew the dust from…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12AM 
