All stories by Mark Fisher on BroadwayStars

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Village Idiot review – big bawdy comedy wears its intelligence lightly by Mark Fisher

Nottingham PlayhouseSamson Hawkins’s debut is part Jerusalem part This Country, bringing big laughs while asking serious questions about identity nostalgia and modernity Is it too soon to …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:08AM
Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Family Tree review – study of the mother of modern medicine falls between poetry and play by Mark Fisher

Belgrade theatre, CoventryMojisola Adebayo’s play connects Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were used in decades of vital scientific research, with the Black Lives Matter movement ‘I am a fa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:56PM
Monday, March 13, 2023

You Bury Me review – teen rage and romance in the age of intolerance by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghKatie Posner directs a high-voltage cast in playwright Ahlam’s politically charged portrayal of a group of teens coming of age in post-Arab spring Cairo We view mome…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:00AM
Thursday, March 9, 2023

Top Girls review – Caryl Churchill’s classic gets a Toxteth twist by Mark Fisher

Everyman theatre, LiverpoolThe drama of women trying to get ahead in Thatcher’s Britain is played with kitsch period detail that can distract from its still-relevant story Some plays go th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:51AM

The Comedy of Errors (More or Less) review – identical twins get a larky makeover by Mark Fisher

Shakespeare North Playhouse, PrescotThis cartoonish update of Shakespeare’s reunion tale, gleefully mixing in Madonna and modern language, has a great sense of fun The Wars of the Roses ar…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03AM
Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Love It If We Beat Them review – New Labour’s first season kicks off by Mark Fisher

Live theatre, NewcastleIn 1996, campaigners in the north-east are watching their values being written out of Labour politics. But at least Kevin Keegan seems to be winning Tony Blair is on t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:00AM
Thursday, March 2, 2023

Person Spec review – disturbing show puts audience on an interview panel by Mark Fisher

Alphabetti theatre, NewcastleIn Alfie Heffer’s frightening play, theatregoers become recruitment reps as a candidate is put through her paces In the late 1800s, Frederick Winslow Taylor se…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00PM
Sunday, February 26, 2023

Song from Far Away review – Will Young acts with melodic grace in poignant monologue by Mark Fisher

Home, ManchesterThe star performs with a musician’s sense of rhythm in this alternately arch and elegiac piece by Simon Stephens and Mark Eitzel about a bereaved brother attempting to reco…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:16AM
Sunday, February 19, 2023

The City and the Town review – two brothers clash over the state of the nation by Mark Fisher

Northern Stage, NewcastleThe family front room becomes a battleground in Anders Lustgarten’s play of ideas about class, politics and compassion At some point between the decline of British…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:32AM
Thursday, February 9, 2023

Macbeth (An Undoing) review – Lady M does what Shakespeare didn’t dare by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghZinnie Harris’s reworking has Macbeth’s wife driving the plot, rationalising a grisly campaign, while he becomes unbalanced by their murderous path To summon up w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00PM
Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Moonset review – witchy magic swirls around a sensitive study of teen anxiety by Mark Fisher

Tron theatre, GlasgowFour girls gather around a pentangle in Maryam Hamidi’s punchy and poetic new play, which captures the vulnerability of adolescence When you see the gang of teenagers …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:03AM
Thursday, December 8, 2022

Cinderella review – a heroine with some real welly by Mark Fisher

Dundee RepCinders is a hard-working and independent-minded farmer while her prince is an environmental engineering student in Lynda Radley’s cheerful reworking You can see why Lynda Radley…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:48PM
Monday, December 5, 2022

Beauty and the Beast review – precision engineered panto by Mark Fisher

King’s theatre, GlasgowKathryn Rooney’s slick production has flawless comic banter and lavish dance routines, providing impressive festive entertainment It is tempting to grumble about t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03PM

A Christmas Carol review – festive classic gets a British Sign Language update by Mark Fisher

Hull Truck theatre, HullScrooge not only exploits Bob Cratchit but cruelly cuts him out of the conversation in this innovative, satisfying production Jack Lord is the meanest of Scrooges. To…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24AM
Sunday, December 4, 2022

The Wind in the Willows review – furry friendships triumph in a naturalistic show by Mark Fisher

Derby theatreRatty, Mole and the rest are subtly portrayed in this tuneful production of Kenneth Grahame’s classic They are a timid lot, the creatures in Trina Haldar’s staging of The Wi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:48PM
Friday, December 2, 2022

Alice in Wonderland review – dive down a sublime theatrical rabbit hole by Mark Fisher

New Vic theatre, Newcastle-under-LymeLewis Carroll’s fantastical classic is transposed into the world of stage magic in this gloriously hallucinatory show Forget about rabbit holes and mir…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42AM
Thursday, December 1, 2022

The Rock’n’Roll Panto Red Riding Hood review – music is the star in an Everyman institution by Mark Fisher

Everyman theatre, LiverpoolThe eponymous fairytale does not lend itself easily to panto – requiring some princely interference – but the cast is exuberant We are deep into act two when w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM
Wednesday, November 30, 2022

The Borrowers review – less a wild adventure more an escape from trauma by Mark Fisher

Theatre by the Lake, KeswickMary Norton’s 1952 novel about tiny pillagers gets a sober stage remake that blends minor-key music with contemporary fears When Suella Braverman talked about a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:32PM
Sunday, November 27, 2022

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz review – a joyful bad-taste romp by Mark Fisher

Tron theatre, GlasgowJohnny McKnight’s irreverent and very funny panto is full of local colour and packed with put-downs – though never at the expense of the original film Hollywood re…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:24PM

Jack and the Beanstalk – the climate crisis reaches panto season by Mark Fisher

Perth theatreThe beanstalk in Barrie Hunter’s jolly, tightly choreographed and on-message show is actually a fossil fuel mountain, and the giant is a massive polluter The temperature is ri…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AM
Friday, November 25, 2022

Peter Pan and Wendy review – modern-day myth goes light on existential dread by Mark Fisher

Pitlochry Festival theatreThis wholesome adaptation, featuring a preening Captain Hook, focuses on playroom fun in a beautifully designed production Captain Hook looks as if he has stepped o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:32PM
Sunday, November 20, 2022

Robin Hood and The Babes in The Wood review – familiar folk hero robbed of outlaw action by Mark Fisher

Coliseum, OldhamWhile younger audience members will find plenty to shout about, the classic story struggles to take shape as a panto We could certainly do with a bit of stealing from the ric…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM
Friday, November 18, 2022

One Off review – former inmate crafts a harrowingly authentic prison drama by Mark Fisher

Live theatre, NewcastleRic Renton’s raw four-hander is an enthralling study of male vulnerability with a deeply felt message for the justice system That Ric Renton’s gripping new play ha…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM
Thursday, November 17, 2022

The Scouse Jack and the Beanstalk review – perfect panto for tough times by Mark Fisher

Royal Court, LiverpoolCow jokes are heavily milked in this family-friendly show, alongside nods to the city’s star turn as next year’s Eurovision host Within weeks of the news that Liver…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24AM
Wednesday, October 26, 2022

The Beauty Queen of Leenane review – wrangling mother and daughter in dark comedy thriller by Mark Fisher

Theatre by the Lake, KeswickWith an excruciating clash of characters locked in a plot that is equal parts funny, sad and violent, this timeless production is as familiar as it is unsettling …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:19AM
Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Enough of Him review – master and slave square off as Scotland abolishes bondage by Mark Fisher

Pitlochry festival theatreMay Sumbwanyambe’s drama tells the story of the man who established that slavery was forbidden by Scots law – but this is no easy celebration It is the start of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:07AM
Monday, October 24, 2022

Shirley Valentine review – hilarious and heartrending revival of a romantic classic by Mark Fisher

Pitlochry festival theatreSally Reid is superbly deadpan in this devastating production of Willy Russell’s play about a woman who catches a glimpse of the life she could be living Willy Ru…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:07AM
Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Forgotten Voices review – steely defiance in apartheid-era South Africa by Mark Fisher

Shakespeare North Playhouse, PrescotA crisp production tells the extraordinary real-life story of Eva Moorhead who laid the groundwork for the ANC In December 1919, dock workers in Cape Town…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:13AM
Monday, October 17, 2022

The Time Machine review – radical feminist retelling of the HG Wells classic looks to the future by Mark Fisher

Cumbernauld theatre at LanternhouseThe four actors are less interested in Wells’s sci-fi fantasy than in the divisions of today as they stock up for the coming apocalypse with onions, tamp…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:43AM
Friday, October 14, 2022

La Performance review – bittersweet homage to Les Enfants du Paradis by Mark Fisher

Tron theatre, GlasgowA hazily defined relationship makes it hard to fathom the squabbles and romance in this wordless show inspired by 1940s French cinema What’s not to like? You’ve got …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:25AM
Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Trainspotting Live review – ferocious drama plunges you into world of Irvine Welsh by Mark Fisher

Platform, GlasgowAn exhilarating show shifts Renton, Sick Boy and pals into the acid house era – and is even more visceral than the book Perhaps you thought Trainspotting was too coy. Mayb…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:07AM

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
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic