All stories by Arifa Akbar on BroadwayStars

Sunday, June 29, 2025

A Woman Alone review – a stylised portrait of contemporary financial precarity by Arifa Akbar

Malta festival, PolandThis updating of Agnieszka Holland’s 1981 film about a struggling single mother suggests life under capitalist consumerism is no easier than it was under communism Ag…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Friday, June 27, 2025

The Tempest review – drama in the heavens adds real magic to tumultuous tale by Arifa Akbar

Stara Rzeźnia, PoznańThis outdoor offering, part homage and part reimagining of Shakespeare’s text, has visual spectacle, a magnificent score and a cast undeterred by an actual storm Out…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:02AM
Thursday, June 26, 2025

A Moon for the Misbegotten review – even Ruth Wilson can’t redeem this long night by Arifa Akbar

Almeida theatre, LondonRebecca Frecknall’s usually bold directorial hand seems stilled in a glacially paced revival co-starring Michael Shannon and David Threlfall Rebecca Frecknall has gi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM
Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Hercules review – Disney musical is fun, finely sung but not quite fit for the gods by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal Drury Lane, LondonLuke Brady is the hero navigating between godliness and humanness in a show that’s big on booming numbers yet short on emotion Four years ago, Disney brough…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54PM
Sunday, June 22, 2025

The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs review – exuberant musical drama wriggles its way into your heart by Arifa Akbar

Kiln theatre, LondonIman Qureshi’s play starts as a good, old-fashioned underdog story before exploring sexuality, homophobia and trans identity A group of women convene around a piano in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Friday, June 20, 2025

54.60 Africa review – a freewheeling, weeklong tour around the continent by Arifa Akbar

Arcola theatre, LondonOn a quest to visit all 54 African nations, a band of travellers explore personal, political and social history – but it can be hard to work out what’s happening Th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Thursday, June 19, 2025

4.48 Psychosis review – bared anguish and delicate detail in Sarah Kane’s final play by Arifa Akbar

Royal Court theatre, LondonKane’s emotionally unswerving gifts as a writer are on full display in a 25th-anniversary production reuniting the original cast What must it have felt like to w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Sunday, June 15, 2025

Anna Karenina review – Tolstoy’s tragedy fizzes with theatrical brilliance by Arifa Akbar

Chichester Festival theatreNatalie Dormer is exceptional in the title role with Phillip Breen’s clever production reflecting the full scope of the novel’s ambition The stampede of acto…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM
Thursday, June 12, 2025

Storehouse review – an exasperating wander through the internet’s ‘arkive’ by Arifa Akbar

Deptford Storehouse, LondonWhile Liana Patarkatsishvili’s gargantuan immersive show looks spectacular, too many ideas are thrown about without being tethered to a story The disused warehou…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12PM
Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Stars: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey review – mission to Planet Orgasm by Arifa Akbar

Brixton House, LondonMojisola Adebayo’s play deftly navigates light and heavy subject matter as its hero embarks on a quest to feel the earth move Do not underestimate the gravity of the m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM

From Hadestown to Hercules: ancient myths are the gods’ gift to musicals by Arifa Akbar

Newly arrived in the West End, Disney’s demigod is the latest mythological A-lister to knock out showtunes. Why are deities such as Hermes and the ‘half-blood’ Percy Jackson having a m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36AM
Sunday, June 8, 2025

Changes review – secrets, blackmail and lightning fast role-juggling by Arifa Akbar

Teatro Carlo Goldoni, VeniceIn an extraordinary theatrical feat, two agile actors play 23 characters populating the seemingly ordinary working day of a central couple A day in the life of a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM

No Title (An Experiment) review – Willem Dafoe’s return to avant garde theatre is oddly banal by Arifa Akbar

Tese dei Soppalchi, VeniceBetween smashing glasses and reading conceptual index cards, Dafoe and Simonetta Solder neglect to locate this two-hander’s drama – or its heart Long before Wil…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM

The Potato Eaters review – a descent from visceral dread into full-blown terror by Arifa Akbar

Lazzaretto Vecchio, VeniceOn the site of a hospital for leprosy patients, audience members are invited to wander in near darkness among twitching body bags into a choreographed scene of ritu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:32AM
Wednesday, June 4, 2025

In Praise of Love review – secrets and lies circle a family on the brink by Arifa Akbar

Orange Tree theatre, LondonAmelia Sears’ production of Terence Rattigan’s knotted drama contains warmth – and love – beneath the disappointments of married life Terence Rattigan dist…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48AM
Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Letters from Max review – rich reflections on life, death and nothingness from a poet who died at 25 by Arifa Akbar

Hampstead theatre, LondonSarah Ruhl’s stage adaptation of the book she wrote with her former student Max Ritvo, who died of cancer at 25, is smartly written if emotionally distant Sarah Ru…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54AM
Sunday, June 1, 2025

This Is My Family review – cuddly comedy on a soggy camping holiday by Arifa Akbar

Southwark Playhouse Elephant, LondonTim Firth’s 2013 musical about domestic dysfunction and redemption seems a little twee by today’s standards but the songs and sentimental ending will …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PM
Friday, May 30, 2025

Application 39 (for the 2048 Gaza Summer Olympics) / Return to Palestine review – witness more than theatre by Arifa Akbar

★★★★☆ / ★★★★★Theatro Technis, LondonPainful yet joyous and with pitch-black humour, these plays are as good as testimonies to the horrors happening in Gaza, capturing imm…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM
Thursday, May 29, 2025

Marriage Material review – cornershop comedy with a cardi-and-trousers charm by Arifa Akbar

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonGreat 1970s costumes, bubbling performances and an elegant set tee up this adaptation of Sathnam Sanghera’s novel about a Sikh family facing Enoch Powell-era racis…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:02AM

Stars, shockers, psychos and evangelists: Rupert Goold’s mighty end to his high-wire Almeida tenure by Arifa Akbar

A smattering of famous names, a big-ambition project, a gay classic and a musical thriller … the powerhouse artistic director’s final productions have all his hallmarks, showing how he m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM
Sunday, May 25, 2025

Milk مِلْك review – there are no words for mourning Palestinian mothers by Arifa Akbar

Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, LondonThe cast of six women and one man give extraordinary physical performances – but most devastating is the stillness that reflects their paralys…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Thursday, May 22, 2025

Mrs Warren’s Profession review – Imelda Staunton in formidable form as brothel-keeper by Arifa Akbar

Garrick theatre, London Filial tangles, played with the actor’s real-life daughter Bessie Carter, bring George Bernard Shaw’s once-banned drama to life This is not the first production o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24PM

The Crucible review – Miller’s resonant tale of terror given radical sense of humour by Arifa Akbar

Shakespeare’s Globe, LondonDirector Ola Ince brings absurdist comedy to Arthur Miller’s classic drama of Salem witch-hunting, now told partly through song There is never a time when Arth…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36AM
Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Little Brother review – remarkable migrant memoir falters on stage by Arifa Akbar

Jermyn Street theatre, LondonIbrahima Balde’s desperate journey to find his brother should make for essential theatre, but this production lacks the emotional intensity of the book Ibrahim…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM
Sunday, May 18, 2025

The Last Incel review – the hate, horror and comedy that lurk online by Arifa Akbar

Pleasance theatre, LondonJamie Sykes’ queasily entertaining play dramatises the contemptible views found in ‘incel’ forums – but also elicits sympathy for its characters, whose loath…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:24PM
Friday, May 16, 2025

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry review – life-affirming musical reckons with death by Arifa Akbar

Minerva theatre, Chichester Mark Addy plays the Bunyanesque everyman whose trip to the postbox becomes a spiritual journey set to glorious foot-stomping songs The…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM
Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Insane Asylum Seekers review – likably droll telling of generational trauma by Arifa Akbar

Bush theatre, London Laith Elzubaidi’s autobiographical one-man play explores the lingering pain of his family’s flight from Iraq with a standup’s humour In the w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Thursday, May 8, 2025

Here We Are review – Sondheim’s desperate diners have a double helping of Buñuel by Arifa Akbar

Lyttelton, LondonThis energetic look at the charmed lives of the 1% features some signature sparks, but the class satire is not potent enough in the composer’s swansong Stephen Sondheim’…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18PM
Sunday, May 4, 2025

Romeo and Juliet review – star-crossed lovers transported to the wild west by Arifa Akbar

Globe theatre, LondonDirector Sean Holmes’s high concept production shows that the frontier works surprisingly well as Shakespeare’s fractious Verona The warring Houses of Montague and C…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM
Thursday, May 1, 2025

Scenes from a Repatriation review – 12 ingenious questions about cultural ownership by Arifa Akbar

Royal Court theatre, London Singaporean Joel Tan’s play revolves around the fate of an ancient statue, in disparate scenes of thrilling complexity played by a zesty cast Controversies ove…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:06PM
Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Titus Andronicus review – Simon Russell Beale is sublime amid epic horrors by Arifa Akbar

Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonEchoes of Gaza and Guantanamo ripple through the violence of Shakespeare’s paradoxically poetic play, immaculately staged by the RSC It is not just heads t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM