All stories by Media Correspondent on BroadwayStars

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Shirley Porter’s London housing scandal to be relived on stage near Grenfell Tower by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Director of theatre near fire that killed 71 people picks play about gerrymandering in 1980s as debut productionA play about a notorious social housing scandal is to be staged in a new theat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48PM
Saturday, November 18, 2017

London diners get immersed in the jazz age, Bombay style by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Actors reproduce lost world of ‘Indian noir’ in former art deco department store, which will afterwards become part of the Dishoom restaurant chainAmid clouds of cigarette smoke and the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:04AM
Saturday, November 11, 2017

Theatre to serve Nigel Slater’s Toast with a side order of ham by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

Audience to be given food during stage version of Nigel Slater’s memoirToast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger, the bestselling food memoir by Observer writer Nigel Slater, is to be brought t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48PM
Saturday, August 26, 2017

Edinburgh festival fringe comedy award shared for first time by Vanessa Thorpe Observer Arts and Media Correspondent

Judges could not choose between shows by Hannah Gadsby and John Robins – so have given both the £10,000 first prizeFor the first time in the history of Edinburgh’s festival fringe, the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:04AM
Saturday, August 5, 2017

Edinburgh fringe fights for right to party amid corporate ‘oasis’ of calm by Vanessa Thorpe Observer Arts and Media Correspondent

Spectacular light show in New Town square has shut down smaller events and venues, say criticsIt was meant to celebrate all that the summer festival season has come to mean to Edinburgh and …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24PM
Saturday, July 29, 2017

Globe director Emma Rice embroiled in new funding controversy by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Rival arts organisations cry foul at award of £2m in Arts Council funding to her next theatrical venture, Wise ChildrenThe beleaguered stage director Emma Rice, who is to step down from run…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:04PM
Saturday, July 22, 2017

Stars from comedy’s punk past return to the Edinburgh fringe by Vanessa Thorpe Observer Arts and Media Correspondent

They were at the vanguard of political comedy. Now Alexei Sayle, Craig Ferguson and Sue Perkins are heading back to the festival, as it celebrates its 70th birthdayUnknown talents and studen…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54PM
Saturday, June 24, 2017

Curtain rises on Gielgud's gay scandal by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

Critic's play shows how the famous actor's arrest was part of the 1950s homosexual witch-huntsThe scandal that almost ended the career of Sir John Gielgud is to be brought to the London stag…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24PM
Saturday, June 17, 2017

Theatreland reinvents the musical – with politics, porn and Meat Loaf by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

A singalong show about the collapse of Kids Company may seem unpromising, but productions like it are already proving big hits with audiencesFor many theatregoers a big night out on the town…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PM

Ute Lemper leaves the Weimar’s dark bars to bring positivity to her British audience by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Cabaret star hopes new show based on Paulo Coehlo’s work will inspire UK fansUte Lemper, the queen of dark and subversive cabaret, is known for her interpretation of the bleak songs of Kur…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PM
Saturday, June 10, 2017

Give us a break! Theatre bosses dismiss calls to ditch intervals by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

TV writer Steven Moffat’s demand for fewer intermissions ‘does not make financial sense’Theatre and concert hall managers are mounting a fightback this weekend in defence of an endange…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48PM
Sunday, May 7, 2017

At home in Jerusalem: Micky Lay, the real-life rebel behind the role that wowed Broadway by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

Mark Rylance's star turn as Rooster in Jez Butterworth's play owes much to the time he spent with the hard-drinking Wiltshire wild man who inspired the playwrightWhen Mark Rylance was toast…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:06AM
Saturday, February 4, 2017

Dodie Smith’s classic bohemian romance hopes to capture hearts in musical revival by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Coming-of-age novel I Capture the Castle is adapted for the stageOne of Britain’s most popular romantic novels, Dodie Smith’s coming-of-age classic I Capture the Castle, beloved of write…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18PM
Monday, January 9, 2017

Meet Britain’s new generation of fearless young female playwrights by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Katherine Soper, winner of the Bruntwood prize, is at the head of a promising group bidding to break down barriersFor any British teenage girl hoping to become a playwright, the chances are …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM
Saturday, December 24, 2016

JB Priestley works enjoy remarkable renaissance by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Works of author and playwright once dismissed as voice of bygone era are now being brought to new audiences”Dated” and “unfashionably sedate”: some of the judgments on JB Priestley�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM
Saturday, October 22, 2016

Stage play reveals pressure athletes face to use drugs by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

Competitors and coaches gave writer of Deny, Deny, Deny insights into blurred boundaries around cheating in sportOne of Britain’s leading experts on doping in sport, and an adviser to a ne…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:25PM
Saturday, July 30, 2016

TV dancers alive and high-kicking 40 years later by Vanessa Thorpearts and Media Correspondent

Former primetime TV dance troupe Second Generation reunites to relive their glory daysHigh-kicking dancers in sequinned jumpsuits, often with bowler hats or feather boas, were once a tradema…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32PM
Thursday, July 21, 2016

Mr Angry of TV comedy severs links with Putin network on way to Edinburgh fringe by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

Tom Walker, creator of Jonathan Pie, says it’s now time to move on from the channel that made his name Jonathan Pie, the fictional television reporter who is regularly pushed to the edge o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:01PM
Thursday, June 23, 2016

West Side story composer almost gave up on show, letters reveal by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

Leonard Bernstein's hostility towards writer of musical's book almost halted project, newly released correspondence revealsIt is regularly judged one of the best musicals of all time, yet We…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:32PM
Saturday, June 11, 2016

A summer of doomed romance: how West End fell in love with longing by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

From Tristan and Isolde to Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers are taking to the London stage. What makes the drama of thwarted desire so compelling?Whatever the temperature outside, the W…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:08PM
Saturday, April 9, 2016

Is Denise Gough’s star turn the latest in theatre’s greatest ever performances? by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Her turn in new play Peoples, Places, Things is what the critics call a tour de force: the kind remembered long after the final curtainEvery two or three theatrical seasons a performance com…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:39PM
Saturday, March 19, 2016

Calais refugee camp theatre stages a double encore by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

The makeshift stage on which A-list stars entertained migrants in Calais is now to be rebuilt in two locations, vow the two young British playwrights behind the schemeThe refugee theatre in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:26PM
Saturday, February 27, 2016

New study exposes ‘class ceiling’ that deters less privileged actors by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Research reveals 73% of performers in British theatre and film are from middle-classA major academic study released to the Observer this weekend reveals the extent to which actors from relat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:44PM
Monday, January 11, 2016

Musical puts spotlight on forgotten star Anthony Newley by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

London show aims to revive the faded reputation of the versatile Cockney performer Anthony NewleyA musical about the life of singer Anthony Newley is to be made in an attempt to revive his r…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PM
Saturday, November 28, 2015

Theatre director’s magic wand turns Sleeping Beauty into a prince by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Bristol Old Vic show is latest theatrical production to use a gender swap to tackle stereotypesIt is the classic fairytale that has fired the imaginations of generations of young girls. But …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:01AM
Saturday, November 21, 2015

Meet Britain’s new generation of fearless young female playwrights by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Katherine Soper, winner of the Bruntwood prize, is at the head of a promising group bidding to break down barriersFor any British teenage girl hoping to become a playwright, the chances are …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:02PM
Sunday, November 8, 2015

Standup Michael McIntyre says rivals' nastiness spoiled his big night by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

Stadium-filling comedian Michael McIntyre tells Desert Island Discs of 'amazing hostility' from other comicsThe comedian Michael McIntyre has admitted to being shocked by the "hostility…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:40AM
Saturday, October 24, 2015

After a century of black British theatre, actors still struggle to take centre stage by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

As Lenny Henry prepares a major radio series on the history of black drama, we look at the triumphs – and travails – of its starsA tale long overdue, the story of the black actors, direc…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:07PM
Saturday, August 8, 2015

From Hollywood action to a turn on the fringe: John Hannah returns to Scottish stage by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

Star is latest in a line of film actors to be lured by live shows When John Hannah was a young boy in East Kilbride, the son of a toolmaker and a supermarket cleaner, a future as the star of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:52AM
Saturday, August 1, 2015

Edinburgh Fringe offers comics help to cope with stress of performance by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

The Sick of the Fringe initiative highlights the mental health toll of Edinburgh’s endurance testIn Edinburgh from Friday, audiences of festival fringe-goers will sit in the dark in venues…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:28PM
Saturday, June 6, 2015

Ipswich murders film shows how street of terror has regained its pride by Vanessa Thorpe, Arts and Media Correspondent

This week sees the film premiere of London Road, a musical based on one of Britain’s most infamous serial killings. Local people say the area has finally moved on from a tragic timeWhen re…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:08PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards