All stories by Kate Wyver on BroadwayStars

Thursday, July 18, 2024

Echo review – starry meditation on shapeshifting meaning of home by Kate Wyver

Royal Court theatre, LondonVarious actors, including Adrian Lester and Fiona Shaw, step into playwright Nassim Soleimanpour’s shoes as he reckons with the possibility of never returning to…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:06PM
Thursday, July 11, 2024

Bindweed review – complex account of the scale of violence against women by Kate Wyver

Arcola theatre, LondonMartha Loader’s award-winning play is an assured portrait of a therapy group for men who have abused women He seems nice, at first. Then you learn what he’s done. G…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:02AM
Tuesday, July 9, 2024

The mysterious art of the casting director: ‘When you see the truth in front of you, it’s the right person’ by Kate Wyver

Is it gatekeeping or dream-making? Art or science? As the Oscars get set to award casting directors for the first time, British theatre’s finest share the secrets of their trade The popula…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM
Wednesday, June 19, 2024

The Taming of the Shrew review – full of foolishness, low on laughs by Kate Wyver

The Globe theatre, LondonBold, absurdist ideas jostle for attention in Jude Christian’s bemusing new production, turning Shakespeare’s tricky tale into a child’s silly game How to wran…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM
Monday, June 3, 2024

Hide the marmalade! Paddington Bear is back – and this time he’s gone immersive by Kate Wyver

The fluffy accident-prone favourite is donning his red wellies and duffle coat for a magical new ‘experience’ that is half-theatre and half-party. Our writer braces herself for a look be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12AM
Thursday, May 30, 2024

Fabulous Creatures review – Odyssean monsters croon a vengeful revision guide by Kate Wyver

Arcola theatre, LondonWhile the costumes are delightful and the characters cheekily drawn, the full epic potential for this cabaret is never fully realised Welcome to the monstrous cabaret, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Passing Strange review – an all-out wild ride of a rock musical by Kate Wyver

Young Vic, LondonGiles Terera is sublime as the guitar-wielding musician looking back on his tearaway years in this rowdy production You can’t take your eyes off him. The script for this a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:02AM
Sunday, May 12, 2024

Get Off review – walking the uncomfortable line between desire and disgust by Kate Wyver

Battersea Arts Centre, LondonKaty Baird’s strange, intimate work of performance art leaves little unexposed – but its lack of depth leaves us wanting more Last time I saw Katy Baird, she…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AM
Friday, May 10, 2024

Twelfth Night review – splashes of fun beside the seaside by Kate Wyver

Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, London Owen Horsley’s frolicking staging has jaunty music and mischief, but this production dances over sadness Tonight belongs to the lovers, but not th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Saturday, May 4, 2024

Spirited Away, the stage spectacular: ‘Every 20 minutes there’s something that would be another play’s finale’ by Kate Wyver

The theatre adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s beloved animation sold out in Japan in four minutes. As it comes to the UK, we meet the international team of creatives bringing its giant dragons…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:48PM
Friday, May 3, 2024

Multiple Casualty Incident review – thorny questions in humanitarian aid drama by Kate Wyver

Yard theatre, LondonEven in times of peace, the medical staff training to go into a war zone can’t avoid conflict in Sami Ibrahim’s engaging play Questions of crisis spiral in Sami Ibrah…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AM
Thursday, May 2, 2024

‘Just let us audition’: UK transgender actors appeal to be cast in non-trans roles by Kate Wyver

Kim Tatum, Mariah Louca and Reece Lyons combine to call for trans women to be put on an equal footing for cis roles Kim Tatum dreams of playing Norma Desmond, Sunset Boulevard’s exquisite …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:12AM
Thursday, April 25, 2024

Testmatch review – smart satire hits casual racism for six by Kate Wyver

Orange Tree theatre, LondonTensions rise as rain stops play in the Women’s Cricket World Cup between India and England Stepping up to bat in this show of two very different innings are the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM
Sunday, April 21, 2024

Kiss Marry Kill review – a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction tale of love behind bars by Kate Wyver

Stone Nest, LondonDante or Die’s intriguing but underdeveloped story is based on the case of two men, each convicted of a homophobic murder, who became the first same-sex couple to marry i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM
Thursday, April 4, 2024

The Death and Life of All of Us review – bumpy travels with a mysterious great aunt by Kate Wyver

Camden People’s theatreVictor Esses’ reflections on his elusive Lebanese-Italian relative are told with easy, open warmth but never quite knit together On stage, Victor Esses exudes an e…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AM
Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Odyssey: It’s a Really Really Really Long Journey review – Behold, Telemachus the mummy’s boy! by Kate Wyver

Unicorn theatre, LondonEven a cyclops can get lonely, even a parent can make a mistake … this electric rendering of the classic is for all the family as Odysseus’s son takes centre stage…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:10AM
Monday, March 25, 2024

Priscilla the Party! review – jukebox musical dances back to a desert of divas by Kate Wyver

Here at Outernet, LondonThe 90s movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is celebrated in a chaotic night that’s played for fun I look forward to the day when jukebox musica…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06PM
Friday, March 22, 2024

‘The story of being a burden has been told too many times’: how dementia-friendly theatre is changing the narrative by Kate Wyver

From specifically adapted performances to telling new stories about memory, drama groups are innovating with music, movement and wordless performance to bring the joy of theatre to everyone …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18AM
Monday, March 18, 2024

Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon review – Bridgerton’s Charithra Chandran glows and rages by Kate Wyver

Garrick theatre, LondonChandran is brilliantly bratty in Rosie Day’s one-woman story of vulnerability masked by sarcasm and bravado Rosie Day’s one-woman play takes teen pain seriously. …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:02AM
Friday, March 1, 2024

Check tickets, play a dragon, feed the cat: the volunteers who go all out to keep theatres going by Kate Wyver

Offering up their time and energy, unpaid staff have become a crucial support for an embattled industry. They explain what’s in it for them Wander into Leicester’s Curve theatre and you …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AM
Thursday, February 22, 2024

Hir review – Felicity Huffman wreaks havoc in Taylor Mac’s black comedy by Kate Wyver

Park theatre, LondonA rich and messy revival explores ideas of belonging, with the Desperate Housewives star playing a determinedly indifferent matriarch Chaos reigns. Every inch of Paige’…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AM
Friday, February 16, 2024

The playwrights fighting for the NHS: ‘We only engage in a moment of crisis’ by Kate Wyver

From Michael Sheen’s portrayal of the organisation’s founder to a frank tale of the modern challenges faced by its staff, theatres are exploring the history, and fragile future, of our h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54AM
Thursday, February 15, 2024

Dear Octopus review – Lindsay Duncan leads a warm drama about a bickering family by Kate Wyver

Lyttelton theatre, LondonDodie Smith’s play presents a beautifully drawn, four-generation celebration of a golden wedding anniversary on the eve of the second world war Sneaking downstairs…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
Monday, January 29, 2024

‘That’s impossible!’ Why theatre’s gone mad for magic and wild special effects by Kate Wyver

Need to make an elephant vanish, an aeroplane take off or a wizard fly? As magic grips the stage, illusionist supremos reveal how they turn the likes of Stranger Things into eye-popping spec…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12PM
Friday, January 19, 2024

‘I was almost viewing them as a different species’: The Archers star Katie Redford on her new play for and about young people by Kate Wyver

The actor and playwright had to ‘posh it up’ for the role of Lily Pargetter in the radio soap. For her latest drama, she enlisted hundreds of young collaborators to ensure she got their …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM
Friday, January 12, 2024

Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch review – a chaotic camp delight by Kate Wyver

Southwark Playhouse Elephant, LondonThe Divine-inspired villain of The Little Mermaid and her rag-tag band of gay sea creatures reclaim their narrative in a boundlessly energetic, beautifull…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM
Monday, December 4, 2023

‘What do we clean the costumes with? Vodka!’ Inside Britain’s panto powerhouse by Kate Wyver

With 10 shows on and 1m tickets sold, Evolution are panto gods. But how do you work a giant? What will 50kg of glitter cover? And why did a bench almost cause a riot? The giant takes a lumb…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM
Sunday, December 3, 2023

£1 Thursdays review – nightclubbing, sex talk and big decisions by Kate Wyver

Finborough theatre, LondonA mix of sweet observations about female friendship and cheeky brazenness about sex, Kat Rose-Martin’s play finds two young women at a crossroads in their lives I…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:42PM

Dreaming and Drowning review – a visceral but lyrical look at anxiety and acceptance by Kate Wyver

Bush theatre, LondonKwame Owusu’s language dances on the tongue of athletic performer Tienne Simon in this monologue about a young, sci-fi-loving gay man’s struggles to fit in and find l…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03AM
Friday, November 10, 2023

Mates in Chelsea review – filthy-rich farce lets the upper classes off lightly by Kate Wyver

Royal Court theatre, LondonA trust-fund kid losing his family castle to an oligarch provides enough satire for some strong performances, but the concept is overstretched Rory Mullarkey’s e…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM
Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Monster Show review – trans take on Frankenstein is a stomping experiment by Kate Wyver

Camden People’s theatre, LondonDressed as the creature, Hester Stefan Chillingworth live-dubs the 1931 movie and reframes the narrative The 1931 movie Frankenstein plays silently on the ba…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM

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