All stories by Lyn Gardner on BroadwayStars

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Trans Scripts at Edinburgh festival review " six timely stories from transgender women by Lyn Gardner

Pleasance, EdinburghCulled from interviews with trans women, these personal accounts read out on stage highlight the diversity of their experiencesHigh-profile transgender women such as Chel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PM[SHARE]

Light Boxes at Edinburgh festival review " hamstrung by its own beauty by Lyn Gardner

Summerhall, EdinburghGrid Iron theatre company's tale of perpetual winter looks and sounds stunning, but is sadly lacking in actionHowever strong and distinctive an aesthetic, it is seldom e…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:22AM[SHARE]

Edinburgh festival review: What I Learned from Johnny Bevan " powerfully poetic storytelling by Lyn Gardner

Summerhall, EdinburghPerformance poet Luke Wright's first fringe theatre piece tells of personal and political disillusionment with affecting clarityLuke Wright is best known on the performa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:13AM[SHARE]
Saturday, August 15, 2015

Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons review at Edinburgh festival " fresh and sharp by Lyn Gardner

Southside, EdinburghThe government introduces a daily limit of 140 words per person in a tightly written love story that widens into an exploration of free speechMost couples develop their o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:51PM[SHARE]

Penny Arcade: Longing Lasts Longer at Edinburgh festival review " an alarm call for cupcake obsessives by Lyn Gardner

Underbelly, EdinburghThe counter-culture original rails against mediocre modern society and the insidious influence of marketeers in an invigorating solo showMarx thought that religion was t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:51PM[SHARE]

Manwatching at Edinburgh festival review " a frank insight into female desire by Lyn Gardner

Roundabout @ Summerhall, EdinburghAn anonymous writer leads the audience through her fantasy life " from her masturbation techniques to her views on the perfect male body " in an intriguing …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:30AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 14, 2015

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

The festival is in full flow, so here are the best shows I've seen so far, from the funny and cute How to Keep an Alien to the highly experimental ManwatchingSo we are officially one week in…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:26PM[SHARE]

Women's Hour at Edinburgh festival review " funny feminist agitprop by Lyn Gardner

Summerhall, EdinburghSh!t Theatre's sketch-based show sends up Radio 4 cosiness and skewers Barbie adverts in a mixture of high-spirited exuberance and blistering angerSh!t Theatre create th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:37AM[SHARE]

Robert Lepage's 887 at Edinburgh festival review " a visual pleasure by Lyn Gardner

Edinburgh International Conference CentreLepage's autobiographical piece uses film, projection and miniature scale models to conjure the past, and is filled with moments that make you gasp I…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:09AM[SHARE]

O No! at Edinburgh festival review " the Yoko Ono route to enlightenment by Lyn Gardner

Assembly Roxy, EdinburghJamie Wood invites the audience to cut off his clothes and get naked with him inside a bag in a warm, endearing show that sends up and pays homage to John Lennon's fo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:56AM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 13, 2015

Changing rooms: the fringe's shifting venues are a big creative opportunity by Lyn Gardner

From cramped shoeboxes to the Roundabout, performing spaces are huge influences on works. But when a venue moves, it's a chance for positive changeThe news that the continued expansion of th…

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

The Beanfield at Edinburgh festival review " invigorating, complex look at bloody Stonehenge battle by Lyn Gardner

theSpace on the Mile, EdinburghThis boldly political show investigates the 1985 'battle of the beanfield' between new age travellers and police to confront issues of history and civil libert…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03PM[SHARE]

Ross & Rachel: Edinburgh festival review " two Friends inspire dark solo show by Lyn Gardner

Assembly Box, EdinburghJames Fritz's play, performed by Molly Vevers, explores the ins and outs of coupledom and riffs on our knowledge of the popular TV charactersOnline, there are entire t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:27AM[SHARE]

Hula House at Edinburgh festival review " show about sex workers is seriously misguided by Lyn Gardner

Zoo Southside, EdinburghThe audience are taken to a secret venue for some misjudged party games in a well-intentioned but clumsy and confusing piece about prostitutionIn 2010, Cora Bissett a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:25AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 12, 2015

From BAC to Edinburgh: Gecko's unbreakable bond with audiences by Lyn Gardner

The physical theatre company Gecko have had a tough year but their commitment to building a loyal following stood them in good steadGecko are back in Edinburgh again this year for a full thr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:33AM[SHARE]

Circa: Close Up at Edinburgh festival review " artful acrobatics in an intimate setting by Lyn Gardner

Underbelly, EdinburghSlick technology doesn't add much to impressive tricks, leaving a somewhat reserved evening " though the closing moments are worth the admission price aloneThe latest Ed…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:56AM[SHARE]

The Human Ear at Edinburgh festival review " identity charade keeps the audience on its toes by Lyn Gardner

Roundabout at Summerhall, EdinburghAlexandra Wood's difficult but rewarding piece raises questions about who we can trust and the language we useLucy's dad was a soldier killed in Kuwait dur…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:56AM[SHARE]

Chicken at Edinburgh festival review " a tale of the future that doesn't take flight by Lyn Gardner

Roundabout at Summerhall, EdinburghThe Birds meets Chicken Run in this confusing, Fenlands-set dystopia in which nature takes its revengeIt is the future, and things aren't going well. In Lo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:58AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Bring the noise: live theatre needn't be watched in respectful silence by Lyn Gardner

Benedict Cumberbatch has appealed for decorum from audiences at Hamlet. But as the Edinburgh fringe proves, art can thrive in less than perfect conditionsIt seems that audiences have been pl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:34AM[SHARE]

Pardon/In Cuffs at Edinburgh festival review " a long hard look at justice by Lyn Gardner

Traverse, Edinburgh This verbatim piece about prosecutors and defendants makes important points about the criminal justice system, but it's an uncomfortable theatre experience Does justice s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM[SHARE]

Some People Talk About Violence at Edinburgh festival review " shards of anger by Lyn Gardner

Summerhall, EdinburghBarrel Organ's difficult second show is an unsettling drama about depression and frustrationLet's talk about violence. Or maybe not. Let's just keep quiet, even though i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM[SHARE]

Electric Dreams at Edinburgh festival review " political thriller inspired by Naomi Klein by Lyn Gardner

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghTaking its cue from The Shock Doctrine, Dumbshow's ambitious show links CIA brainwashing experiments to 9/11, Iraq, library closures and austeritySebastian, a Chilea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:14AM[SHARE]
Monday, August 10, 2015

Reviewing the reviews " are ratings worth the stars they're stamped with? by Lyn Gardner

Everyone's happy when they get a five-star writeup, but often new or more complex work needs something beyond the traditional review formatAudiences like star ratings, PRs and artists like s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:44PM[SHARE]

The Solid Life of Sugar Water at Edinburgh festival review " sexual healing in bedroom battleground by Lyn Gardner

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghJack Thorne's multi-layered two-hander for Graeae " about a couple grieving for their stillborn child " has no happy ever after, but is rewarding to watchThey meet i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:33AM[SHARE]

Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle: a friendship split by spiritualism by Lyn Gardner

The author and the illusionist might seem an odd couple, but a shared interest in the afterlife made for an unlikely bond and a bitter riftIn 1920, two of the biggest celebrities of the age …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:15AM[SHARE]

Edinburgh festival review: The Christians " a doctrinal drama with little real fervour by Lyn Gardner

Traverse, EdinburghLucas Hnath's play probes the divisions opened among a religious community by their leader's epiphany, but lacks the right emotional intensityPastor Paul's church had mode…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:16AM[SHARE]

Swallow at Edinburgh festival review " a potent study of surviving by Lyn Gardner

Traverse, EdinburghStef Smith's lyrical new play examines the overlapping strains, pressures and guilt of three women's livesChirpy Anna hasn't left home for months; she's stopped eating and…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:09AM[SHARE]

Daniel Kitson's Polyphony: Edinburgh festival review " vastly entertaining by Lyn Gardner

Summerhall, EdinburghKitson plays neatly on his Eeyore-ish personality in a cunningly crafted show about loneliness in which audience members use iPod ShufflesThere is so much to love about …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:01AM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 9, 2015

Edinburgh festival review: How to Keep an Alien " a comedy of love and visas by Lyn Gardner

Traverse theatre, EdinburghSonya Kelly's autobiographical show proves that as far as the immigration authorities are concerned, there's no such thing as oversharingWhen actor Sonya Kelly mee…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:39AM[SHARE]

The Encounter at Edinburgh festival review " an aural adventure by Lyn Gardner

Edinburgh International Conference CentreSimon McBurney's one-man show is an expedition into the jungles of the imagination, combining audio technology with dense storytellingIn October 1969…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:34AM[SHARE]
Saturday, August 8, 2015

The Paradise Project at Edinburgh festival review " how do you build a perfect world? by Lyn Gardner

Summerhall, EdinburghTwo idealists find that creating a heaven on earth is easier said than done in Third Angel's thought-provoking if somewhat detached new showHave you ever wondered how mu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:58AM[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