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 06:48PMAward-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 08:18PMPlaywright 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 06:12PMAnniversary 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 06:33PMThe star director’s revival of a nineties classic is atmospheric but unconvincing Hark, is that the call of the earth I hear? In a frenetic urban world, the myth of rural simplicity exerts…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:42PMNew American drama about God and violence is baggy, but often brilliantLuke is a Silicon Valley billionaire, a high-tech wizard. And he’s just had a message from God. And what does God say…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:36PMNew play about democracy is entertaining, but a bit too tricksy A new plague is sweeping British theatre: audience participation. Instead of just sitting back and enjoying the show, your vis…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:18PMBroadway legend Stockard Channing dominates this family dramaThe 1960s were “hilarious”, says one young character in this revival, starring Broadway icon Stockard Channing, of Alexi Kaye…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:33PMNew drama about surrogacy is rich in metaphor and fraught with conflictSurrogacy is an emotionally fraught subject. The arrangement by which one woman gives birth to another’s baby challen…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:12PMRupert Murdoch saga by ‘This House’ playwright is too detailed and overblownThe recent general election result proves that the power of rightwing press has diminished considerably in the…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:04PMAudience participation cannot save a trial that suffocates in abstractionCan the theatre be a courtroom? A good public place to debate morality and to arrive at profound decisions. You could…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:33PMNew American satire about families only rarely hits the markDonald Trump’s electoral success was, we have been told, fueled by the anger of the American working class. But how do you show …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:12PMKatie Mitchell returns with a powerful account of depression and despairDorothy Parker’s take on suicide is called “Resumé”: it goes, “Razors pain you; Rivers are damp; Acids stain …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:33PMNew play about fatherhood and masculinity has an enjoyably global reachThe strapline for this joyful show is: “One day; six cities; a thousand stories”. Allowing for hyperbole, this is j…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:18PMEpic new play about the Enclosures gets bogged down in obscurityHistory is a tricky harlot. She is bought and sold, fought for and thrown over, seduced and betrayed – and always at the mer…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:48PMThree monologues brilliantly summon up a punchy world of pain and violenceThe monologue is a terrific theatre form. Using this narrative device, you can cover huge amounts of storytelling te…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:24PMFinn from Star Wars dominates a radical rewrite of Georg Büchner classicWelcome back John Boyega. Less than a decade ago, he was an unknown budding British stage actor, then he took off as …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:24PMNew twist on the biblical story gets bogged down in a portentous production Is God female? It says a lot about Yaël Farber’s overblown new version of this biblical tale that, near the end…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:02PMNew epic from the ‘Jerusalem’ playwright is a breathtaking experienceI hate the kind of hype that sells out a new play within minutes of tickets becoming available. I mean isn’t there …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:36PMColourful and vivid revival of Martin Crimp’s 1993 tale of New YorkPlaywright Martin Crimp’s 1993 satirical epic, The Treatment, is a fabulous work, but it’s rarely revived. Although m…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:12AMMasterpiece of 'New York Trilogy' is visually amazing and intellectually satisfying on stagePlaywright Duncan Macmillan has had a good couple of years. In 2015, his play People, Pl…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:03AMNew play about loss offers an unusually experimental and immersive experienceText can sometimes be a prison. At its best, post-war British theatre is a writer’s theatre, with the great pen…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:24PMNew writing venue reopens with a play about another architectural marvelThe Bush is back! After a whole year of darkness, the West London new writing venue has reopened its doors following a…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:36PMA tale of two toilets: Edinburgh Fringe First winner comes to Soho TheatreIt’s hot. Real hot. And you’re dancing, just lost in music. You’re at the legendary Shrine nightclub in Lagos,…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:06AMAnna Maxwell Martin stars in Nina Raine's compelling play about rape and justiceRape is such a serious social issue that it’s hardly surprising that several recent plays have tackled …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:18PMDavid Tennant charms and excites in Patrick Marber’s energetic rewrite of Molière Updating the classics is not without its pitfalls. How can a modern audience, which has a completely diff…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:06AMCut! Simon McBurney muddles the story of Hollywood mogul Robert EvansThe beauty of fiction is that its stories have both compelling shape and deep meaning – they are dramas where things fe…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:48PMMichelle Collins stars in haunting account of belief and lonelinessMichelle Collins, actor and TV presenter, is so strongly associated with her roles in EastEnders and Coronation Street that…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:48PMThe poet laureate’s verbatim play about Brexit sinks into banalityOh dear. The first explicit play about Brexit is being staged by the National Theatre in a production that has all the acr…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:54PMDocudrama about the 1981 Labour Party split is a treat – for politics buffsPolitics is a serious business, but it’s also a spectator sport. Think of the duels in Prime Minister’s Quest…
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:42AMNew play by debbie tucker green is too abstract for its own goodLove, we know, will tear us apart again. And again. And yet again. It will shred our nerves and rip through our guts; it will …
SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:36PM
