All stories by D on BroadwayStars

Friday, January 14, 2022

FORCE MAJEURE Donmar, WC2 by Libby Purves and Friends

MIDDLECLASS MOUNTAIN MISERIES       Inspired programming here.   You’d find a decent overlap in any January Venn diagram of regular Donmar audiences and people who wish they were ski-i…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 10:29AM
Thursday, January 13, 2022

Taming of the crew: the bard meets Cunard in RSC cruise deal by Harriet Sherwood Arts and Culture Correspondent

Royal Shakespeare Company signs three-year agreement for productions onboard Queen Mary 2 More than 400 years after Hamlet was performed by a ship’s crew anchored off west Africa in the fi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:24PM

LIFE OF PI Wyndhams WC2 by Libby Purves and Friends

Puppets move the heart…       It was a third attempt ( like so many, it has had cancellations and suspensions), and I missed it in Sheffield 2019 through illness. So  I bought any tick…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 09:14AM
Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Tamara Rojo to leave English National Ballet after 10 years as artistic director by Nadia Khomami Arts and Culture Correspondent

The Spanish dancer will step down later this year, becoming artistic director at San Francisco Ballet, where her husband is a principal Tamara Rojo, the artistic director of English National…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:03PM
Monday, January 10, 2022

Mystery of the second world war ‘trophy’ and the Royal Court founder by Harriet Sherwood Arts and Culture Correspondent

When George Devine’s family discovered a Japanese battle flag among his belongings, it led to a three-year quest for answers “I am not a man for soldiering, although I do tolerably well …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:37AM
Sunday, January 9, 2022

The last dance? Why prima ballerinas are turning away from the tutu by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Leading dancers and directors say they find the classic costume both physically and artistically restrictive The ballerina’s tutu remains a traditional object of desire for many young girl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:06AM
Saturday, January 8, 2022

Appoint people of colour to senior theatre roles, British Asian artistic director says by Harriet Sherwood Arts and Culture Correspondent

Pravesh Kumar says more diverse voices are needed to bring about creative change Britain’s leading theatre companies must appoint more people of colour and from working-class backgrounds a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:03AM
Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Welcoming Back Live Theater Doesn’t Mean Agreeing About All of It by Jesse Green and Maya Phillips

Two critics on the joys (and pains) of a tentatively hopeful fall season.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:06AM

FOLK Hampstead Theatre, NW3 by Libby Purves and Friends

SONGS FROM THE LAND       There’s a lovely serendipity here.  The main theatre is running PEGGY FOR YOU  (till 29th)  while the little downstairs space has Neil Leyshon’s rather lo…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 07:18AM
Friday, December 31, 2021

THE SECOND PLAGUE YEAR: 2021 REMEMBERED by Libby Purves and Friends

PLAGUE YEAR Part 2  –   2021  Below, if you care to scroll ,  I chronicled the shows that met my return from chemo-then-lockdown in 2020.   An enfeebled theatrical year.   Today a lo…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 01:55PM
Thursday, December 30, 2021

REVIEW OF TWO PLAGUE YEARS,    2020-2021 Part 1 by Libby Purves and Friends

PART 1: THE ONSET     I set out,  in this eerie Twixtmas gap,  to chronicle and celebrate the return of live theatre since May 2021.  And this will follow.  But when I totted up the 20…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 11:49AM

Our Favorite Arts Photos of 2021 by Laura O’neill, Jolie Ruben and Jessie Wender

These are the pictures that defined an unpredictable year across the worlds of art, music, dance and performance.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:12AM

13 Seattle-area arts-and-culture events to look forward to in 2022 by Brendan Kiley, Michael Rietmulder, Moira Macdonald and Janet I. Tu

Fingers crossed and fervent wishes sent for the end of the pandemic, here are some of the arts-and-culture events we're looking forward to in the new year, from a Billie Eilish concert to na…

SOURCE: The Seattle Times at 09:00AM
Monday, December 27, 2021

Theatre, dance and comedy to book in 2022 – from Alan Partridge to Tennessee Williams by Arifa Akbar, Lyndsey Winship and Brian Logan

Amy Adams makes her West End debut, immersive dance confronts mental health and Steve Coogan’s alter ego embarks on a rare live UK tour • Preview more cultural highlights of 2022 Continu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:36AM
Saturday, December 18, 2021

PEGGY FOR YOU Hampstead Theatre NW3 by Libby Purves and Friends

A SHARP , SERPENTINE, SUPERB PERFORMANCE           Lounging in the small hours on her office couch, under a wall of posters for her many clients’ shows – both famous and forgotten �…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 05:57AM

The best theatre, comedy and dance of 2021 by Arifa Akbar, Brian Logan and Lyndsey Winship

It was a year of revivals in every sense, as venues threw open their doors again. From fresh takes on classics to blazing new talents and shows that captured the current moment, our critics …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54AM
Thursday, December 16, 2021

Can theatres survive another Christmas of covid cancellations? by Presented By Nosheen Iqbal With Harriet Sherwood; Produced By Alex Atack, Georgina Quach and Rudi Zygadlo; Executive Producers Phil Maynard, Archie Bland and Mythili Rao

Theatres are battling to stay open as they contend with staff shortages and slumping tickets sales in what is usually their busiest time of year. For the cast of a pantomime in Corby, Northa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36PM

The Best (and Worst) Theater in Europe in 2021 by Matt Wolf, Laura Cappelle and A.j. Goldmann

The Times’s three European theater critics pick their favorite productions of the year — plus a turkey apiece for the festive season.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:18AM
Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Covid outbreaks force string of West End cancellations by Nadia Khomami Arts and Culture Correspondent

The Lion King, Life of Pi and the National’s Hex among shows affected during crucial festive season Coronavirus – latest updates West End shows including The Lion King have had to cancel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54PM
Friday, December 10, 2021

PANTOLAND mk2 Palladium, W1 by Libby Purves and Friends

A PRIMA DONNY JOINS THE FEARLESS FOUR     Last year as a family we came to see the doughty quartet doing this variety show, an adult-joking  non-panto to fill the fearful gap.  It was th…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 11:31AM

Beverley Knight scolds ‘rat-arsed’ theatregoers at London musical by Harriet Sherwood Arts and Culture Correspondent

Soul singer posts tweet lambasting people she says disrupted The Drifters Girl show in London The soul singer Beverley Knight has lambasted raucous theatregoers who she said disrupted a perf…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM
Thursday, December 9, 2021

BEST OF ENEMIES Young Vic SE1 by Libby Purves and Friends

1968 AND ALL THAT  James Graham’s mission might seem unfashionable: trawling 20c history and public culture, looking not for villains and heroes but for the nuances of human behaviour,  …

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 06:35PM
Tuesday, December 7, 2021

THE BOOK OF DUST Bridge, SE1 by Libby Purves and Friends

PULLING OUT THE STOPS FOR PULLMAN     First things first: this is the most wonderfully evocative, romantic and dramatic bit of set-projection you will see all year. Bob Crowley, video maes…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 07:07PM
Monday, December 6, 2021

THE PLAY WHAT I WROTE Birmingham Rep by Libby Purves and Friends

A REVIVING REVIVAL      Do you need to be of a generation to remember Morecambe and Wise, to which this play is a loving tribute-cum-amiable-ripoff?  Probably not. They are stamped on th…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 07:36PM

Jordan Fisher and “Dear Evan Hansen” Are Back on Broadway by LIVE with Kelly and Ryan

Jordan Fisher talks about what it's like returning to "Dear Evan Hansen" after the Broadway shutdown. Subscribe: https://bit.ly/2HFUeAK Website: https://kellyandryan.com/ Facebook: https:…

SOURCE: YouTube at 01:58PM

‘We are in limbo’: banned Belarus theatre troupe forced into exile by Harriet Sherwood and Andrew Roth In Moscow

Members of Belarus Free Theatre say authorities ‘are more scared of artists than of political statements’ For 16 years, the Belarus Free Theatre has advocated for freedom of expression, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AM
Friday, December 3, 2021

Best Theater of 2021 by Jesse Green, Maya Phillips, Laura Collins-Hughes, Scott Heller, Alexis Soloski and Elisabeth Vincentelli

Digital innovation continued this year, but experiencing plays in isolation grew tiring. Then came an in-person season as exciting as a child’s first fireworks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:48AM

THE TEMPEST           Jermyn St Theatre SW1 by Libby Purves and Friends

ISLAND OF WONDER AND UNEASE         One of the interesting, rewarding quirks in Tom Littler’s small-but-perfectly-formed Tempest is that Tam Williams doubles as Ferdinand, the ultra-vi…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 09:31AM
Thursday, December 2, 2021

Betty Boothroyd musical to chart rise from dancer to Commons Speaker by Harriet Sherwood Arts and Culture Correspondent

Betty! starring Maxine Peake views parliamentarian’s life through lens of drama group in Dewsbury village hall She was a working-class Yorkshire girl who first took to the stage in a high-…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM
Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Best Dance of 2021 by Gia Kourlas, Brian Seibert and Siobhan Burke

A year of uncertainty was capped by a happy ending: a rush of performances this fall, including standouts by masters (Twyla Tharp) and breakout stars (LaTasha Barnes).

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:02AM

FOUR QUARTETS Harold Pinter Theatre by Libby Purves and Friends

GLIMPSES OF ETERNITY  (Review first published on D.Mail, in shorter form)        This is wonderful. Sometimes a simple short  performance can shake, rouse, even change you.  So step a…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 06:19AM