THE PLAYS THE THING. wiltons music hall by Libby Purves and Friends

A HAMLET THAT STANDS ALONE "is it not monstrous that this player here,But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,Could force his soul so to his own conceitThat from her working all his visage w…

PIAF          Watermill, near Newbury by Libby Purves and Friends

RIEN TO REGRET!   This is a terrific, impassioned production: not only does Kimberley Sykes' direction  and Michele Meazza' s movement work keep it watchably, startlingly vigorous, Â�…

The Best Classical Music Performances of March 2025 by Joshua Barone, Seth Colter Walls, Zachary Woolfe and Oussama Zahr

Watch and listen to recent highlights, including Nicole Scherzinger on Broadway, a pair of Janacek operas and Cécile McLorin Salvant.

MANHUNT Royal Court, SW1 by Libby Purves and Friends

TRAGEDY WITHOUT A MORAL     Raoul Moat used  steroids and bulking-powder to armour himself in muscle,  nourished a bottomless well of grievance and self-pity , and imposed his ne…

At least 1,200 grants canceled as NEH cuts target humanities across U.S. by Janay Kingsberry and Anne Branigin / The Washington Post

The Snubs and Surprises of the 2025 Olivier Awards by Matt Wolf, Houman Barekat and Eleanor Stanford

Times critics discuss the big winners " a new play about Roald Dahl, a "Fiddler on the Roof" revival and a folk-rock "Benjamin Button"" at London's theater awards.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING OSCAR jermyn st theatre by Libby Purves and Friends

THE DEPTHS BELOW THE WIT     The plays,  ever revived, we know well;  the wit is often cited,  the old injustice of his downfall recreated in plays and films: most recently we…

STILETTO Charing Cross Theatre WC1 by Libby Purves and Friends

VENEZIANA !      Buongiorno to Venice 1730,  a city stage topped with the golden winged lion of St Mark, arched and curtained and lit with candelabras .  Overhead a twelve-pie…

Police called out after fight at Essex comedy gig by Nadia Khomami Arts and Culture Correspondent

Officers attended theatre in Southend after reports of altercation at end of Paul Chowdhry's show Police were called to a comedy show in Essex after a fight broke out in the audience, which …

APEX PREDATOR Hampstead Theatre by Libby Purves and Friends

DARK FANGTASY IN A SCAFFOLDING CITY     For this compact and creepy little atmospheric treat, John Donnelly turns to vampires. That's not a spoiler: the programme is full of learned st…

In 50th Anniversary Shows, Danspace Project Pulls Past Into Present by Gia Kourlas and Brian Seibert

As part of its 50th anniversary, the East Village institution presents reimagined dances by Ishmael Houston-Jones and Fred Holland, Donna Uchizono and Bebe Miller.

'Expressing your pain in artistic form is not easy': exiled Russian theatre director builds bridges in London by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Dmitry Krymov, who fled Moscow after the Ukraine invasion, plans Dickens hybrid with UK and Russian actors The acclaimed Russian stage director Dmitry Krymov the winner of many of Moscow's t…

Last Tango in the Guggenheim by Annie Aguiar and Vidhya Nagarajan

Members of the dance company Ballet Hispánico weren't the only ones who swirled amid the art in the museum's rotunda during a recent presentation and tango class.

DEAR ENGLAND " the replay Olivier, SE1 by Libby Purves and Friends

BEYOND QATAR…            Two years ago this show  was a pleasure " (https://theatrecat.com/2023/06/21/dear-england-olivier-se1/)  , and now,  on the far side of …

RETROGRADE Apollo, W1 by Libby Purves and Friends

POWER, MAJESTY AND JUSTICE          Very good to see this intense three-hander  by Ryan Calais Cameron (who gave us "For Black Boys.." ) migrating to Shaftesbury Avenue wit…

S5E5: Victoria Detres by Women and Theatre

In this episode, Hayley and Amy talk with producer and RISE Program Manager Victoria Detres about embracing humanity through storytelling, creating a culture of care in the theatre indus…

Jenifer Ringer Is Back at the School of American Ballet in a New Role by Gia Kourlas and Amir Hamja

Jenifer Ringer, the celebrated New York City Ballet principal, is back at the School of American Ballet in a new role: teacher and guiding light.

PLAYHOUSE CREATURES. Orange Tree , Richmond by Libby Purves and Friends

THE 1660's  AND ALL THAT:   THEATRE REBORN        Oddly, for theatrecat it's the second day running of enliveningly energetic female history. After six women told the story…

MARY AND THE HYENAS Wilton's Music Hall, EC by Libby Purves and Friends

A ROUSING RACKET TO HONOUR A LIFE     Mary Wollstonecraft was a pearl  of the 18c Age of Reason, even more treasurable for having " as a woman " a harder time of it than all the Loc…

New play about impact of dementia on Black Britons can start 'conversation' by Lanre Bakare Arts and Culture Correspondent

Lynette Linton, outgoing creative director of Bush Theatre, hopes production will lead to people getting more support Part of the creative team behind a new play about the impact of dementia…

S5E4: Julie Richardson by Women and Theatre

In this episode, Hayley and Amy talk with composer and orchestrator Julie Richardson about balancing multiple personal and professional roles, redefining the boundaries of womanhood, fin…

DRACULA, A COMEDY OF TERRORS Menier, SE1 by Libby Purves and Friends

THE UNSERIOUS UNDEAD   "You will be horrified!" The five players announce, "- one way or another". And with a flourish they hurl Bram Stoker's book  behind them into Tijana Bjelajac's�…

'Song of the North' Uses Puppets to Help a Persian Epic Spring to Life by Jennifer Schuessler and Gavin Doran

Hamid Rahmanian has made it his life's work to share the richness of Iranian culture. "Song of the North," at the New Victory Theater, is just the latest installment.

FAREWELL MISTER HAFFMANN Park Theatre, N4 by Libby Purves and Friends

A STRANGE WARTIME FABLE OF LIFE, BIRTH AND JEWELLERY   In a little Jeweller's shop in 1942  Paris Joseph Haffmann is making a deal with his young assistant Pierre.   He is Jewish, a…

Review clearing Manchester's Royal Exchange of censorship criticised by Lanre Bakare Arts and Culture Correspondent

A modern retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream was pulled last September in a dispute over one of the play's songs A review into the cancellation of a production of A Midsummer Night's Drea…

S5E3: Taking Control of Your Career by Women and Theatre

In this episode, Hayley and Amy dive into the juicy topic of Taking Control of Your Career. We discuss finding the "why" behind your goal, breaking it down into manageable steps, identif…

Athol Fugard, South African playwright whose works challenged apartheid, dies at 92 by Mark Kennedy and Gerald Imray / Associated Press

Because Fugard's best-known plays center on the suffering caused by the apartheid policies of South Africa's white-minority government, some among Fugard's audience abroad were surprised to …

For the Actors of 'Sumo,' Learning Lines Was Just the Half of It by Emmanuel Morgan and Graham Dickie

The play's cast members wrestle, slap and toss one another in ambitiously choreographed fight sequences that took months of training to learn.

A TRYAL OF WITCHES Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds by Libby Purves and Friends

AN ANCIENT BRUTALITY, RIGHT HERE          Five women from the past mount the stage,  candlelit, to enact theterrible story of the 17c Suffolk witch-trials.   First there…

Anne Imhof's 'Doom' at the Armory Has Everything, and Nothing by Jason Farago and George Etheredge For The New York Times

Anne Imhof's three-hour spectacle of moody youth at the Armory is sweet sorrow, full of moping and muttering. Still, almost despite itself, it points to true art.

EDWARD II Swan, Stratford upon Avon by Libby Purves and Friends

BRUTAL, VIOLENT AND TENDER     Around a King's coffin surge personalities and politics , power plays and lineage .  A royal bier is loaded with  crown and jewelled cross, around …