All stories by Mark Lawson on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Dear England review – footballing reboot adds extra time for Gareth Southgate’s exit by Mark Lawson

Olivier theatre, LondonJames Graham has rewritten parts of his hit play to reflect the 2024 Euros, and the gaffer emerges as a progressive, gentle, alternative national leader It’s unusual…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24PM
Sunday, March 16, 2025

The Mosinee Project review – cold war hoax drama has fun with communist cosplay by Mark Lawson

New Diorama theatre, LondonWisconsin’s ‘red scare’ of 1950 was a deliberate fake – but this entertaining show by Counterfactual speculates about possible truths behind the pretence …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:18PM
Sunday, March 9, 2025

Athol Fugard, South African political dissident playwright, dies aged 92 by Mark Lawson

A giant of political drama, Fugard captured the injustices of apartheid in works such as Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island The South African playwright and director Athol Fugard, whose work…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:36PM
Monday, February 24, 2025

‘They now put trigger warnings on Hi-de-Hi!’ Jeffrey Holland on starring in British comedy classics by Mark Lawson

He was Spike the gormless comic in the holiday camp hit and also bagged roles in You Rang M’Lord? and Dad’s Army. As he publishes a memoir, Holland talks about frisky stallions, today’…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:32PM
Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Hamlet review – RSC’s bold seaborne concept really pushes the boat out by Mark Lawson

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonThe court of Elsinore becomes a ship of state – or a ship of fools – in Rupert Goold’s production Thematic merchandise is common at Shakes…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM
Thursday, February 13, 2025

The Autobiography of a Cad review – Ian Hislop and Nick Newman retell a rotter’s political progress by Mark Lawson

Watermill theatre, NewburyThe Private Eye duo adapt AG Macdonell’s satire showing how a privileged chancer in English public life gets away with it It’s a bad week of theatre for Boris J…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12PM
Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Churchill in Moscow review – the British bulldog’s gripping meeting with Stalin by Mark Lawson

Orange Tree theatre, LondonThere are laugh-aloud gags and spiky dialogue as Roger Allam and Peter Forbes star in Howard Brenton’s play about the 1942 encounter In the 1970s, Howard Brenton…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:32AM
Thursday, February 6, 2025

Vanya Is Alive review – dark Russian satire turns language upside down by Mark Lawson

Omnibus theatre, London Natalia Lizorkina’s play traces a mother’s anguish when she is told her son ‘has not been captured’ in a dystopia where words mean their opposite Alya, a Russ…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM
Friday, January 31, 2025

As Long As We Are Breathing review – unblocking the horrors of the Holocaust by Mark Lawson

Arcola theatre, LondonThis innovative and timely play uses yoga, meditation and mindfulness to explore the experiences of Holocaust survivor Miriam Freedman The term “multimedia” often m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06AM
Monday, December 16, 2024

Twelfth Night review – Samuel West achieves greatness as Malvolio by Mark Lawson

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon As the petty tyrant cruelly duped by his household West leads a superb, tinsel-inflected take on Shakespeare’s melancholy comedy The title Tw…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:32AM
Wednesday, December 11, 2024

The Housetrap review – Agatha Christie meets Lady Fanny Button in immersive mystery by Mark Lawson

West Horsley Place, SurreyStaged in Ghosts’ Button House, this interactive whodunnit has a lot of fun with detective-story tropes, quick-change characters and a clever solution The writer …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM
Friday, December 6, 2024

The Last Days of Liz Truss? review – endgame at No 10 is tip of the iceberg by Mark Lawson

White Bear theatre, LondonThe former PM’s brief tenure is raked over to seriocomic effect in Greg Wilkinson’s play, which raises major political questions A running length of 100 minutes…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42PM
Sunday, December 1, 2024

Twelfth Night review – a classy, musical and seasonal feast. Play on by Mark Lawson

Orange Tree theatre, LondonWith its philosopher-fool character seated at a piano and central to the action, this sympathetically staged 1940s-set production is something of a revelation Wint…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54PM
Sunday, November 10, 2024

Make Good: The Post Office Scandal review – a musical miscarriage of justice by Mark Lawson

Omnibus theatre, LondonThe installation of the Horizon digital till resembles the villain’s entrance in a pantomime The false prosecutions and persecutions of 900 subpostmasters by the Pos…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Saturday, November 2, 2024

Alan Bennett at 90: ‘What will people think? I don’t care any more’ by Mark Lawson

In his 10th decade, the writer is as prolific as ever with a war film in the works and a new sex-fuelled novella set in a home for the elderly. He talks about mourning Maggie Smith, turning …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM
Friday, September 27, 2024

Never Let Me Go review – fresh life found in Kazuo Ishiguro’s school dystopia by Mark Lawson

Rose theatre, Kingston Nell Barlow is heartbreaking as the doomed heroine of the alt-reality boarding-school tale, expertly adapted by Suzanne Heathcote Any dramatic adaptation of a well-kno…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32PM
Sunday, September 22, 2024

From Mick Jagger to Crossroads: the pioneering career of Cleo Sylvestre by Mark Lawson

The black British performer started out recording with the Rolling Stones, was on the West End stage by 19 and made breakthroughs in TV and theatre ‘Trailblazing’ TV, film and stage acto…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:32AM
Thursday, September 19, 2024

David Edgar: ‘If you can only think yourself into the shoes you’re wearing it makes creating fiction impossible’ by Mark Lawson

With two new plays opening this autumn, the veteran playwright talks about the risks of writing about real events and the threats to leftwing drama and politics With the world premiere of Th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Rebus: A Game Called Malice review – Rankin’s fine-dining detective faces corpses between courses by Mark Lawson

Cambridge Arts, then touringRebus fans will relish Ian Rankin and Simon Reade’s play in which the spiky Scottish cop must solve a crime at a posh dinner party Ian Rankin gave his spiky but…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:02PM
Friday, August 30, 2024

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold review – first staging of le Carré classic is a hot ticket by Mark Lawson

Minerva theatre, ChichesterThis adaptation of the cold war spy thriller elegantly compresses the narrative and boasts star-making performances In John le Carré’s 1963 name-making novel Th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:32PM
Friday, August 9, 2024

The Birthday Party review – Jane Horrocks hosts in a house of horrors by Mark Lawson

Ustinov Studio, BathInviting macabre surrealism and terror by torchlight on to a brown 1950s set, Richard Jones leaves room for interpretation in Pinter’s early play Harold Pinter’s firs…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Thursday, August 8, 2024

Pericles review – Alfred Enoch rules the stage in a neglected Shakespeare by Mark Lawson

Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonTamara Harvey’s first production as the Royal Shakespeare Company’s co-artistic director highlights the play’s sharp political intelligence For reasons…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:35AM

Fiddler on the Roof review – shtetl showstoppers speak to the present by Mark Lawson

Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, London Jordan Fein’s revival, using its outdoor setting to sublime effect, stresses the musical’s comedy while resonating with the current plight of ref…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00AM
Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Glitch review – dynamically delivered drama about the Post Office scandal by Mark Lawson

Minghella theatre, ReadingViewers may be well versed on the Horizon debacle, but this play offers a fresh perspective by focusing on one victim’s story A stage set of a small Post Office b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:02AM
Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Kyoto review – 1997 protocol on climate crisis fuels gripping theatre at the RSC by Mark Lawson

Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonStephen Kunken’s Republican ringmaster narrates this account of the negotiation of the first international treaty on tackling climate change Key sections o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32PM
Thursday, March 21, 2024

Faith Healer review – Brian Friel’s classic questions everything we believe by Mark Lawson

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonRachel O’Riordan’s powerful production explores political, medical and religious faith with a wholly convincing cast When Brian Friel’s Faith Healer opened on …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:42PM
Friday, March 8, 2024

Uncle Vanya review – Trevor Nunn triumphs with Chekhov’s tragicomedy by Mark Lawson

Orange Tree theatre, LondonThis chamber staging, movingly played by an immaculate ensemble, fits perfectly with the drama’s hothouse of disappointment At 84, Sir Trevor Nunn is making his …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:02PM
Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Cable Street review – dazzling musical portrait of a community against fascism by Mark Lawson

Southwark Playhouse, LondonFraming the battle within a 1930s romance and a 2024 walking tour, Adam Lenson’s production has big ballads, hip-hop-ish commentary and high camp Headline politi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AM
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

A Midsummer Night’s Dream review – characters mash, worlds invert and flames burst from fingers by Mark Lawson

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonEleanor Rhode’s ravishing fusion of flamboyancy, surrealism and raucous fun rouses audiences in a youthful, energetic riot Directors of Shakes…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM
Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Sound and fury, signifying something: what made Macbeth so popular in 2023? by Mark Lawson

Ralph Fiennes and David Tennant are among the stars playing Shakespeare’s Thane this year. Might the tragedy’s current popularity have something to do with the Tory government? After kil…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Monday, December 4, 2023

Oliver! review – tunes, glorious tunes and a thrillingly vivid production by Mark Lawson

Leeds PlayhouseJames Brining’s exemplary staging solves every problem – the antisemitism, the coercive romance – that Oliver Bart’s joyous, beloved but difficult musical presents Wit…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:36AM

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