All stories by Lyn Gardner on BroadwayStars

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Speaking truth to power: the revolutionary potential of theatre by Lyn Gardner

Soho theatre's pop-up soapbox inspired a raft of brief yet pointed speeches. The project's 2017 tour of London venues couldn't come at a better timeThe downstairs space at Soho theatre in Lo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 23, 2016

The Kite Runner " review by Lyn Gardner

Nottingham PlayhouseKhaled Hosseini's bestselling novel spans 30 years, shifts continents, entwines Afghanistan's bloody history with a family saga, and deals with themes of betrayal, guilt …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Robin Hood review " swashbuckling with a social conscience by Lyn Gardner

The Egg, BathThere's plenty of fun in the forest as Robin and his merry men redistribute wealth " to the sounds of an all-female ska bandSedition is being preached in normally sedate Bath, w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM[SHARE]
Monday, December 19, 2016

Dr Carnesky's Incredible Bleeding Woman review " menstrual mystery tour by Lyn Gardner

Soho theatre, London Marisa Carnesky's exploration of the menstruation taboo starts off cheeky and turns into something downright hair-raisingA woman, naked but for a pair of blood-red shoes…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:04AM[SHARE]

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

Black Beauty gallops in Scotland, La Soirée keeps swinging in Leicester Square, and there are festive treats including a Snow Mouse, two Snow Queens and David Walliams's hippoIf you find fe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:24AM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 15, 2016

Rent review " thrilling young cast deliver 20th-anniversary revival by Lyn Gardner

St James, LondonThere is vocal magic and energetic choreography in Bruce Guthrie's production of Jonathan Larson's New York musicalJonathan Larson's musical is 20 years young and still rocks…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Escape into La Soirée: the show to dispel the gloom of 2016 by Lyn Gardner

There's a renewed interest in the lost age of music hall and this West End wonder, which keeps its tongue firmly in its cheek, continues to be a class actJohn Nevil Maskelyne was a 19th-cent…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Bollywood Jack review " British-Indian panto takes a trip to Tooting market by Lyn Gardner

Tara theatre, LondonThe cross-cultural company's festive show isn't short on local appeal, but Jatinda Verma's production lacks verve and inventionThere aren't many pantos that include a gue…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:04PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 12, 2016

The Snow Queen review " a shivery, darkly comic delight by Lyn Gardner

Bristol Old VicA goblin experiments on deep-frozen children and a depressed reindeer is roused from apathy in this ingenious take on Hans Christian Andersen's storyThe opening moments of Lee…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM[SHARE]

Beauty and the Beast review " offbeat fairytale is a little cracker by Lyn Gardner

Cambridge Junction New International Encounter's talented ensemble of actor-musicians conjure a sophisticated story with a quirky comic edge'Daddy, poor's not very in at the mo," lisps the g…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM[SHARE]

Living With the Lights On review " brutally funny account of mental illness by Lyn Gardner

Young Vic, LondonThe actor Mark Lockyer's gripping story of his bipolar disorder plays on his status as an unreliable narratorIn 1995, while playing Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet for the RSC …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM[SHARE]

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

David Walliams's The First Hippo on the Moon goes on tour, an RSC double-header opens at Theatre Royal Haymarket and there are festive shows aplentySh!t Theatre's Sing-a-long-a Muppet Christ…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:04AM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 10, 2016

Is theatre criticism in crisis? by Lyn Gardner

Critics are getting laid off. It's getting tougher to find ways to be paid to write. It sounds as if theatre criticism is on life support. Or is it?Is theatre criticism in meltdown, as some …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:06AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 9, 2016

Going off-script: theatre needs to break free of its echo chamber by Lyn Gardner

Fuel's Situation Room is a night of performance and debate prompted by our changing political landscape, but such events must reach out to include the voices absent from our stages"We have a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM[SHARE]

The best theatre and dance shows this week by Lyn Gardner and Judith Mackrell

Trouble In Mind | Beasty Baby | Shakespeare Trilogy | School Of Rock | The Tempest | Romeo And Juliet | The Nutcracker | Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes1 Trouble In MindTanya Moodie turns in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:42AM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 8, 2016

Alice in Wonderland review " Carroll's stressed schoolgirl has exam nightmare by Lyn Gardner

Derby theatre The results-driven school system provides a framework for Mike Kenny's inventive adaptation, in which the despotic Queen of Hearts is headmistressUpdating Lewis Carroll's class…

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

Victorians Got Talent: Liverpool rekindles its love for music hall by Lyn Gardner

Liverpool Playhouse was once home to mesmerists, acrobats and all sorts of variety acts. A new show, The Star, celebrates the artists who knew how to make the audience laugh, cry and sing al…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:02AM[SHARE]

Strictly Ballroom: The Musical review " utterly ridiculous, totally joyous by Lyn Gardner

West Yorkshire Playhouse, LeedsThe stage version of Baz Luhrmann's movie gives the audience a good time and there are moments when Drew McOnie's choreography burns up the floorBaz Luhrmann's…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:31AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Fleabag " Edinburgh festival 2013 review by Lyn Gardner

UnderbellyPhoebe Waller-Bridge's up-for-anything antiheroine provides a distinctive take on the effects of porn on 21st-century womenForty years ago, Erica Jong coined the phrase "zipless fu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:02AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Peter and the Starcatcher review " Peter Pan prequel never finds its wings by Lyn Gardner

Royal and Derngate, NorthamptonDirector Luke Sheppard throws everything he can at Rick Elice's convoluted story, but it still can't touch JM Barrie's masterpiece A convoluted and anachronist…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:02AM[SHARE]

Thebes Land review " engagingly treacherous twist on Oedipus by Lyn Gardner

Arcola, London The father-son myth is reborn by playwright Sergio Blanco as a skirmish probing identity and male power that is funny, taut and puzzlingOne of the closing images in this vivid…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:02AM[SHARE]

Lyn Gardner's top 10 theatre of 2016 by Lyn Gardner

Phyllida Lloyd's storming all-female Shakespeare trilogy is saluted by Lyn Gardner who, in no set order, chooses other essential productions of the yearMore on the best culture of 2016Phylli…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:02AM[SHARE]
Monday, December 5, 2016

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

Mary Stuart flips a coin at the Almeida, Gemma Arterton becomes Saint Joan, Jack and the Beanstalk gets a Bollywood twist, and the festive spirit touches everyone from Robin Hood to Hansel a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:36AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 4, 2016

Fantastic Mr Fox review " brave take on Roald Dahl could be foxier by Lyn Gardner

Nuffield, SouthamptonExpanding on Dahl's original cast of characters, the show leads us into interesting territory but loses its nerve and mixes its messagesIt's early morning. A barber shop…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM[SHARE]

Sleeping Beauty review " glittering panto needs a little more sparkle by Lyn Gardner

Hackney Empire, LondonSusie McKenna delivers a bright, brash and cheeky production, with fine voices and a kick-ass princess, but it lacks the brilliance of previous yearsSusie McKenna's ann…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 2, 2016

The Little Matchgirl and Other Happier Tales review " fairytales for frosty nights by Lyn Gardner

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonFour Hans Christian Andersen stories are reimagined with beguiling, anarchic irreverence in Emma Rice and Joel Horwood's heartwarming showA match is struck and…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AM[SHARE]

The best theatre and dance shows this week by Lyn Gardner, Mark Cook and Judith Mackrell

Strictly Ballroom | Bollywood Jack | Sweet Charity | Peter Pan | Cinderella | Annie Get Your Gun | Saint Joan | Simon Callow | The Siege Of Christmas | Black Beauty | The Nutcracker | The Wo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Aladdin review " Vikki Stone's brilliant villain brings out the boos by Lyn Gardner

Lyric Hammersmith, London Daftness trumps topicality in a magic carpet ride that finds the actors working the audience really well, even if the dame gets a bit lost in the washVice is except…

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

People Show: theatre misfits celebrate 50 years of creative anarchy by Lyn Gardner

Half a century after their first gig in a bookshop's basement, the innovative group are staging their 132nd show which promises to be as unpredictable as everIt's almost impossible to define…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 28, 2016

How can theatres keep panto audiences all year round? by Lyn Gardner

Many of those flocking to a theatre's annual festive show intuit that the rest of the year's programme isn't for them. It's about time panto had serious artistic statusOver the next few week…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24AM[SHARE]

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

Leeds goes Strictly Ballroom, Sweet Charity is revived in Manchester and the Donmar's astonishing Shakespeare Trilogy continuesWhat do we value and have we got our priorities right? Those ar…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:42AM[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