All stories by Mark Fisher on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Dancing Shoes review – bedroom boogying bloke frees his feet in fab comedy by Mark Fisher

Òran Mór, GlasgowMasculine pals who shudder at intimacy help grieving addict Donny find viral success and unlikely solace in this brilliant, funny three-hander Your standard group-therapy …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM
Monday, March 24, 2025

From The Simpsons to Werner Herzog: the coolest, craziest, scariest Nessies ever by Mark Fisher

Loch Ness Monster hunters have included the Chuckle Brothers – and even David Lean. As the Scottish icon is honoured in a new stamp and a stirring musical, we separate the classy from the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM
Sunday, March 16, 2025

Wild Rose review – Glasgow meets Nashville in big-hearted country musical by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghAdapted from the film, this vibrant show has plenty of joyful foot-stomping, with a star who gives us the raw fragility behind the fanfare If you can’t be sentimenta…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM
Sunday, March 9, 2025

Death of a Salesman review – Arthur Miller’s timeless tale of a small man crushed by big dreams by Mark Fisher

Pavilion theatre, GlasgowA fine cast capture the emotional damage and inarticulate anger at the lie they have all been sold in this taut no-nonsense production He lies to gain status. His e…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AM
Friday, March 7, 2025

Shirley Valentine review – huge laughs and tender feelings at a Liverpool homecoming by Mark Fisher

Everyman, LiverpoolBack at the theatre where it premiered in 1986, Willy Russell’s play about a midlife voyage of self-discovery retains both its local and universal appeal There is a marv…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM
Thursday, March 6, 2025

Edward II review – Daniel Evans leads a brooding, brutal and brilliant night at the RSC by Mark Fisher

Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonThe new joint boss of the Royal Shakespeare Company makes an impetuous king in Daniel Raggett’s production of Marlowe’s history play The temptation is to…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:32AM
Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Love’s Labour’s Lost (More or Less) review – lads on tour in Ibiza swear off sex by Mark Fisher

Shakespeare North Playhouse, PrescotElizabeth Godber and Nick Lane relocate Shakespeare’s comedy of abstinence to the throbbing heart of 90s hedonism Standards have declined. When Shakespe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM
Monday, March 3, 2025

The Rainbow review – fluid female-centric tale of emancipation across the decades by Mark Fisher

Perth theatre, ScotlandNicola Werenowska’s enterprising adaptation tackles DH Lawrence’s novel back to front Adapting a novel is rarely straightforward and playwright Nicola Werenowska …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:18AM
Saturday, March 1, 2025

‘I said there was no reason to make it a musical!’ Mel Brooks on The Producers’ West End transfer by Mark Fisher

Veteran director, who originally opposed adapting 1967 film for the stage, is ‘very proud’ as Menier Chocolate Factory production will move to London’s Garrick theatre The Menier Choco…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42PM
Wednesday, February 26, 2025

A View from the Bridge review – thrilling update pulls no punches by Mark Fisher

Tron theatre, GlasgowJemima Levick’s superb production sets Arthur Miller’s tale of family, immigration, poverty and passion in the modern-day Brooklyn docks Is it an innocent domestic m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:36AM
Sunday, February 23, 2025

Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey review – gorgeous whimsy from Haruki Murakami by Mark Fisher

Tramway, GlasgowSandy Grierson is astonishing as a talking monkey working in a Japanese bathhouse in this slight but theatrically beguiling slice of magical-realism Mizuki Ando has a distres…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Champion review – Muhammad Ali, the Queen, punk and the National Front make an incendiary mix by Mark Fisher

Live theatre, NewcastleA South Shields family are torn by opposing forces as Ishy Din cleverly taps into the emotive memories of a weekend in the summer of 1977 It is a reasonable question. …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM
Friday, February 14, 2025

Mary and the Hyenas review – patchy ode to Wollstonecraft and women ‘howling at the world’ by Mark Fisher

Hull Truck theatreSnappy movement and a Billy Nomates score can’t make up for the lack of emotional range in this portrait of the 18th-century writer It was quite a life. Having escaped a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54PM
Thursday, February 13, 2025

Escaped Alone and What If If Only review – Caryl Churchill’s double whammy of dazzling dread by Mark Fisher

Royal Exchange theatre, ManchesterHiding behind the fluttering dialogue and domestic chatter lies a dark poetry in a pair of plays that address terrifying futures head on Last month, wildfir…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:36PM
Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Pass the Parcel review – witty reckoning with a mother’s death by Mark Fisher

Royal Court, LiverpoolBubbling with quirky detail, Sarah Whitehead’s full-length debut captures the contradictions of close relationships between sisters without sentimentality The past ha…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06AM
Thursday, January 23, 2025

The Merchant of Venice review – poisonous prejudice erupts with shocking speed in a show with tech-bro touches by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghJohn Douglas Thompson is a commanding Shylock in a vision of an apparently benign city where tolerance buckles all too quickly He likes a bit of a laugh, this Shylock…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:32AM
Tuesday, December 10, 2024

The Borrowers review – Arrietty and co’s awfully wordy adventure by Mark Fisher

The Dukes, LancasterWith a cumbersome script and no sense of danger or atmosphere, this production loses its way If you are in any doubt that this adaptation of the 1952 Mary Norton novel ha…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM
Monday, December 9, 2024

A Christmas Carol review – sparse on sparkles but Dickens’ story remains a beacon by Mark Fisher

Derby theatreAbsorbing adaptation is faithful to the original, with sepia lighting and a whiskery, curmudgeonly Scrooge pinching pennies in hard times Even the proportions of Ebenezer Scroog…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM

Aladdin review – seasonal panto fun, with a good dose of song and storytelling by Mark Fisher

Stephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughThe titular hero’s coming-of-age tale takes advantage of local tourist attractions and a bright hard-working cast in this brisk and cheerful production …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:02AM
Friday, December 6, 2024

The Jungle Book review – swinging version of Kipling’s adventure by Mark Fisher

Octagon, BoltonThis musical adaptation of the classic tale is full of charm and catchy new numbers with a captivating turn by Kiara Nicole Pillai as Mowgli There is a startling piece of tran…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Monday, December 2, 2024

Treasure Island review – with a yo-ho-ho and the spirit of adventure by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghDuncan McLean’s riotous adaptation begins in a care home for retired pirates, from which the resourceful heroes set sail in a washtub buoyed by imagination Who is th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:36AM
Friday, November 29, 2024

Spend Spend Spend review – punchy revival of a rags to riches to rags tale by Mark Fisher

Royal Exchange theatre, ManchesterJustin Greene and the late Steve Brown’s musical about a working-class woman who wins big on the pools and blows the lot is given a moving dream twist As …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AM
Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Peter Panto and the Incredible Stinkerbell review – JM Barrie’s fantasy is joyfully upturned by Mark Fisher

Tron theatre, GlasgowThere are cursory mentions of crocodiles, clocks and boys who never grow up, but Johnny McKnight’s script charts its own course in a hilariously daft production I have…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AM
Thursday, November 21, 2024

The Sound of Music review – charming musical nourishes the soul by Mark Fisher

Pitlochry Festival theatreIn our dark times, the Rodgers and Hammerstein classics offer a sugar-coated disguise for a show with political heft Elizabeth Newman’s six-year tenure as Pitloch…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM
Friday, November 15, 2024

The Scouse Red Riding Hood review – Grandma gets high in raucous adult panto by Mark Fisher

Royal Court, LiverpoolWolf-like property developers are set to evict the grandmother, who is on a night of drug-fuelled abandon, in this enjoyable show This is Liverpool, so the most frighte…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:48PM
Thursday, November 7, 2024

Fixing review – delightful off-road adventure about family mechanics by Mark Fisher

Alphabetti, NewcastleWritten and performed by Matt Miller, this tender solo show weaves in bittersweet childhood memories with car maintenance metaphors We have signed up for a 12-week cours…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM
Friday, November 1, 2024

Kenrex review – Jack Holden is astonishing in a play that grips like a true-crime podcast by Mark Fisher

Playhouse, SheffieldThe actor plays a dozen roles with aplomb in a small-town US tale co-written with Ed Stambollouian What an astonishing performance. In a kind of true-crime version of Und…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:31AM
Thursday, October 31, 2024

Bright Places review – reflective yet raucous play about living with MS by Mark Fisher

Birmingham RepRae Mainwaring’s award-winning drama about a young woman with multiple sclerosis is given a playful production This play’s title refers to the patches of an MRI scan that i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06PM
Wednesday, October 23, 2024

The Whitby Rebels review – true-life tale of madcap mission to the Arctic by Mark Fisher

Stephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughAn unlikely crew, including a vicar and two pensioners, sail a dodgy ship on a voyage to honour an explorer. But the sitcom setup fails to deliver much com…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Tuesday, October 1, 2024

The Lieutenant of Inishmore review – the fur flies as Martin McDonagh’s cat-loving thug returns by Mark Fisher

Everyman, Liverpool Julian Moore-Cooke is terrific as Padraic, avenging his pet, but the mix of humour and gory violence needs fine-tuning in this revival The joke at the heart of Martin McD…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM

Anna/Anastasia review – the seductive delusions of an imaginary duchess by Mark Fisher

Òran Mór, Glasgow A plain-speaking policeman finds himself confronted by one of history’s great impostors in Jonny Donahoe’s entertaining play Anastasia is attempting to look regal in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre