All stories by Arifa Akbar on BroadwayStars

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Night Shift review – interconnected stories of isolation and intimacy by Arifa Akbar

Stanley Arts, LondonCombining spoken dialogue with BSL this innovative production shines a light on the unsung heroes who keep the economy running while the world sleeps The drama opens as t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM
Monday, November 13, 2023

‘I felt shame about my labia’: High Steaks, the hit show barbequing body image by Arifa Akbar

Performing naked except for a well-positioned accordion, sprig of parsley or mirror, Eliona Haines tackles labia-shaming by chopping up slices of beef and grilling them. She explains all to …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18AM
Friday, November 10, 2023

Nineteen Gardens review – gripping account of an illicit affair’s aftermath by Arifa Akbar

Hampstead theatre, LondonSocial disparities are highlighted in Magdalena Miecznicka’s satirical study of the power play between two former lovers We enter this drama in the middle of a con…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM
Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Phantasmagoria review – scary story forgets the fear factor by Arifa Akbar

Southwark Playhouse, LondonUnsettling ideas about sinister political forces are debated in a haunted house. It’s timely subject matter, but fails to create any sense of tension Holed up in…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM
Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Backstairs Billy review – anodyne comedy about the Queen Mother and her servant by Arifa Akbar

Duke of York’s theatre, LondonPenelope Wilton plays the isolated royal and Luke Evans is her courtier in a light production that never gains much depth She was the Queen Mother, he was the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36PM
Sunday, November 5, 2023

Knocking on the Wall review – delightful domestic surprise in Ena Lamont Stewart revival by Arifa Akbar

Finborough Theatre, LondonThe third play in this programme of work by Scotland’s first major modern female playwright redeems an otherwise underpowered evening The first two plays in Ena L…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:24PM
Friday, November 3, 2023

A Christmas Carol: this safe bet should still startle us – past, present or future | Arifa Akbar by Arifa Akbar

There may be comfort in the retelling of Dickens’ familiar tale, but the best adaptations show the imagination to still surprise Has Charles Dickens’ charming little Christmas story beco…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:36PM
Thursday, November 2, 2023

The Interview review – Martin Bashir’s Princess Diana deceit in closeup by Arifa Akbar

Park theatre, LondonA crisp and jarringly satirical play presents the 1995 Panorama documentary as a forerunner of today’s fake news Martin Bashir’s now discredited 1995 Panorama intervi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:32AM
Wednesday, November 1, 2023

The Time Traveller’s Wife review – eternal romance is a bumpy ride by Arifa Akbar

Apollo theatre, LondonJoss Stone and Dave Stewart’s strangely forgettable score does little to lift this musical but there are some wonderful set pieces For the millions of readers held ra…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06PM

Sputnik Sweetheart review – Haruki Murakami’s love triangle staged in style by Arifa Akbar

Arcola theatre, LondonThe enigmatic 1999 novel about three entwined lives is sleekly adapted by Bryony Lavery and sharply directed by Melly Still Here is a story of unrequited love in which …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54PM
Tuesday, October 31, 2023

King Lear review – Kenneth Branagh’s fast and feverish tragedy by Arifa Akbar

Wyndham’s theatre, LondonAt two hours with no interval, the actor-director’s production hurtles past at such speed that the depths of the play are too rarely realised Kenneth Branagh has…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03PM

Machinal review – spare yet shocking revival of 1920s play on female criminality by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal, BathAn excellent cast give the story of Ruth Snyder, a woman executed by electric chair in 1928 for killing her husband, a cleverly inventive, chillingly modern update Ruth Sn…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03PM
Monday, October 30, 2023

‘We are hardly alive’: posts from Gaza cause tears at the Palestine festival of literature by Arifa Akbar

Featuring contributions from poets, novelists and a Nobel laureate, this highly charged night – interrupted by updates from Gaza in real time – marked the suffering on both sides of the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:55PM
Friday, October 27, 2023

After 60 years, when will the biggest job in UK theatre go to a woman? Why not now? | Arifa Akbar by Arifa Akbar

Welsh and Scottish venues have progressed, but only male artistic directors have run the National Theatre. It’s time to address that Let’s begin with a pub quiz style Q&A about Briti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:19AM
Thursday, October 26, 2023

Lyonesse review – Kristin Scott Thomas charms in messy #MeToo tale by Arifa Akbar

Harold Pinter theatre, LondonStarry cast including Lily James and Doon Mackichan are tossed around in a plot that never gets hold of its many concerns Lyonesse has all the makings of a power…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:25AM
Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Trueman and the Arsonists review – timely revival of 50s dystopia by Arifa Akbar

Roundhouse, LondonSimon Stephens’ adaptation of Max Frisch play about bourgeois indifference to a rising crisis should ring loud bells, but its absurdism fails to resonate There is a great…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:25AM
Tuesday, October 24, 2023

The Confessions review – dazzling drama drawn from a mother’s memories by Arifa Akbar

National Theatre, LondonAlexander Zeldin’s profoundly moving play grew from his parent’s reflections, which he uses to conjure an epic struggle for love and freedom A reluctant protagoni…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:37AM
Friday, October 20, 2023

The Score review – Brian Cox is magnetic as JS Bach in a clash of values by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal BathThe Succession star excels in Oliver Cotton’s play about the meeting between the composer and Frederick the Great It is promoted as a dramatic encounter between God-feari…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:13AM
Thursday, October 19, 2023

Meetings review – cooking with postcolonialism in Mustapha Matura’s sparky drama by Arifa Akbar

Orange Tree theatre, LondonIn a chic kitchen a Trinidadian couple discuss their high-end lives, but their cook, whose recipes the audience can scent, draws them back to deeper roots This dra…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:19AM
Monday, October 16, 2023

Lynn Nottage: ‘There’s no such thing as the perfect sandwich or song – just the joy that goes into creating’ by Arifa Akbar

As her play set in a truck stop kitchen is staged in London, the twice Pulitzer-winning playwright talks about the healing power of cooking, US theatre’s recent shockwaves and her Michael …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:19AM
Friday, October 13, 2023

Housemates review – rip-roaring real-life story of a revolutionary experiment by Arifa Akbar

Sherman theatre, CardiffAstounding tale of how a volunteer at a Welsh hospital changed the lives of neurodivergent people globally is dynamically directed and movingly told This is a local s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:37AM
Thursday, October 12, 2023

Sunset Boulevard review – Nicole Scherzinger dazzles in Jamie Lloyd’s radical rework by Arifa Akbar

Savoy theatre, LondonLloyd brings hipster edginess, style and unpredictability to this revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical – though it’s more surface-level than penetrating closeu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:19PM

Blue Mist review – dreamlike dive into Muslim demonisation by Arifa Akbar

Royal Court Upstairs, LondonAn aspiring journalist comes up against the difficulties of accurately representing his shisha-going community in Mohamed-Zain Dada’s energetic debut This debut…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AM
Monday, October 9, 2023

Death of England: Closing Time review – riotous comedy with a serious sting by Arifa Akbar

Dorfman theatre, LondonClint Dyer and Roy Williams’ state-of-the-nation series continues, this time giving the perspective of the women in its central duo’s lives From its inception as a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:43PM

Othello review – three-headed Iago distracts from tragedy by Arifa Akbar

Riverside Studios, LondonDepicting the insinuating villain as a trio of manipulators is striking and gives the drama thrillerish momentum, but intimacy is lost Othello’s nemesis has come i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AM
Sunday, October 8, 2023

The Foreigners’ Panto review – pro-immigrant comedy is non-seasonal but timely by Arifa Akbar

Bold theatre, LondonThis musical meta comedy allegorising Britain’s hostility to immigrants arrives ahead of panto season but with perfect timing nonetheless. Unfortunately it seems under-…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:07AM
Wednesday, October 4, 2023

A Voyage Round My Father review – Rupert Everett brings soft focus to John Mortimer’s play by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal BathRichard Eyre’s production of the father-and-son drama has some strong performances but is too light to probe the play’s plaintive depths A fine roll call of actors have…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:25PM

These Demons review – sisters under siege in a haunted house by Arifa Akbar

Theatre503, LondonRachel Bellman explores Jewish exorcisms and rebellion in this darkly funny, psychological play There is a slow-burn buildup of creepiness in this haunted house story which…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:37AM
Monday, October 2, 2023

Mahabharata review – epic tale of two warring clans is dazzling and detached by Arifa Akbar

Barbican, LondonCanadian company Why Not Theatre’s take on the Sanskrit poem, led by South Asian artists, exquisitely blends classical elements with modern, but feels distant in the second…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:37AM
Sunday, October 1, 2023

Imposter 22 review – deconstructed detective story never quite comes together by Arifa Akbar

Royal Court, LondonWe’re left wondering not just whodunnit but what was done and why in this lushly designed but confusing production This postmodern whodunnit begins, tantalisingly, wit…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:55AM
Friday, September 29, 2023

Quiz review – Rory Bremner is an uncanny Chris Tarrant by Arifa Akbar

Chichester Festival theatreA delightfully performed revival of James Graham’s fresh and funny play about the Millionaire cougher case, which critiques the TV industry and trials by media T…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:55AM

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 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic