All stories by Aleks.sierz on BroadwayStars

Friday, February 16, 2018

Girls & Boys, Royal Court review - Carey Mulligan is stunningly brilliant by Aleks.sierz

Dennis Kelly’s remarkable new monologue is a terrific experienceThis is Carey Mulligan week. She appears, improbably enough, as a hard-nosed cop in David Hare’s BBC thriller Collateral, …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:59AM

Girls & Boys, Royal Court review - Carey Mulligan is stunningly brilliant by Aleks.sierz

★★★★★ GIRLS & BOYS, ROYAL COURT Carey Mulligan is stunningly brilliantDennis Kelly’s remarkable new monologue is a terrific experienceThis is Carey Mulligan week. She ap…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 06:59AM
Thursday, February 8, 2018

The Divide, Old Vic review - Alan Ayckbourn’s overblown dystopia by Aleks.sierz

★★ THE DIVIDE, OLD VIC Alan Ayckbourn’s overblown dystopiaEpic, very long satire on religion and sexual segregation prefers comedy to tragedyPlaywright Alan Ayckbourn basically comes i…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 05:51AM

The Divide, Old Vic review - Alan Ayckbourn’s overblown dystopia by Aleks.sierz

Epic, very long satire on religion and sexual segregation prefers comedy to tragedyPlaywright Alan Ayckbourn basically comes in two flavours: suburban comedies of embarrassment and sci-fi fa…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:31AM
Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Gundog, Royal Court review - tedious and inconsequential by Aleks.sierz

New misery fest about rural life is symbolic, but lacks drama and resonanceFirst the goats, and now the sheep – has this venue become an urban farm? Rural life, which was once so central t…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:05PM

Gundog, Royal Court review - tedious and inconsequential by Aleks.sierz

New misery fest about rural life is symbolic, but lacks drama and resonanceFirst the goats, and now the sheep – has this venue become an urban farm? Rural life, which was once so central t…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:05PM
Monday, February 5, 2018

Paines Plough Roundabout, Orange Tree Theatre review - too brief to really rock by Aleks.sierz

Three-piece repertory is well staged, but the short-play formula doesn’t really workHype is a dangerous thing. It often raises expectations beyond the reasonable, and disappointment inevit…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:01AM

Paines Plough Roundabout, Orange Tree Theatre review - too brief to really rock by Aleks.sierz

PAINES PLOUGH ROUNDABOUT, ORANGE TREE THEATRE Too brief to really rockThree-piece repertory is well staged, but the short-play formula doesn’t really workHype is a dangerous thing. It ofte…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 02:01AM
Saturday, January 27, 2018

The Believers Are But Brothers, Bush Theatre review - a gimmick in search of a story by Aleks.sierz

★★★ THE BELIEVERS ARE BUT BROTHERS, BUSH THEATRE One-man show about political extremism on the internet occasionally disturbsOne-man show about political extremism on the internet occa…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:00AM
Friday, January 26, 2018

The Believers Are But Brothers, Bush Theatre review - a gimmick in search of a story by Aleks.sierz

One-man show about political extremism on the internet occasionally disturbs Do boys never leave the playground? Just when I was reasonably sure that the crisis of masculinity was an old-fas…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:01PM
Thursday, January 18, 2018

The Birthday Party, Harold Pinter Theatre review - starry cast create a stunning masterpiece by Aleks.sierz

Toby Jones, Zoë Wanamaker and co breathe vibrant new life into classic Pinter comedy of menaceIs modernism dead and buried? Anyone considering the long haul of Harold Pinter’s The Birthda…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:00PM
Friday, December 15, 2017

The Jungle, Young Vic review - physically and emotionally challenging by Aleks.sierz

New play about refugee camp life in Calais is a grueling docu-dramaRefugees, it is said, have no nationality – they are all individuals. This new docu-drama, deftly put together by theatre…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:12PM
Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Parliament Square, Bush Theatre, review – uncomfortable blaze of anger by Aleks.sierz

New drama about political extremism is brilliantly written – mostlyThe political story of our time is the upsurge in support for Jeremy Corbyn, leftwing leader of the Labour Party, mainly …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:54PM
Friday, December 1, 2017

Goats, Royal Court review - unfocused and muddled by Aleks.sierz

New play about Syria is upstaged by its animal performersThe civil war in Syria spawns image after image of hell on earth. Staging the stories of that conflict presents a challenge to playwr…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:42PM
Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Bad Roads, Royal Court, review – memorably unsettling by Aleks.sierz

International season continues with savage Ukrainian war playWar is morally acidic: it dissolves social rules, loosens inhibitions and gives permission to men to behave like animals. And the…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:06PM
Friday, November 10, 2017

Glengarry Glen Ross, Playhouse Theatre, review - Christian Slater is gently charismatic by Aleks.sierz

All-star cast in modern American classic celebrate the ideal of the dealAmerican classics dominate the straight plays in London’s West End. Whenever a producer wants to revive a straight d…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:04PM
Tuesday, November 7, 2017

The Retreat, Park Theatre, review - funny but a bit flat by Aleks.sierz

New play about getting away from it all by Peep Show writer fails to enlightenIs Buddhism a path to finding spiritual enlightenment – or just an excuse for not facing your personal problem…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:24PM
Thursday, November 2, 2017

Heather, Bush Theatre, review - Harry Potter satire burns bright by Aleks.sierz

New play about storytelling examines a children’s book craze – and its repercussionsHarry Potter has a lot to answer for. The phenomenal success of J K Rowling’s books, and of their fi…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:48PM
Monday, October 30, 2017

The Slaves of Solitude, Hampstead Theatre, review - crude, over-dramatic and under-motivated by Aleks.sierz

New adaptation of Patrick Hamilton novel is thinly written and poorly stagedThe second world war is central to our national imagination, yet it has been oddly absent from our stages recently…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:36PM
Thursday, October 26, 2017

Young Marx, Bridge Theatre, review - fast-moving, but over-complicated by Aleks.sierz

Brand-new London theatre is wonderful, but its first show is disappointingGiven the rather uneven record of the National Theatre at the moment, there’s already a certain nostalgia for the …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:06PM
Monday, October 23, 2017

Witness for the Prosecution, London County Hall review - favourable verdict on Agatha Christie classic by Aleks.sierz

This site-specific revival of 1953 courtroom drama works like a treatSome site-specific theatre feels like a really good fit. You could say, in this case, that it seems like poetic justice. …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:42PM
Friday, October 20, 2017

Of Kith and Kin, Bush Theatre, review - comic but confused gay surrogacy drama by Aleks.sierz

New play about gay parenthood suffers from an identity crisisA new baby is like an alien invasion: it blows your mind and it colonises your world. For any couple, parenthood can be both exal…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:12PM
Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Albion, Almeida Theatre, review – Victoria Hamilton’s epic performance by Aleks.sierz

Doctor Foster writer explores Englishness with enormous metaphoric zealProlific writer Mike Bartlett is the most impressive penman to have emerged in British theatre in the past decade. The …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:18PM
Monday, October 9, 2017

Victory Condition, Royal Court review - Ballardian vision of the contemporary by Aleks.sierz

New two-hander is a stylized account of a nihilistic realityWhat does it mean to feel contemporary? Feel. Contemporary. According to theatre-maker Chris Thorpe, whose new play Victory Condit…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:33PM

Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle, Wyndham’s Theatre, review – paradoxically predictable by Aleks.sierz

Anne-Marie Duff and Kenneth Cranham in unconvincing rom-comPlaywright Simon Stephens and director Marianne Elliott are hyped as a winning partnership. Their previous collaborations include T…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:54PM
Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Labour of Love, Noël Coward Theatre, review – Martin Freeman and Tamsin Greig labour in vain by Aleks.sierz

Comedy about Labour Party history is starry, but tediously overblownProlific playwright James Graham aspires to be nothing if not timely. His latest, a play about the Labour Party, was origi…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:42PM
Monday, October 2, 2017

B, Royal Court review - intriguing, ironical, but flawed by Aleks.sierz

New Chilean play about terrorism is satirical, but ends up non-committalIn the 1960s, we had the theatre of commitment; today we have an attitude of non-committal. Once, political playwright…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:24PM
Friday, September 22, 2017

Ramona Tells Jim, Bush Theatre, review – kooky, teenage heartbreak by Aleks.sierz

Heartwarming new play about young love is good fun, if a bit slenderLocation, location, location. Jim thinks he lives in the “shittiest” small town in Scotland. It’s Mallaig, on the we…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:48PM
Monday, September 18, 2017

Oslo, National Theatre review - informative, gripping and moving by Aleks.sierz

Award-heavy American play about the Oslo Accords is highly entertainingDocumentary theatre has a poor reputation. It’s boring in form, boring to look at (all those middle-aged men in suits…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:18PM
Tuesday, September 12, 2017

The Blinding Light, Jermyn Street Theatre, review – Jasper Britton is fascinatingly febrile by Aleks.sierz

Playwright August Strindberg goes psychotic in Howard Brenton’s latestAnyone who likes playing “Spot the weirdo” will find themselves instantly at home in Howard Brenton’s new play, …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:12PM
Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Loot, Park Theatre, review – dizzyingly enjoyable by Aleks.sierz

Anniversary revival of Joe Orton’s farce is a delight from start to finishFifty years ago this month, playwright Joe Orton was murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell. His debut play, Ente…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:33PM

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
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic