All stories by Aleks.sierz on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Apex Predator, Hampstead Theatre review – poor writing turns horror into silliness by Aleks.sierz

New play about motherhood and vampirism is disappointingly incoherent Motherhood is a high stress job. Ask any woman and they will tell you the same: sleepless nights, feeding problems and …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 01:36PM
Thursday, March 27, 2025

Playhouse Creatures, Orange Tree Theatre review – jokes, shiny costumes and quarrels, but little drama by Aleks.sierz

April De Angelis’s 1993 play is a delightful if sketchy account of Restoration female actors Creatives — or creatures? In the 1660s, women — having been banned from working as actors …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 01:06PM
Wednesday, March 12, 2025

The Habits, Hampstead Theatre review - who knows what adventures await? by Aleks.sierz

New play about the game of Dungeons & Dragons explores fact and fantasy “The exercise of fantasy is to imagine other ways of life,” says one of the role-players during a Dungeons &a…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:06PM
Sunday, March 2, 2025

Alterations, National Theatre review – high emotional costs of ambition by Aleks.sierz

The Guyanese migrant experience of 1970s London gets the big-stage treatment Plays about the Windrush Generation are no longer a rarity, but it’s still unusual for revivals of black Briti…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 11:12AM
Thursday, February 27, 2025

A Knock on the Roof, Royal Court review - poignant account of living under terror by Aleks.sierz

Gaza play is both surreally humorous and finally devastating The war in Gaza has been going since 7 October 2023 — that’s about 15 months. But it’s strangely absent from British stage…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:12PM
Tuesday, February 18, 2025

East Is South, Hampstead Theatre review – bewildering and unconvincing by Aleks.sierz

House of Cards writer tackles AI and religion, but without the necessary clarity Our humanity is defined not only by our use of language, but also by our sense of the spiritual. Whether you…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:06PM
Sunday, February 16, 2025

Unicorn, Garrick Theatre review - wordy and emotionless desire by Aleks.sierz

New West End drama about spicing up marriage is oddly lacking in passion Since when has new writing become so passionless? Mike Bartlett is one of the country’s premiere playwrights and h…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:18PM
Friday, February 14, 2025

More Life, Royal Court review – posthuman tragedy fails to come alive by Aleks.sierz

A new sci-fi gothic horror about life after death is intriguing, but flawed I always advocate in favour of more sci-fi plays, and over the past decade there have been a gratifying number of …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:18PM
Thursday, February 13, 2025

Churchill in Moscow, Orange Tree Theatre review – thought-provoking language and power games by Aleks.sierz

Howard Brenton’s new play about Winston and Stalin is both intelligent and fun Playwrights who work for decades often acquire a moniker. In the case of Howard Brenton, who began his caree…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:36AM
Tuesday, February 4, 2025

… Blackbird Hour, Bush Theatre review - an unrelentingly tough watch by Aleks.sierz

New play about mental breakdown is a mix of acute distress and poetic writing In a world tainted with racism and homophobia, the Bush theatre is something of a refuge from prejudice. As one …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:54PM
Sunday, January 19, 2025

A Good House, Royal Court review – provocative, but imperfect by Aleks.sierz

South African satire about racism, sexism, home ownership and community politics Most Brits don’t know much about South Africa today, but we do know about house values, so this new comedy…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:06PM
Tuesday, December 17, 2024

The Invention of Love, Hampstead Theatre review – beautiful wit, awkward staging by Aleks.sierz

Tom Stoppard’s classic evocation of Victorian golden age Oxford stars Simon Russell Beale Can men really love each other — without sex? Or, to put it another way, how many different form…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:02PM
Friday, December 13, 2024

The Legends of Them, Royal Court review – reaching out for serenity by Aleks.sierz

Gig theatre piece about the pain and redemption of a pioneer reggae artist I live in Brixton, south London. To get to the tube, I have to cross Windrush Square. Since 2021, I go past the Ch…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:36PM
Friday, November 29, 2024

Expendable, Royal Court review - intensely felt family drama by Aleks.sierz

New play about a paedophile ring foregrounds the voices of British-Pakistani women British theatre excels in presenting social issues: at its best, it shines a bright light on the controver…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:31PM
Thursday, November 21, 2024

A Christmas Carol, Old Vic review – tidings of discomfort and noise by Aleks.sierz

This venue’s annual festive classic is seasonally joyous, but its writing is frankly patronizing This Dickens classic is an annual treat, or a Christmas trial — depending on your point …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 01:42PM
Friday, November 15, 2024

Wolves on Road, Bush Theatre review – exciting dialogue, but flawed plotting by Aleks.sierz

New play about young black men and cryptocurrency is sadly predictable Cryptocurrency is like the myth of El Dorado — a promised land made of fool’s gold. Despite its liberatory potenti…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:12PM
Thursday, November 7, 2024

L’Addition, BAC review – top billing for physical comedy duo by Aleks.sierz

The latest in Forced Entertainment’s 40 years of experiment is a thought-tickling farce Can experimental theatre survive the decades? This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Forced Ent…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 01:12PM
Thursday, October 31, 2024

The Buddha of Suburbia, Barbican Theatre review – farcical fun, but what about the issues? by Aleks.sierz

Hanif Kureishi classic gets a compulsively comic makeover from Emma Rice Hanif Kureishi’s 1990 novel The Buddha of Suburbia begins like this: “My name is Karim Amir, and I am an English…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:24PM
Sunday, October 27, 2024

Reykjavik, Hampstead Theatre review – drama frozen by waves of detail by Aleks.sierz

Richard Bean’s new work play revisits the Hull fishing industry of the 1970s “Don’t take a piss in the house of a woman you have made a widow.” The mixture of earthy comedy and tragi…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 01:36PM
Sunday, October 13, 2024

A Raisin in the Sun, Lyric Hammersmith review - of race and men by Aleks.sierz

Lorraine Hansberry classic is both a historical gem and a play for today Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is not only the first play by a black woman to premiere on Broadway, back…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:02PM
Thursday, October 10, 2024

Brace Brace, Royal Court review – too slender to satisfy by Aleks.sierz

New play about the consequences of a plane hijack is energetic but unconvincing Air travel is bad for us. Yes, yes, I know we need planes to take us long distances, but look at the downside…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:32PM
Sunday, October 6, 2024

Angry and Young, Almeida Theatre review - vigorous and illuminating double bill by Aleks.sierz

Two all-time 1950s classics, 'Look Back in Anger' and 'Roots', get super revivals by young directors Why should we not look back in anger? With the Oasis reunion tour in the news recently, …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:06PM
Thursday, October 3, 2024

A Tupperware of Ashes, National Theatre review – family and food, love and loss by Aleks.sierz

Tanika Gupta’s new play is a beautifully heartfelt mix of comedy and tragedy Queenie is in trouble. Bad trouble. For about a year now, this 68-year-old Indian woman has been forgetful. Lo…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:06PM
Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Waiting for Godot, Theatre Royal Haymarket review - humanity in high definition by Aleks.sierz

Brilliant revival of this key absurdist play stars Lucian Msamati and Ben Whishaw Modernism is us. Today. For the past two decades plays by Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter – which once u…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 05:32AM
Wednesday, September 18, 2024

The Lightest Element, Hampstead Theatre review - engrossing, but fragmentary by Aleks.sierz

Slender new play about political and gender prejudice in 1950s American science British theatre has a proud heritage of science plays. From 1990s classics such as Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia (1…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:48PM
Friday, September 13, 2024

The Real Ones, Bush Theatre review - engrossing, enjoyable and quietly inspiring by Aleks.sierz

Waleed Akhtar’s new play is about platonic love in a contemporary context Platonic love should be simple — basically you’re best mates. And without the complications of sex, what coul…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 06:32PM
Sunday, September 1, 2024

G, Royal Court review - everyday realism blitzed by urban myth by Aleks.sierz

Award-winning new writing is full of mystery and metaphor, but a bit too literary I live in Brixton, south London; in my street, for many years, a pair of trainers were up in the sky, hangin…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 01:54PM
Friday, August 16, 2024

Peanut Butter & Blueberries, Kiln Theatre review - rom-com in a time of Islamophobia by Aleks.sierz

Debut two-hander explores a gentle love story of two practicing Muslims At one point, in John Fowles’s 1977 novel The Magus, the guru character in the story compares sexuality before and …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 05:18AM
Sunday, June 30, 2024

The Marilyn Conspiracy, Park Theatre review - intriguing murder mystery by Aleks.sierz

New play about the death of the most famous American woman of the Camelot era The death of Marilyn Monroe is a wet dream for conspiracy theorists. Like the assassination of JFK in the follo…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:54PM
Monday, June 24, 2024

My Father's Fable, Bush Theatre review - hilarious and haunting family drama by Aleks.sierz

New play about secrets from the past is both funny and profound Following the huge success of Benedict Lombe’s Shifters, which transfers soon to the West End, the Bush Theatre is riding h…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:18PM
Wednesday, June 19, 2024

The Bounds, Royal Court review - soccer play scores badly by Aleks.sierz

New history play about football has a flawed second half Every day this week I’m watching a football match, and now — after April’s production of Lydia Higman, Julia Grogan and Rachel …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:36PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre