All stories by Mark Fisher on BroadwayStars

Friday, October 7, 2022

Jekyll and Hyde review – #MeToo transformation explores monstrous masculinity by Mark Fisher

Derby theatreNeil Bartlett’s version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic has female leads laying bare the rot at the heart of a beastly boys’ club We all love a chorus line. We love th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM
Thursday, October 6, 2022

Don Quixote: Man of Clackmannanshire review – the knight-errant mounts a mobility scooter by Mark Fisher

Dundee RepThis modern-day take on Cervantes’ classic novel follows the ageing Donald who has had enough of daytime television, tea and biscuits Everyone who cares for Uncle Donald has the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:19AM
Wednesday, October 5, 2022

James IV: Queen of the Fight review – the explosive court of the Scottish king by Mark Fisher

Festival theatre, Edinburgh The circle of the 16th-century monarch is fraught with brittle alliances and racism in Rona Munro’s new history play It’s a cosmopolitan place, the court of J…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM
Sunday, October 2, 2022

Accidental Death of an Anarchist review – a riotous satirical farce brought bang up to date by Mark Fisher

Crucible, SheffieldTom Basden’s new adaptation of the Italian classic brings in dodgy selfies, WhatsApp groups and the lord chief justice in a furious but funny broadside against police ma…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:19AM
Friday, September 30, 2022

A Billion Times I Love You review – ‘The kids get the meat and I get the fat’ by Mark Fisher

Everyman theatre, LiverpoolTheatre meets couples counselling as a night of wine, passion and allegations of infidelity leave two women pulling their relationship apart Jesse is on her guard.…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AM
Wednesday, September 28, 2022

A Midsummer Night’s Dream review – gleefully anarchic opening show by Mark Fisher

Shakespeare North Playhouse, PrescotNew playhouse kicks off with a boisterous, boundary-pushing production that is inventive enough to find fresh laughs in the mechanicals You can see how it…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:37AM
Sunday, September 25, 2022

The Book Thief review – assured and courageous musical adaptation of global bestseller by Mark Fisher

Octagon theatre, BoltonThe paean to the power of the printed word loses none of its earnest intent in a deft and tremendously delivered production adapted by author Jodi Picoult When Liesel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:25AM
Thursday, September 22, 2022

Othello review – Frantic Assembly’s urgent, thrilling tragedy by Mark Fisher

Curve, LeicesterThis physical, modern-day version is immersed in violence, with gang members vying for sex and authority around a pool table There is nothing polite about Frantic Assembly’…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:13AM
Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Shakers: Under New Management review – zero-hours Godber spikes the punch by Mark Fisher

Theatre Royal, WakefieldJane Thornton and John Godber’s knockabout 1985 cocktail bar comedy is updated to the cost of living crisis era, with a downsized cast doing a valiant job of keepin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:55AM
Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Queen of the Fight: the royally revelatory drama about James IV’s court by Mark Fisher

After her gripping trilogy The James Plays, Rona Munro continues her ambitious series on Scottish history with a saga about power and race in the 16th century When an early draft of Rona Mun…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:07AM
Sunday, September 11, 2022

The Maggie Wall review – vivid tale of a woman burned for witchcraft by Mark Fisher

Pitlochry Festival theatreIn a monologue starring the excellent Blythe Jandoo, Martin McCormick finds a fearful, misogynistic, class-ridden society to blame for a girl’s death There is som…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:07PM
Friday, September 9, 2022

The Importance of Being Earnest review – knockabout fun with Wilde’s genteel wit by Mark Fisher

Leeds PlayhouseDenzel Westley-Sanderson’s staging of the high-society comedy adds a welcome dose of playfulness amid the cucumber sandwiches On the way into the theatre there is a pop-up d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AM
Thursday, September 8, 2022

The Glass Menagerie review – astonishing refresh upturns a delicate classic by Mark Fisher

Royal Exchange, ManchesterMaking dynamic use of a sparse stage and a spinning neon sign, Atri Banerjee’s adventurous production gives new shape to Tennessee Williams’ play You mess with …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:19PM
Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Family Album review – Alan Ayckbourn’s playful snapshot of social flux by Mark Fisher

Stephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughSkipping between three generations from the 50s to the present, this occasionally poignant play pulls back from the emotional force of its concept At 83, A…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:55AM
Sunday, August 28, 2022

Sister Radio review – a four-decade silence grows sinister as two Iranian siblings share a flat by Mark Fisher

Pitlochry festival theatreSara Shaarawi’s two-hander captures tenderness and sadness as the sisters negotiate the Islamic revolution, exile and betrayal Fatemeh has just introduced her sis…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54AM

The Comedy of Errors review – fun and funny but a touch too manic by Mark Fisher

Live at No 40, GlasgowDirector Dominic Hill brings exuberance to Shakespeare’s tale of two sets of identical twins unknowingly at large in the same city Ephesus is quite the place. It has …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:37AM
Friday, August 26, 2022

When You Walk Over My Grave review – metatheatrical musings on mortality by Mark Fisher

Church Hill theatre, EdinburghSergio Blanco’s bad-taste drama uses deadpan humour and a tapestry of cultural allusions to probe our fixation with death In Mary Shelley’s novel, Victor Fr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12PM
Thursday, August 25, 2022

Payday Party review – joyful true-life cabaret sassily skewers the cost-of-living crisis by Mark Fisher

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghWhether tap dancing, singing Abba’s Money, Money, Money or lamenting the limitations of bargain-shop ‘pound pants’, the Welsh cast are cheeky and defiant Emili…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Wednesday, August 24, 2022

As British as a Watermelon review – memories of migration are hard to read by Mark Fisher

The Studio, Festival theatre, EdinburghPersonal trauma, the horrors of migration and religious rhetoric feature in an impassioned narrative that ultimately feels more private than shared Man…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:03PM
Monday, August 22, 2022

From junkie poets to jailtime: August Wilson’s How I Learned What I Learned – review by Mark Fisher

Assembly Rooms, EdinburghLester Purry is at home performing the late playwright’s breezy yet purposeful collection of stories from his youth, in its European premiere In the hands of a le…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:25AM

A Little Life review – Hanya Yanagihara drama is not for the faint-hearted by Mark Fisher

Festival theatre, EdinburghIvo van Hove directs a mesmerising four-hour adaptation of a divisive novel that unpicks privilege, abuse and psychological damage When Jude St Francis cuts his wr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:25AM
Friday, August 19, 2022

Muster Station: Leith review – visceral vision of the looming apocalypse by Mark Fisher

Leith Academy, EdinburghThe audience are cast as climate refugees in an immersive show that weaves together issues of class, power and politics Climate campaigners have been sounding the ala…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:37AM
Thursday, August 18, 2022

With the Devil’s Assistance review – shape-shifting woman links past and present by Mark Fisher

Scottish Storytelling Centre, EdinburghShona Cowie combines traditional storytelling with physical theatre in a show about Maggie Osborne that posits her as more entrepreneur than witch As w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12PM

The Not So Ugly Duckling: A Play for Grown-Ups review – learning to fly by Mark Fisher

Scottish Storytelling Centre, EdinburghMaria MacDonell and Jo Clifford consider the classic Hans Christian Andersen story and don’t shy away from nature’s cruelty I’m no fan of seagull…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:42PM

The Bush review – one-woman show about collective green action by Mark Fisher

Summerhall, EdinburghThe true story of a Sydney suburbanite who organised a campaign to save some local bushland and kickstarted a whole environmentalist movement Towards the end of this one…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:07AM
Wednesday, August 17, 2022

This Is Memorial Device review – memories of fictional indie heroes burn brightly by Mark Fisher

Wee Red Bar, EdinburghAn adaptation of David Keenan’s novel about a Scottish band who nearly supported Sonic Youth is lovingly detailed A few years ago, the director Stewart Laing invented…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:03PM

This Is Not a Show About Hong Kong review – startling view of lives under duress by Mark Fisher

Underbelly Cowgate, EdinburghThis four-strong cast imagine what it’s like ‘feeling safe all the time’ in an urgent and impressionistic performance When they ask you not to take photos …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:07AM
Monday, August 15, 2022

The Book of Life review – harmony and hope in a musical Rwandan journey by Mark Fisher

Church Hill theatre, EdinburghUsing letters written by survivors of the 1994 genocide to lost family members, Odile Gakire Katese’s show is a tribute to the power of story Odile Gakire Kat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM

Breathless review – a hoarder of clothes begins dating a minimalist by Mark Fisher

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghLaura Horton’s absorbing and sensitive play explores the impact of a much misunderstood disorder Sophie looks at her clothes and says she sees them as “vers…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Sunday, August 14, 2022

We Were Promised Honey! review – glimpses into uncertain futures by Mark Fisher

Roundabout at Summerhall, Edinburgh Sam Ward takes hints from his audience to imagine how their lives could go from here, in a bittersweet contemplation of fate There is a joke in Waiting fo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03PM

Medea review – Adura Onashile exudes awesome authority in bloody tragedy by Mark Fisher

The Hub, Edinburgh Liz Lochhead’s Scots verse spits wit and venom as male power meets female determination with operatic intensity, in this National Theatre of Scotland staging Everybody i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM

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