All stories by Lyn Gardner on BroadwayStars

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Portrait review " exuberant, scattershot solo show from a genuine talent by Lyn Gardner

Camden People's Theatre, LondonRachael Ofori's show about young black women trying to find their way in modern London is fresh and engaging, although its sketch format holds it back"Your gra…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:22PM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 17, 2015

Someone Who'll Watch Over Me review " hope and despair in hostage drama by Lyn Gardner

Minerva, ChichesterWhether it's serving imaginary cocktails or re-enacting the Wimbledon women's final, Michael Attenborough's emotional production celebrates the instinct for survival and t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:49AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Theatre radical Ellen McDougall: 'It's possible to love someone and also destroy them' by Lyn Gardner

Part of a new wave of British theatre directors in thrall to form rather than text, McDougall is now taking on Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. She explains why its rawness brings he…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:22PM[SHARE]

The Sting review " barely competent production in an exquisite space by Lyn Gardner

Wilton's Music Hall, LondonThe newly refurbished 19th-century venue is a five-star delight, so it's a shame this stage version of the 1973 New York mobster caper serves it so poorlyWilton's …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:22AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 15, 2015

The Stick House review " timeless tale of outcasts goes beyond the gothic by Lyn Gardner

Lo-co Klub, Bristol Anna Ledwich's atmospheric production mingles performance with technology in an unsettling story about fear of the unknown that echoes the refugee crisisIt begins as a ti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:46AM[SHARE]

How digital culture is taking Hedda Gabler into infinity by Lyn Gardner

A new presentation of Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler has been preceded by tweets from its heroine " an example of how digital media draws in theatre audiences in ingenious waysThis week, Hedda Ga…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AM[SHARE]
Monday, September 14, 2015

Plan your week's theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

Calm Down Dear, the festival of feminist theatre, begins in Camden, there's a rare Brian Friel play in Bristol and Great Yarmouth hosts the Out There festivalTanya Ronder's new surreal famil…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:24AM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 13, 2015

Blud review " rough-edged play with lashings of vim by Lyn Gardner

The Other Room, Cardiff All-female company otherMother tackle football, fighting and family life in their first showThere's definitely something stirring in Cardiff where the amount of theat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:31AM[SHARE]
Friday, September 11, 2015

Lela & Co review " a devastating critique of patriarchal violence by Lyn Gardner

Royal Court Upstairs, LondonLela's monologue about her journey from the mountains into a warzone is constantly interrupted by the voices of men in a harrowing but surprisingly playful look a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 10, 2015

The penis: barometer of heart and head by Lyn Gardner

A new theatre show explores the impact of erectile dysfunction on men's physical and mental health. Its creator, Mark Storer, says he is terrified of the responsibility: 'If we fail, we have…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:58PM[SHARE]

Running the Lyceum could be David Greig's greatest show yet by Lyn Gardner

Artistic directors are not often playwrights too. The venerable Edinburgh theatre's smart move to put David Greig in charge should pay exciting dividends " as long as he can keep writingThe …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:16AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Brave New World review " a drama of present-day dystopia by Lyn Gardner

Royal and Derngate, NorthamptonThe audience are cast as new recruits at Aldous Huxley's Hatchery in James Dacre and Dawn King's stage versionGeorge Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four was recently…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:39AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Dusty review " dire, perfunctory tribute to the 60s pop star by Lyn Gardner

Charing Cross theatre, LondonThis jukebox musical is a clumsy, opportunist show with bad wigs, ill-fitting costumes " and nothing new or meaningful to say about Dusty SpringfieldDusty, a new…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:08AM[SHARE]

And Then Come the Nightjars review " touching tale of love and loss on the farm by Lyn Gardner

Theatre 503, LondonBea Roberts' two-hander about male friendship and a dying way of life is small but beautifully observedIt's 2001 and in a barn on a south Devon farm Michael and local vet …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:49AM[SHARE]

Brian Cox is wrong " today's acting isn't bland, it boldly rejects the past by Lyn Gardner

The veteran actor has complained of young actors being homogeneous, and ignorant of the likes of Laurence Olivier " but in today's diverse landscape the profession is richer than everBrian C…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:38AM[SHARE]
Monday, September 7, 2015

Plan your week's theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

From brilliant Edinburgh transfers to the start of the High Tide festival, here are the essential shows opening this week across the UKOne of the best shows of the Edinburgh festival, Made i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:10AM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 6, 2015

Song from Far Away review " Simon Stephens sneaks a late emotional punch by Lyn Gardner

Young Vic, LondonIvo van Hove directs this quiet, coolly controlled monologue about a man returning home after the death of his younger brother"We all die interrupted," says Willem, a Dutch …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:25AM[SHARE]
Friday, September 4, 2015

BBC's Live at Television Centre can reignite the UK's passion for theatre by Lyn Gardner

Showcasing the best in independent theatre, the BBC's live event will show that the stage isn't just for Hollywood stars and old-fashioned playsKenneth Tynan's memorable theatre review of Lo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:28AM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 3, 2015

Absent review " empty spaces filled with a life unseen by Lyn Gardner

Shoreditch town hall, LondonTristan Sharps' exquisite promenade installation leads theatregoers down the deserted corridors of an imaginary hotel into a mysterious, maze-like underworldThere…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:44AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Going solo: how the one-person show is gazing beyond the navel by Lyn Gardner

Solo shows can be an excuse for cost-cutting, showing off or solipsism " but new examples are building conversations with audiences, and showing us who we areI suspect I'm not alone in feeli…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:32PM[SHARE]

Well review " raising ghosts in an east London pharmaceutical factory by Lyn Gardner

Former Sanofi factory, DagenhamGeraldine Pilgrim's community-cast production brings a factory back to life in Dagenham with a dose of medical historyThe May and Baker factory (subsequently t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:55AM[SHARE]
Monday, August 31, 2015

Plan your week's theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

Simon Stephens and Ivo van Hove collaborate at the Young Vic, Iphigenia in Splott returns to the Sherman in Cardiff, Elizabeth Newman opens her first season in Bolton, and Nicole Kidman retu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:13AM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 30, 2015

My Son and Heir at Edinburgh review " skewers competitive, modern parenting by Lyn Gardner

Forest Fringe, EdinburghSometimes lacking focus, this piece celebrates the quiet, unsung heroism of exhausted parents raising children in circumstances far from those of royal statusSearch P…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:28AM[SHARE]

Murmel Murmel at Edinburgh review " boisterous comic elan by Lyn Gardner

King's, EdinburghThis crack ensemble perform the single word of Dieter Roth's text in such varied forms it is like watching somebody's repressed unconscious run riotDieter Roth's 1974 text, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:22AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 28, 2015

Is Edinburgh festival really a level playing field? by Lyn Gardner

The latest debate in the Guardian and BAC's A Nation's Theatre strand looked at the fringe's place in the theatre ecology " here's what we discussedEdinburgh is the biggest open access arts …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18PM[SHARE]

Weekend Rockstars at Edinburgh festival review " theatre that thinks it's a rock gig by Lyn Gardner

Underbelly, EdinburghMiddle Child's piece about twentysomething slacker lifestyles works up a sweaty energy and has a tender soulIs it a gig? Is it a storytelling piece? Is it a play? Middle…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:55PM[SHARE]

The Misfit Analysis at Edinburgh festival review " a smart, satirical look at autism by Lyn Gardner

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghA young graduate addresses the myths around learning disabilities with humour and panacheSo you think you know everything about high functioning autism? Of cour…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 27, 2015

Freddie Flintoff: 2nd Innings at Edinburgh festival review " cricketer delivers by Lyn Gardner

Pleasance Grand, EdinburghAshes hero hits the audience for six in a show full of laughter, cricketing anecdotes and indiscretionsThere is a picture of cricketer Andrew Flintoff flashed on a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:04PM[SHARE]

Goodstock at Edinburgh festival review " touching look at the genetic lottery of cancer by Lyn Gardner

Pleasance, EdinburghThe unlucky draw of life is given an unflinching but positive examination in Olivia Hirst's affecting showTime is ticking for 26-year-old Olivia Hirst. She has the BRCA 1…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:57PM[SHARE]

Tonight I'm Gonna Be the New Me at Edinburgh festival review " very, very uncomfortable by Lyn Gardner

Forest Fringe, EdinburghThis clever show steps lightly over the cracks in how we present ourselves to the world both individually and as a coupleIs there anyone in a long-term relationship w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:34AM[SHARE]

Refusing limits: Why the government must fund disability arts by Lyn Gardner

With their funding under threat, acts which refuse to be sidelined find a platform in Edinburgh's Integrated Fringe - but how can they survive the cuts?"It only took the NT 50 years to notic…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:31AM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off