All stories by Chris Wiegand on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

The Yellow Wallpaper review – Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story given hi-tech staging by Chris Wiegand

Coronet theatre, LondonAurélia Thierrée narrates the tale of a confined ‘hysterical’ woman while Fukiko Takase dances on a screen behind her The putrid wallpaper in Charlotte Perkins G…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:07AM
Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Steve Coogan to star in Armando Iannucci’s Dr Strangelove play by Chris Wiegand

Coogan will follow in Peter Sellers’ footsteps to play multiple roles in stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 satirical war film Steve Coogan is to star in Armando Iannucci’s sta…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03AM
Wednesday, August 30, 2023

New version of The Nutcracker explores ‘tough nut’ masculinity by Chris Wiegand

Choreographer Drew McOnie’s version of the festive sweet-treat ballet will have a male hero and aims to ‘represent those who felt it wasn’t for them’ It is a sweet treat of a ballet …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:13PM
Friday, August 25, 2023

Pilot review – party games and profound thoughts in a knotty fringe show by Chris Wiegand

Summerhall, EdinburghLekan Lawal’s one-man multimedia performance mashes storytelling, comedy and dance into a richly stimulating hour This knotty and stimulating multimedia show created a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:55AM

Heart review – revelatory romance told in the flush of love by Chris Wiegand

Roundabout @ Summerhall, EdinburghIn sync with beatboxer Grace Savage, Jade Anouka performs a fleet-footed and clear-sighted debut play Actor Jade Anouka’s debut play, Heart, has been kept…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:43AM

Brave Space review – no false moves in this wondrous up-close circus by Chris Wiegand

Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, EdinburghThe US company Aloft invite audiences to assist them in an intimate and astonishing acrobatic show You have heard how it takes a village to…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:13AM
Thursday, August 24, 2023

Fool’s Paradise review – roll up for the clown wedding by Chris Wiegand

Summerhall, EdinburghBritt Plummer is waiting to get married to fellow clown Otto in this playful and wistful comedy Clowns at the Edinburgh fringe are proving that banana gags are far from…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:19PM
Wednesday, August 23, 2023

The 7 Fingers: Duel Reality review – rowdy circus riff on Romeo and Juliet by Chris Wiegand

Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, EdinburghThe enthralling Canadian company offer up a fast-paced but often jarring show that treats Shakespeare like the Super Bowl Here is a twist o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:25AM

The Life Sporadic of Jess Wildgoose review – feverish financial comedy by Chris Wiegand

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghVoloz Collective’s satirical thriller set during the subprime mortgage crisis is staged with style but has little emotional impact Who needs a load of props w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:43AM
Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Troll review – sweetly silly Nordic comedy is monstrous fun by Chris Wiegand

Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh The real beasts – not the internet kind – have come to teach us their ways, learn human stuff and dish the dirt on billy goats It’s not easy being green. …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:25PM
Monday, August 21, 2023

Shoot the Cameraman review – film crew follows a dance to the death by Chris Wiegand

Assembly Roxy, EdinburghNoirish onstage scenes between a couple are shown on a live feed which only makes fitful sense in this mysterious production A gun rests on a shiny serving platter at…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:37PM

Until Death review – brief encounters with mortality and Marilyn Merlot by Chris Wiegand

theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, EdinburghNalini Sharma makes an engaging fringe debut, using clowning skills and audience participation in a show inspired by her hospital stay “What’s your fav…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:19AM

Terrence the T-Rex review – dino entertainers lock horns by Chris Wiegand

Bedlam theatre, EdinburghIn this comic two-hander, uptight Terrence is hawking a prehistoric children’s show when he’s forced into collaborating with upfront Tri-Sarah-Tops Is the Edinbu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:07AM

James Rowland: Piece of Work review – an affecting account of fathers, sons and Shakespeare by Chris Wiegand

Summerhall, EdinburghRowland’s beautifully crafted show considers his, and our, little lives in the context of the Bard’s words Content warning: the next hour, James Rowland tells us, ma…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:04AM
Saturday, August 19, 2023

Two Cats on a Date review – one-woman show is a frenzy of feline fun by Chris Wiegand

Zoo Playground, EdinburghUS actor-writer Griffin Kelly proves a performer to her fingertips with this highly physical comedy show For the first few minutes of Griffin Kelly’s playful solo …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:04PM
Monday, August 14, 2023

‘Raring to take on this challenge’: musicians Jake Shears and Self Esteem to star in Cabaret by Chris Wiegand

The Scissor Sisters singer will play the Emcee while Self Esteem will make her theatrical debut as Sally Bowles in Rebecca Frecknall’s Olivier-winning musical The musicians Jake Shears and…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33PM
Tuesday, August 1, 2023

The best theatre to stream this month: Doctor Who does Shakespeare, and a visit to the nit nurse by Chris Wiegand

Ncuti Gatwa stars in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Zadie Smith relocates Chaucer to Kilburn, plus dance, storytelling and fringe drama It’s seven years since Emma Rice swung into Shakesp…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:25AM
Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Kylie Minogue to appear digitally in new Stock Aitken Waterman musical by Chris Wiegand

The I Should Be So Lucky singer will play a ‘specially created character’ in the touring show which will feature a string of pop hits by the songwriting trio Kylie Minogue is to step ba…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:04AM

Patrick Marber to direct Nachtland, a play about Hitler’s art and ‘rise of the new right’ by Chris Wiegand

Satire by German playwright Marius von Mayenburg will open next year at the Young Vic in London which will also revive Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming Patrick Marber is to direct a new play…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:33AM
Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Richard II in a hot tub, Much Ado done anew: Canada’s Stratford festival puts shocks into Shakespeare by Chris Wiegand

A disco king hits the dancefloor, Beatrice and Benedick’s romcom gets a feminist framing and Lear faces dystopia as the revered rep company returns in full force Drive west of Toronto for …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:25AM

Grand Magic review – tricksy comedy asks how to use your illusion by Chris Wiegand

Tom Patterson theatre, Stratford, OntarioAntoni Cimolino directs a sophisticated and stimulating production of Eduardo De Filippo’s funny yet poignant play It starts with a carefree round …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:19AM
Saturday, July 1, 2023

The best theatre to stream this month: Like Water for Chocolate, Heart and more by Chris Wiegand

Our roundup of the drama to enjoy at home in July includes a glorious adaptation of the Laura Esquivel novel and Saoirse Ronan in The Tragedy of Macbeth Food and forbidden love are at the c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:49AM
Monday, June 12, 2023

Hamilton star Reuben Joseph to play Macbeth for the RSC by Chris Wiegand

The West End actor says the Shakespearean role has ‘the disastrous consequences of ambition’ in common with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “They think me Macbeth,” sings Reuben Josep…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:37PM

Incredible scenes! Prague stages design spectacular with a giant cat, tiny flats and a 16-legged theatre by Chris Wiegand

With dozens of installations from around the world, the quadrennial returns to bring the Czech capital an extravaganza of performance design ‘Hello stranger.” This cheery neon greeting, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:43AM
Thursday, June 8, 2023

Sarah Jessica Parker to make West End debut with husband Matthew Broderick by Chris Wiegand

The pair will star in a revival of Neil Simon’s marriage comedy Plaza Suite, which transfers from a hugely successful Broadway run Sarah Jessica Parker is to make her West End stage debut …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:43AM
Tuesday, June 6, 2023

‘I was living in a fool’s paradise’: Adrienne Kennedy on meeting the Beatles and losing control of her play by Chris Wiegand

The great American playwright, who made her Broadway debut last year aged 91, recounts what happened when she adapted a John Lennon book for Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre In the mid-…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:49AM
Monday, June 5, 2023

The Invisible Man review – an ingenious show you’ll want to see again by Chris Wiegand

Unicorn theatre, LondonConstantly surprising, this fresh take on the ‘it’s behind you!’ routine leaves its young audience asking ‘how did they do that?’ Suppose you put on a play a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM
Thursday, June 1, 2023

The best theatre to stream this month: Blues for An Alabama Sky, Macbeth and more by Chris Wiegand

Our roundup of drama to enjoy at home includes the National Theatre’s Pearl Cleage revival and David Tennant taking on the Scottish king for the first time Lynette Linton’s consummate Na…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:18AM
Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Newsroom satire Drop the Dead Donkey to return in stage revival by Chris Wiegand

The stage version of the much-loved sitcom, which finished on TV 25 years ago, will be written by the duo behind the original series and feature several members of the original cast Snooty n…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:42AM
Monday, May 29, 2023

Encore! Surefire shows returning for the Edinburgh festival in 2023 by Chris Wiegand, Anya Ryan, Brian Logan, Mark Fisher, Kate Wyver, Arifa Akbar and David Jays

In the run-up to the festival, our writers will choose new productions that have caught their eye – but here’s a selection of those we’ve already reviewed Richard Marsh has clearly see…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24AM
Tuesday, May 23, 2023

‘I was going to be a nun!’ Broadway legend Chita Rivera on Chicago, West Side Story – and her love of sumo wresting by Chris Wiegand

The singing, dancing and acting superstar originated some of the best roles in musicals – yet none of it would have happened had she not fallen through a table at the age of nine The one a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM

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