All stories by Dave Fargnoli on BroadwayStars

Friday, March 13, 2020

Afterplay review at Coronet Theatre, London – ‘sensitively written Chekhovian mash-up’ by Dave Fargnoli

Despite its cheesy title, Brian Friel’s Afterplay is a sensitively written character study that imagines a meeting of two characters from Chekhov’s

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:59AM
Thursday, March 12, 2020

Talking Heads review at Watford Palace Theatre, London – ‘smartly curated trio of monologues’ by Dave Fargnoli

Compiling three thematically overlapping pieces from Alan Bennett’s perennially popular series, director Brigid Larmour’s selection of Talking Heads makes for a quiet

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:31AM
Wednesday, March 4, 2020

The Mikvah Project review at the Orange Tree Theatre, London – ‘heartfelt exploration of submerged desire’ by Dave Fargnoli

Exploring the knotty relationship between religious faith and sexuality, The Mikvah Project is an honest if somewhat haphazardly-written look at love, infatuation

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:19AM
Thursday, February 27, 2020

The Tin Drum review at the Coronet Theatre, London – ‘unsettling adaptation of Günter Grass’ novel’ by Dave Fargnoli

Published in 1959, Günter Grass’ dark, dream-like debut novel The Tin Drum ruminated on the rise of fascism and the personal obsessions

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:02AM
Wednesday, February 19, 2020

The Cutting Edge review at Arcola Theatre, London – ‘slow-burning and cerebral’ by Dave Fargnoli

Kicking off a bold 20th anniversary season at the Arcola Theatre, The Cutting Edge is a meandering meditation on art, class and

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:04AM
Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Macbeth review at Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch – ‘an atmospheric but unsubtle production’ by Dave Fargnoli

Portentous images loom out of the darkness in the opening moments of Douglas Rintoul’s moody, muddled Macbeth. A child flies a kite.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:50AM
Friday, January 24, 2020

Flights review at Project Arts Centre, Dublin – ‘bleak, tender and intricately written’ by Dave Fargnoli

Bleak, tender and shot through with stinging black humour, Flights is a meandering but intricately written meditation on the joyful recklessness of

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:30AM
Monday, January 20, 2020

Beckett Triple Bill review at Jermyn Street Theatre, London – ‘humour and humanity’ by Dave Fargnoli

Memories can either comfort or torment us. Samuel Beckett’s fascination with the ways we distort, betray and cling to our past experiences

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:31AM
Wednesday, January 15, 2020

The Process review at the Bunker, London – ‘cleverly constructed dystopian thriller’ by Dave Fargnoli

No two people experience the world in precisely the same way, an ominously crackling projection declares in the opening moments of Sarah

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:28AM
Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Shackleton and His Stowaway review at Park Theatre, London – ‘an uneven historical drama’ by Dave Fargnoli

Chronicling the infamous, disaster-stricken 1914 attempt to cross Antarctica, Shackleton and his Stowaway is an uneven historical drama from author Andy Dickinson.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:51AM
Monday, January 13, 2020

Trygve Wakenshaw: Only Bones v1.4 review at Soho Theatre, London – ‘farcical physicality’ by Dave Fargnoli

No text, no props, one light. Performance artist Thomas Monckton laid down some provocatively stringent parameters to frame his 2017 solo show

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:30AM
Thursday, December 19, 2019

Peter Pan Goes Wrong review at Alexandra Palace, London – ‘impeccable comic timing’ by Dave Fargnoli

Mischief Theatre’s accessible brand of slick, silly slapstick has made it an indisputable phenomenon, with the company putting successful TV spots, multiple

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:17AM
Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Snowflake review at Kiln Theatre, London – ‘Mike Bartlett’s astute Christmas drama’ by Dave Fargnoli

Downbeat and often devastatingly insightful, Snowflake is a heartfelt Christmas-time drama taking its title from the recently-coined term used to belittle anyone

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:00AM
Monday, December 16, 2019

The Snow Queen review Rose Theatre, Kingston – ‘high-concept Christmas show’ by Dave Fargnoli

Writer and director Ciaran McConville’s high-adventure adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s melancholic parable The Snow Queen certainly widens the story’s scope, but

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:22AM
Friday, December 13, 2019

Aladdin review at New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich – ‘infectiously enjoyable panto-musical’ by Dave Fargnoli

Powered along by a blazingly charismatic actor-musician ensemble, Aladdin is the latest in a string of annual rock‘n’roll pantos from Peter Rowe,

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:40AM
Thursday, December 12, 2019

Dick Whittington review at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre – ‘tired and creaky pantomime’ by Dave Fargnoli

There is a fine line between maintaining fondly remembered traditions and rehashing a tired format. Marking the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre’s 125th anniversary,

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:47AM
Friday, December 6, 2019

Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer review at Hampstead Theatre, London – ‘an elegant study of pressure and paranoia’ by Dave Fargnoli

In 1972, the world chess championship became a proxy battlefront in the rumbling belligerence of the cold war. Recounting the gruelling, 21-game

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:40AM
Thursday, December 5, 2019

Goldilocks and the Three Musketeers review at Battersea Arts Centre – ‘daft and delightfully inventive’ by Dave Fargnoli

Enthusiastically performed but infused with gentleness, Goldilocks and the Three Musketeers is a charmingly creaky Christmas show with an endearingly home-made feel.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:34AM
Friday, November 29, 2019

West Side Story review at Curve, Leicester – ‘vivid, original choreography’ by Dave Fargnoli

In some ways, little has changed since West Side Story – the perennially popular musical from Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:11AM
Wednesday, November 27, 2019

My Brilliant Friend review at the National Theatre, London – ‘epic, unwieldy experience’ by Dave Fargnoli

When a pair of ragged, decades-old dolls are anonymously delivered to the home of a respected author, they trigger a flood of

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:11AM
Friday, November 22, 2019

The Canterville Ghost review at Unicorn Theatre, London – ‘breezy, family-friendly adaptation’ by Dave Fargnoli

Oscar Wilde’s gothic satire The Canterville Ghost gets a breezy, family-friendly adaptation from author Anthony Weigh, with the macabre meditations on mortality

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:29AM
Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Season review at Royal and Derngate, Northampton – ‘sassy, small-scale festive musical’ by Dave Fargnoli

Unapologetically adhering to a well-established festive romcom template, The Season is a warm-hearted new musical from promising writing partnership Jim Barne and

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:45AM
Friday, November 15, 2019

Puss in Boots review at the Theatre, Chipping Norton – ‘charming but awkwardly paced’ by Dave Fargnoli

Bright, light and meandering, Toby Hulse’s Puss in Boots is a cheerful trad pantomime weighed down by a few too many ideas.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:52AM
Friday, November 8, 2019

Easy review at Blue Elephant Theatre, London – ‘quietly compelling monologue’ by Dave Fargnoli

Telling a familiar tale of sex, betrayal, and teenage anxiety, Easy is an engaging monologue from emerging playwright Amy Blakelock. The story

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:03AM
Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Frankenstein review at Southwark Playhouse, London – ‘stilted sci-fi adaptation’ by Dave Fargnoli

Reworking Mary Shelley’s seminal work of gothic sci-fi for the digital age, the National Youth Theatre’s Frankenstein explores the line between artificial

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:51AM
Monday, November 4, 2019

Shook review at Southwark Playhouse, London – ‘consummately performed’ by Dave Fargnoli

Serving lengthy prison sentences, three young men attend parenting classes in preparation for a return to the outside world. Samuel Bailey’s first

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:43AM
Thursday, October 31, 2019

God’s Dice review at Soho Theatre, London – ‘David Baddiel’s slick but slight new play’ by Dave Fargnoli

In a letter to a fellow physicist, Einstein once famously claimed that God does not play dice with the universe. The question

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:13AM
Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Great Expectations review at Southwark Playhouse, London – ‘light and lively production’ by Dave Fargnoli

Kicking off this year’s National Youth Theatre REP season, Neil Bartlett’s take on Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is an engaging if unadventurous adaptation.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:25AM
Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Out of Order review at Southbank Centre, London – ‘an absurdist response to troubled times’ by Dave Fargnoli

It’s a bleak indictment of the times when a wordless, 90-minute clown brawl feels like an apt metaphor for any number of

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:33AM
Saturday, October 12, 2019

Ivanov review at Barbican Theatre, London – ‘powerfully performed production of Chekhov’s early play’ by Dave Fargnoli

One of Chekhov’s earliest, lesser-known works, bleak domestic drama Ivanov gets a sharply insightful treatment by Moscow-based company Theatre of Nations. It’s

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:46AM
Friday, October 11, 2019

One Man, Two Guvnors review at Nuffield Southampton Theatres – ‘overplayed but enjoyable’ by Dave Fargnoli

Telling the story of a buffoonish liar swindling those he should be serving, Richard Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors – adapted from

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:16AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards