All stories by Lyn Gardner on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Diversity in theatre: why is disability being left out? by Lyn Gardner

Gender and racial diversity is growing in UK theatres " but disabled creatives are being left behind. We have to shift away from patronising box-tickingOver the last few months, it has felt …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:15AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 15, 2016

Re:Home review " fitful insights in revisit of Leyton's failed estate by Lyn Gardner

The Yard, LondonCressida Brown's return to the venue of her 2006 verbatim piece, Home, is insightful, but has a whiff of cultural tourismTen years ago, Cressida Brown and Offstage Theatre ma…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:46AM[SHARE]

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

Katie Mitchell directs Sarah Kane, Marianne Elliott's staging of Husbands and Sons arrives in Manchester, and Jamie Lloyd revives The MaidsTorben Betts's adaptation of the gangland classic G…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:01AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 11, 2016

The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary! review " madcap Flaubert farce falls flat by Lyn Gardner

Liverpool EverymanFlaubert's dry comic observations are replaced with full-on slapstick in a show that inserts dinosaur costumes and some awkward metatheatrical banter Julian Barnes describe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Free Admission review " Ursula Martinez bares body and soul by Lyn Gardner

Soho theatre, LondonThis confessional one-woman show offers increasingly uneasy laughs as the artist reveals more and yet less of herself The title of Ursula Martinez's latest show is both a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:26AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Weald review " death and despair down on the farm by Lyn Gardner

Finborough theatre, LondonA father and son face up to social change in Britain's countryside in an uneven drama boasting two terrific performancesThere's plenty to commend in Daniel Foxsmith…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:26AM[SHARE]

Theatre is not a Rubik's Cube " you don't solve it by Lyn Gardner

Getting hung up trying to decipher meaning is not always the most helpful way to look at theatre " you need to use your heart and guts as well as your head"What's it all about?" cried an ang…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 8, 2016

The Winter's Tale review " rage, mistrust and magic by candlelight by Lyn Gardner

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonAnger flares convincingly in Michael Longhurst's production, but the confines of the Globe's Jacobean space strain the comedyWith Constellations, a revival of …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:51AM[SHARE]

Teen riots and cemetery circus: London international festival of theatre 2016 by Lyn Gardner

US drag artist Taylor Mac, an empathy museum and a bedtime story are all part of the lineup for the 21st Lift. What can a programme dominated by work from other countries tell us about ourse…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:43AM[SHARE]

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

Jim Cartwright's sequel to Two premieres in Bolton, Mike Bartlett's Cock is revived in Glasgow and Simon McBurney's hallucinatory The Encounter is at the Barbican, LondonThe always intriguin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:15AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 5, 2016

All Genius All Idiot review " messy gender-bending circus with a surreal spin by Lyn Gardner

Jacksons Lane, LondonSvalbard's acrobatic exploration of relationships and identity has flashes of hallucinatory powerThe young, all-male international circus company Svalbard close this yea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:49AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 4, 2016

He Who Falls review " Earth's future visualised in risky platform show by Lyn Gardner

Barbican, LondonSix performers struggle to stay upright on a suspended stage that spins and tilts wildly in this technically impressive mime performanceIn 2011, the Barbican hosted Mathurin …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:26AM[SHARE]

Why the NT's 'new work department' is of national importance for theatre by Lyn Gardner

The National Theatre's literary department and Studio were recently combined to create an engine house for shows to suit stages of all sizes " and some of them are far from the South BankOne…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:15AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Rufus Norris's National Theatre ushers in new generation of writers by Lyn Gardner

The artistic director's second NT season welcomes devised pieces, experimentation and co-productions, and includes new shows by Bryony Kimmings and Lucy Kirkwood " plus a transfer of the acc…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:10AM[SHARE]

The Best Thing review " wordless drama speaks volumes about forced adoption by Lyn Gardner

Jacksons Lane, LondonThis touching piece by mask theatre company Vamos takes the long view in its investigation of the unhappy plight of unmarried teenage mothers in the1960sAmanda Whittingt…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:10AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 2, 2016

A Raisin in the Sun review " family drama still sings out loud, angry and true by Lyn Gardner

Sheffield Crucible StudioDawn Walton's touring revival matches the loving detail of Lorraine Hansberry's depiction of black family life in 1950s Chicago Almost 60 years since its original st…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:39AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 1, 2016

Kite review " a girl, her gran and a miraculous grief-cure by Lyn Gardner

Soho theatre, LondonThis wordless show about bereavement has a debt to The Snowman and flips from sorrow to elation without taking us on a real emotional journeyIn Mary Poppins, Mr Banks rec…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:51AM[SHARE]

Minotaur review " monstrous myth with meaty themes by Lyn Gardner

Unicorn, LondonCan a hero take the bull by the horns? What does it mean to be a good child? This production has no fear of meaty issuesHands shoot up when King Minos of Crete, played by Rupe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:51AM[SHARE]

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

James Graham considers Screaming Lord Sutch in Plymouth, police activity is scrutinised in Nottingham, and Shakespeare's daughter goes to court in NorthamptonLuca Rutherford asks how hard it…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:21AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 31, 2016

Iphigenia in Splott review " brawling call for revolution by Lyn Gardner

NT Temporary Space, LondonEffie, our Greek heroine via south Cardiff, finds a voice by raging against the sacrificial UK government in this blistering, big-hearted performance"I can't speak.…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:16AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 29, 2016

Artists can't survive on thin air by Lyn Gardner

Last night, Greg Sinclair and others were awarded £10,000 prizes at the Arts Foundation awards. That's brilliant, but what we need is a funding system that puts bread on the table and sup…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:14AM[SHARE]

Clickbait review " sex crusader falls foul of trolls in a misfiring drama by Lyn Gardner

Theatre 503, LondonThis play about a woman who starts an online porn channel raises key feminist issues but suffers from improbable scenarios and thinly drawn charactersNicola (Georgia Groom…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:56AM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 28, 2016

Circa: The Return five-star review " 'I've seldom seen such grief on stage' by Lyn Gardner

Barbican, LondonThere is poignancy, darkness and powerful humanity in Circa's extraordinary physical depiction of the struggles endured by displaced persons in search of safety When the alli…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:55PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Jeepers Creepers review " who was the real Marty Feldman? You'll be none the wiser by Lyn Gardner

Leicester Square theatre, LondonMonty Python's Terry Jones fails to get under the skin of the British comic known for his Round the Horne scriptsEven labours of love can be misguided, and it…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:19PM[SHARE]

The Amazing Vancetti Sisters " review by Lyn Gardner

Tristan Bates, LondonWhen Elisa and Jane were children, they were always on tour with their dad and his magic act. Big sister Elisa wanted to be the one to disappear, but it was Jane, his di…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:58AM[SHARE]

Look before you leap into theatre's mainstream by Lyn Gardner

The extra funding and opportunities it offers are enticing, but the mainstream isn't the place for everyone. Entering it often means diluting what made you radical or interesting in the firs…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:58AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Contained review " defiantly trashing the myths of disability by Lyn Gardner

Gulbenkian theatre, CanterburyMind the Gap theatre group joyously celebrate the triumphs of people who have rejected the stereotype of disabled livingEveryone has a story to tell, about a mo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:16AM[SHARE]
Monday, January 25, 2016

Nightwatchers review " secrets and shadows at the Tower of London by Lyn Gardner

Tower of LondonA solo headphones show draws subtle parallels between the dirty tricks of the Elizabethan secret service and our own paranoid surveillance stateIf you've ever wanted to get in…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:25AM[SHARE]

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

Ralph Fiennes arrives at the Old Vic, Bristol sees A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, new plays will emerge from Waterloo's Vaults, and Manipulate festival brings physical theatre to AberdeenRal…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:40AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 24, 2016

Five Finger Exercise review " family feud can't summon the savagery of Albee by Lyn Gardner

Print Room, LondonPeter Shaffer's shouty drama about a family on the edge has a terrific performance by Jason Merrells, but this production can't hide the flaws of the work itselfWritten two…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:15AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 22, 2016

The Train review " a high-speed journey through a traumatised mind by Lyn Gardner

Lancaster ArtsVia video, sound design and a carriage that actually moves, Imitating the Dog's latest production is alluring but doesn't quite convinceChildren carry our hopes into the future…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM[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