BASKERVILLE Mercury, Colchester by Libby Purves and Friends

          This  is the Mercury rising, rebuilt over two years with a cool café and dance studio, modern eco-glazing and, to respect the town’s history,  a solemn archaeological dis…

A restaurant critic and a theater critic walk into a belly-dancing show by Soleil Ho and Lily Janiak

Berber, a North African restaurant in Russian Hill, hosts a weekend circus dinner show. Two Chronicle critics wrote a play about it.

We Used Performing Arts to Map Out Gender Violence in Sierra Leone. What We Found by Aisha Fofana Ibrahim, Helen Shutt and Laura S. Martin

It’s been more than two years since Sierra Leone declared a state of emergency over sexual and gender-based violence. The declaration followed a public outcry over a spate of high-profile …

THE WINDSORS ENDGAME Prince of Wales Theatre, WC1 by Libby Purves and Friends

WONDERFUL OLD COBBLERS ON  ABDICATION STREET  (longer version of review done for Mail)       You know you’re in safe hands when a stagestruck Prince Edward, diffident and excitable, �…

Lend Us Your Ears, and Don’t Forget Your Farm Boots by Michelle V. Agins and Julia Jacobs

Theater and agriculture intersect at Willow Wisp Organic Farm, where an arts collective performs site-specific plays about climate change amid the greenhouses and flower beds.

Kalina Stefanova and Marvin Carlson in conversation on Directors from Eastern Europe. Part 3. by Tomasz Wiśniewski and Katarzyna Kręglewska

This is PART 3 of the interview. To read PART 1 and PART 2, click the links. Tomasz Wiśniewski: There is a strong representation of the Romanian theatre. Professor Maria Zărnescu from Buch…

Kalina Stefanova and Marvin Carlson in conversation on Directors from Eastern Europe. Part 2. by Tomasz Wiśniewski and Katarzyna Kręglewska

This is Part 2 of the interview. To read Part 1 and Part 3, click the links. Tomasz Wiśniewski: Perhaps, at this moment we may ask Professor Octavian Saiu from Romania – who by the way is…

Kalina Stefanova and Marvin Carlson in Conversation on Directors from Eastern Europe. Part 1. by Tomasz Wiśniewski and Katarzyna Kręglewska

A zoom conversation conducted on 13th May 2021 as part of the Twelfth Between.Pomiędzy Festival. Tomasz Wiśniewski: The session that we are beginning now is pivotal for all activities cond…

The First Play Returning to Broadway Is Doing Things Differently by Dodai Stewart, Michael Paulson, Anna Martin, Tracy Mumford, Theo Balcomb, Phyllis Fletcher, Wendy Dorr and Corey Schreppel

The playwright Antoinette Nwandu is making her Broadway debut with “Pass Over” — and trying to change long-held precedents in the process.

SINGING IN THE RAIN Sadlers Wells Theatre by Libby Purves and Friends

FLOODS OF RELIEF Ten years have passed since, in a Times Chief Theatre Critic hat, I last saw a former principal  of the Royal Ballet  leaping in puddles , singing his great heart out, and…

OLEANNA Arts theatre, WC1 by Libby Purves and Friends

A VOICE FROM THE 90’s PREFIGURES THE FUTURE…     This is a grand intellectual teaser of a show, and under Lucy Bailey’s almost mischievous direction does a good job of shaking up fas…

DIE WALKÜRE Hackney Empire, N1 by Libby Purves and Friends

GUEST REVIEWER CHARLOTTE VALORI FINDS MORE SMOKE THAN FIRE ON THE HACKNEY STAGE Grimeborn are following up their fantastic 2019 Das Rheingold (see my previous review) with Die Walküre this …

ANYTHING GOES Barbican, EC2 by Libby Purves and Friends

VICARIOUS TRAVEL, JUST WHAT WE NEED    The big musicals are back: two dark-edged, South Pacific at Chichester and Carousel imminent at Regent’s Park, while  halfway between them flowers…

Building Bridges: Interweaving Beckett – Brazil and Poland by Ronei Vieira Nogueira and Robson Corrêa De Camargo

Máskara – the Transdisciplinary Research Center in Theatre, Dance, and Performance – is an artistic and academic collective founded in 2002 in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. It is linked to …

Beckett, Technology, and Experimentation: Report from the Between.Pomiedzy Festival 2021, Day 4 by Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva and Diana Zhdanova

Day four of the Between.Pomiedzy festival featured Virtual Beckett, the third seminar by the Beckett Research Group of Gdańsk. This session opened with a presentation by the artistic direct…

Local arts groups, venues and promoters finally receiving pandemic grants by Jeremy Reynolds and Scott Mervis / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

‘Dream Life of Malcolm X’ heightens the debate about who has the right to tell which story by Lily Janiak and Morayo Ogunbayo

Though playwright John Wilkins identifies as African American, he is light-skinned enough not to get followed at the grocery store.

Live @ Home: Create Your Own Backyard Movie Theater by LIVE with Kelly and Ryan

Lance Ulanoff shares tips on creating a backyard movie theater. Subscribe: https://bit.ly/2HFUeAK Website: https://kellyandryan.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiveKellyandRyan/ I…

GIN CRAZE Royal and Derngate, Northampton by Libby Purves and Friends

THE DARK SIDE OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT. DON’T TELL JACOB REES-MOGG           Hats off to James Dacre’s Royal & Derngate for bravely slapping on a brand new musical in the ver…

Something wicked this way comes: the Lord Chamberlain’s Men on tour – photo essay by Chris Wiegand Photography and Interviews By David Levene

The outdoor theatre company will cover more than 12,000 miles this summer, visiting more than 60 venues. Guardian photographer David Levene joined the Macbeth road trip The Covid-19 pandemic…

A Tight, Living Room Drama of a Family in Crisis, “Appropriate” Explores Truth-Telling and Dark Histories by Heidi Norman and Jennifer Newman

Wesley Enoch’s exuberant return to the Sydney Theatre Company to direct African-American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate is a wild ride back to the power of live theatre. …

As New York Reopens, It Looks for Culture to Lead the Way by Michael Paulson, Ben Sisario and Robin Pogrebin

Culture is part of the lifeblood of New York — a magnet for visitors and residents alike that will play a key role if the city is to remain vital. There are signs of hope everywhere, as va…

As New York Reopens, It Looks for Culture to Lead the Way by Michael Paulson, Ben Sisario and Robin Pogrebin

The arts scene, from Broadway and nightclubs to museums and concert halls, is coming back to life after the pandemic shutdown. Getting it right will be vital to the city’s comeback.

SOUTH PACIFIC. Chichester by Libby Purves and Friends

ROARING BACK TO LIFE       Almost the most magnificent part of Daniel Evans’ production is that it’s happening at all:  despite the distanced glimmer of blue paper masks, Chichester …

Charles Robinson, who played court clerk on long-running ‘Night Court,’ dies at 75 by Staff Reports and News Services

Mr. Robinson was a prolific stage actor and had supporting parts in series such as “Buffalo Bill,” “Love & War,” “Home Improvement,” “The Game” and “Hart of Dixie.”

Kristin Chenoweth's First Concert Since the Pandemic by LIVE with Kelly and Ryan

Kristin Chenoweth talks about her first performance since the pandemic started and the special shout out she gave Kelly and Ryan. Subscribe: https://bit.ly/2HFUeAK Website: https://kellyan…

Kristin Chenoweth Talks About the Challenges of Performing at High Altitude by LIVE with Kelly and Ryan

Kristin Chenoweth talks about having to adjust her breathing when she performed at high altitude in Utah. Subscribe: https://bit.ly/2HFUeAK Website: https://kellyandryan.com/ Facebook: ht…

Kristin Chenoweth Loves Being Around People Again by LIVE with Kelly and Ryan

Kristin Chenoweth is excited to talk to strangers now that people are going out again. Subscribe: https://bit.ly/2HFUeAK Website: https://kellyandryan.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.…

Kristin Chenoweth Plays a Villain in "Schmigadoon!" by LIVE with Kelly and Ryan

Kristin Chenoweth talks about the inspiration behind her villainous character in the musical series "Schmigadoon!" Subscribe: https://bit.ly/2HFUeAK Website: https://kellyandryan.com/ Fac…

Kristin Chenoweth Shot an 18 Page Musical Number in One Take For "Schmigadoon!" by LIVE with Kelly and Ryan

Kristin Chenoweth talks about performing an 18 page musical number for "Schmigadoon!" and getting it done in one take. Subscribe: https://bit.ly/2HFUeAK Website: https://kellyandryan.com/ …

RED SKIES Touring, East Anglia by Libby Purves and Friends

t IF RANSOME MET ORWELL     It’s 1939 in Southwold harbour (nicely resonant  for me to see this in Southwold  itself, on its second night).     Arthur Ransome, famed already for his …