All stories by Gary Naylor on BroadwayStars

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Three Sisters, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - Chekhov's anatomy lesson on the human condition by Gary Naylor

★★★★★ THREE SISTERS, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Souls dissected in brilliantly conceived and executed production Russia - but also here, there and everywhere Russia.

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:48PM
Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Mrs President, Charing Cross Theatre review - Mary Todd Lincoln on her life alone by Gary Naylor

★ MRS PRESIDENT, CHARING CROSS THEATRE A widow, a photographer but no soul Curious play that fails to mobilise theatre's unique ability to tell a story The phenomenal global success of Si…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:42AM
Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Second Best, Riverside Studios review - Asa Butterfield brings the magic by Gary Naylor

★★★ SECOND BEST, RIVERSIDE STUDIOS First-class performance in a second-class play Martin is not Harry Potter in the movies, then might be in real life, but proves to be the boy who sur…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:06PM
Sunday, February 2, 2025

Play On!, Lyric Hammersmith - and give me excess of it! by Gary Naylor

★★★★★ PLAY ON!, LYRIC HAMMERSMITH The Bard and The Duke in perfect harmony! Super performances deliver magnificent entertainment If you saw Upstart Crow on television or on stage i…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:54PM
Friday, January 24, 2025

An Interrogation, Hampstead Theatre review - police procedural based on true crime tale fails to ring true by Gary Naylor

★★★ AN INTERROGATION, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Detective gets her man, but at what cost? Rosie Sheehy and Jamie Ballard shine in Edinburgh Festival import In a dingy room with dilapidated fu…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:42PM

Cymbeline, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - pagan women fight the good fight by Gary Naylor

★★★ CYMBELINE, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Patriarchy defeated! A new, if not as radical as once it were, take on Shakespeare's cross-dressing call to arms There’s not much point in ha…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 11:42AM
Thursday, January 23, 2025

The Lonely Londoners, Kiln Theatre review - Windrush Generation arrive in a London full of opportunities, but not for them by Gary Naylor

★★★★ THE LONELY LONDONERS, KILN THEATRE A beautifully realised stage adaptation Memories, frustrations and hopes in a city emerging from post-war austerity As something of an immig…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:18PM
Sunday, January 12, 2025

The Maids, Jermyn Street Theatre review - new broom sweeps clean in fierce revival by Gary Naylor

★★★★ THE MAIDS, JERMYN STREET THEATRE Master and Servant, poison & procrastination Class, in its 21st century manifestation, colours much performed play There are two main reaso…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:18PM
Thursday, January 9, 2025

Titanique, Criterion Theatre review - musical parody sinks despite super singing by Gary Naylor

★ TITANIQUE, CRITERION THEATRE Celine! Tina! Jack and Rose! But no wit at all Affectionate piss-take set for cult status at best This Celine Dion jukebox musical has been a big hit in New …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:24PM
Saturday, December 21, 2024

Twelfth Night, Royal Shakespeare Theatre review - comic energy dissipates in too large a space by Gary Naylor

★★★ TWELFTH NIGHT The winter comedy provides more chills than chuckles despite a funny fool Too much thinking; not enough laughing It is not just Twelfth Night, it’s Twelfth Night, …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:42PM
Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Donmar Warehouse review - a blazingly original musical flashes into the West End by Gary Naylor

★★★★ NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812, DONMAR WAREHOUSE Broadway show takes eight years to traverse the Atlantic, but proves worth the wait War and Peace - but not as y…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:02PM
Friday, December 6, 2024

Hansel and Gretel, Shakespeare's Globe review - too saccharine a retelling for our times by Gary Naylor

★★★ HANSEL AND GRETEL, SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE More wicked witch, less sunny siblings please Songs and sweeties, but insufficient sourness and sadism for fans of fairytales Growing up wit…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:18PM
Saturday, November 30, 2024

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical - all Greek to me by Gary Naylor

★★ THE LIGHTNING THIEF, THE OTHER PALACE One for fans of the franchise Myths and monsters make for a curiously bland and bloodless musical Percy Jackson is neither the missing one from …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:48AM
Sunday, November 24, 2024

All's Well That Ends Well, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - Shakespeare at his least likeable by Gary Naylor

★★★ ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Despite its compansations, the play is hard to watch New production lands on shaky ground in 2024 "All’s well that ends well�…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:48PM
Friday, November 22, 2024

King James, Downstairs at Hampstead Theatre review - UK premiere drains a three-pointer by Gary Naylor

★★★★ KING JAMES, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Two Cleveland lads bond, break and bond again in perceptive dramedy Beautifully crafted play tracks two men's relationship, as LeBron James comes a…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:31PM
Tuesday, November 19, 2024

[title of show], Southwark Playhouse review - two guys and two girls write about writing, delightfully by Gary Naylor

★★★★ [TITLE OF SHOW], SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Two decades on, this meta-musical retains its charm Revival of New York show lifts the spirits Not just a backstage musical, a backroom mu…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:36PM
Sunday, November 10, 2024

Bunrt-Up Love, Finborough Theatre review - scorching new play by Gary Naylor

★★★★ BURNT-UP LOVE, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Ferocious three-hander finds love too hot to handle Super writing and acting jolts us out of complacency Mac is in prison for a long stretch. …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:06PM
Wednesday, October 30, 2024

How To Survive Your Mother, King's Head Theatre review - mummy issues drive autobiographical dramedy by Gary Naylor

★★★ HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR MOTHER, KING'S HEAD THEATRE Jonathan Maitland writes of his mother, but should we laugh or cry? Lots of heartache, but a strange void where the heart of the pla…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:42PM
Friday, October 25, 2024

The Forsyte Saga Parts 1 and 2, Park Theatre review - if Chekhov did soap operas by Gary Naylor

★★★★ THE FORSYTE SAGA PARTS 1 AND 2, PARK THEATRE Epic adaptation falls away a little, but still packs a punch Joseph Millson leads a super cast in a classy production from Troupe …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:06PM
Monday, October 21, 2024

Autumn, Park Theatre review - on stage as in politics, Brexit drama promises much, but loses its way by Gary Naylor

★★★ AUTUMN, PARK THEATRE Adaptation of Ali Smith's acclaimed novel drifts when it should bite Promising production, beautifully acted, slides into side plots and confusion Theatre is…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:02AM
Thursday, October 17, 2024

Land of the Free, Southwark Playhouse review - John Wilkes Booth portrayed in play that resonates across 160 years by Gary Naylor

★★ LAND OF THE FREE, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Good timing, but clunky structure and plodding pace limits appeal A president shot, as a divided country seeks political solutions Straddling th…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:06PM
Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Knife on the Table, Cockpit Theatre review - gangsters grim, not glamorous by Gary Naylor

★★★ KNIFE ON THE TABLE, COCKPIT THEATRE London teenagers pulled into gang culture's world of drugs, knives and misery  This is exactly the kind of play that should be staged in 2024 …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:54PM
Thursday, October 10, 2024

The Lehman Trilogy, Gillian Lynne Theatre review - Three brothers, two crashes, one American Dream by Gary Naylor

★★★★ THE LEHMAN TRILOGY The rise and rise and rise of an iconic Wall Street institution - and its collapse    Sensational stagecraft elevates familiar tale of immigrant success in…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:12PM
Tuesday, October 8, 2024

French Toast, Riverside Studios review - Racine-inspired satire finds its laughs once up-and-running by Gary Naylor

★★★ FRENCH TOAST The English and the French, the men and the women, the young and the old, lock horns in 70s farce   Comedy gains momentum when characters are rounded out It’s alw…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:18PM
Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Here in America, Orange Tree Theatre review - Elia Kazan and Arthur Miller lock horns in McCarthyite America by Gary Naylor

★★★ HERE IN AMERICA David Edgar's new play sounds a warning from the past  When political expediency intervenes in a personal and professional friendship, what should one do? The clu…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:48PM
Thursday, September 19, 2024

The Truth About Harry Beck, London Transport Museum Cubic Theatre review - mapping the life of the London Underground map's creator by Gary Naylor

★★★ THE TRUTH ABOUT HARRY BECK Nostalgic comedy about the man who originated an everyday design classic An English eccentric quietly re-invents our view of the capital Iconic is a wor…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:42PM
Saturday, September 14, 2024

The Band Back Together, Arcola Theatre review - three is a dangerous number by Gary Naylor

★★★ THE BAND BACK TOGETHER AGAIN The perils of turning back the clock laid bare The second album is still tough, even if you never recorded the first We meet Joe first at the keys, si…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:42PM
Friday, September 13, 2024

Kim's Convenience, Riverside Studios review - KC and the sunshine vibe by Gary Naylor

★★★ KIM'S CONVENIENCE, Gentle comedy delivers laughs, but proves too safe and too predictable  The play that inspired a Netflix series is heartwarming, but needs more spice to bite O…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:36PM
Thursday, September 12, 2024

Why Am I So Single?, Garrick Theatre review - superb songs in Zeitgeist surfing show by Gary Naylor

★★★ WHY AM I SO SINGLE?, GARRICK THEATRE Six's writers lay bare their souls in new musical Marlow and Moss are back with deeply personal exploration of how lives are lived today Going…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:36PM
Friday, September 6, 2024

The Silver Cord, Finborough Theatre review - Sophie Ward is compellingly repellent by Gary Naylor

★★★★ THE SILVER CORD, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Narcissism up-close and disturbingly relevant  Beautifully staged and acted revival of Sidney Howard’s century-old black comedy One of th…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:36PM
Thursday, September 5, 2024

Art, Theatre Royal Bath review - Yasmina Reza's smash hit back on tour 30 years after Paris premiere by Gary Naylor

★★★★ ART, THEATRE ROYAL BATH Three men fall out over a painting in a very French comedy Male friendships buckle as egos clash, with a resonance for today's culture wars For men, nav…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:32PM

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
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime