All stories by Ismene Brown on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

People, National Theatre by Ismene Brown

The word “people” of the title of Alan Bennett’s new play is to be spat out, like a lemon pip. People, who invade your space, boss your values, make you be what they want. So does the …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:21PM
Sunday, October 28, 2012

There are more theatre-goers than football-goers - arts awards defiant by Ismene Brown

Henry Goodman, Imelda Staunton and Aidan McArdle won the big acting prizes while Akram Khan and Opera North carried off the dance and opera gongs at the annual Theatrical Management Associat…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:38PM
Thursday, October 11, 2012

Desire Under the Elms, Lyric, Hammersmith by Ismene Brown

Pity the A-level English student: for them the “rarely seen masterpieces” that creep onto the curriculum and into the theatres. Judging from the frequently giggling reaction of the audie…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:15PM
Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The Sacred Flame, English Touring Theatre by Ismene Brown

To revive a long-defunct play is dicing with death for a touring theatre company - was the play ahead of its time, or was it not good enough in any time? W Somerset Maugham was a commercial …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:00AM
Friday, June 15, 2012

Arise, Sir Kenneth Branagh and Dame Zaha Hadid by Ismene Brown

Zaha Hadid, visionary architect of the London Olympics Aquatic Centre, becomes a Dame and three new knights of the arts are created in the Queen's Jubilee Birthday Honours announced this mor…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:38PM
Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Top Hat, Aldwych Theatre by Ismene Brown

David Cameron could hardly wish for a more apt musical to pep up the people’s spirits than Irving Berlin’s Top Hat, with its wheedling entreaties about the advantages of being caught in …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:44PM
Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Long Day's Journey Into Night, Apollo Theatre by Ismene Brown

We’ve seen a few American film and TV actresses grace the West End stage with surprising potency, but no one surely will surpass Laurie Metcalf for profound emotional truth-telling in Euge…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:37PM
Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Lady From the Sea, Rose Theatre, Kingston by Ismene Brown

“The lady from the sea” is what a remote Norwegian fjord town calls the young second wife of its good doctor, an elusive woman who seems to walk in the footsteps of the ghost of her well…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:31PM
Friday, February 24, 2012

Bingo, Young Vic Theatre by Ismene Brown

Bingo: Scenes of Money and Death is the misleading, joky title of a play about Shakespeare in his ignoble last years, unable to write further, isolated from his beloved London, and hemmed in…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:45PM
Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Charles Dickens, Theatre and Dance Critic-at-Large by Ismene Brown

When a young Charles Dickens visited New York in 1842 with his wife, he strolled down Broadway, happened upon an unusual dance and naturally checked out theatreland. As his bicentenary is ce…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:00PM
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

National Theatre, 2012 Season by Ismene Brown

The National Theatre’s spring headlines are the return of Antony Sher in a new play about a Hollywood film director’s past and a third work by the controversial physical theatre company …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:00PM
Monday, January 9, 2012

Barbican Centre, 2012 Season by Ismene Brown

London's Barbican Centre is 30 this year, and with a special Olympic-sized subsidy boost as the world's eyes turn to the British capital this summer, it aims to be be as lovely inside as it …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:00PM
Monday, October 31, 2011

Hall family and Wales shine in theatre awards by Ismene Brown

Port Talbot’s staging of The Passion with Michael Sheen won the highest accolade at the Theatre Management Association Awards yesterday, which honour the best of work touring Britain beyon…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:00AM
Sunday, September 4, 2011

The Arts Desk Birthday Event - Join Us on 9/9! by Ismene Brown

On 9 September theartsdesk, Britain's first professional arts journalism site, will be two years old. To celebrate we’re holding a live debate with four leading performers during the Kings…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:59AM

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
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic