All stories by Not Exactly Billington on BroadwayStars

Friday, August 9, 2019

‘A community production that balances balanced whimsy & grit’: BOLLYWOOD JANE – Leicester by Not Exactly Billington

Making use of the intimate studio space, director Siobhán Cannon-Brownlie recreates the indie movie theatre setting of the play, while a cast of locals dive head-first into the dazzling wor…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Sunday, July 7, 2019

‘Absorbing family comedy’: THE END OF HISTORY – Royal Court Theatre by Not Exactly Billington

What’s so great about Jack Thorne’s play The End of History (as well as his consistently interesting use of stage directions) is that it has made me pause to think but is all wrapped up …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Friday, July 5, 2019

‘Irresistibly moving & thought-provoking’: THE COLOR PURPLE – Leicester by Not Exactly Billington

Celie’s journey from despair to belief, love and hope is, in T’Shan Williams’ hands, a believable and rewarding experience in The Color Purple.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Wednesday, June 5, 2019

‘I never tried to do anything before’: Three works by Kenneth Lonergan by Not Exactly Billington

Kenneth Lonergan’s 2009 play The Starry Messenger has opened at the Wyndham’s starring Matthew Broderick and Elizabeth McGovern. Longergan’s work has enjoyed a series of Tony-nominated…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:00PM
Tuesday, June 4, 2019

#ReadaPlayaWeek: Texts from Tarell Alvin McCraney, Roy Williams, Olwen Wymark, Michaela Coel & Kenneth Lonergan by Not Exactly Billington

Not Exactly Billington has set themselves a challenge to read a new (to them) playtext every week. In May, their #ReadaPlayaWeek titles included Tarell Alvin McCraney’s The Brothers Size, …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Saturday, May 25, 2019

‘This message really packs a punch’: MATTHEW BOURNE’s ROMEO & JULIET – Touring by Not Exactly Billington

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet is a wakeup call to the conscious and unconscious abuse of children and adolescents – psychological, sexual, physical – that plagues our society.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Thursday, May 16, 2019

‘Once more shaking the bones of theatreland’: DEATH OF A SALESMAN – Young Vic by Not Exactly Billington

This production of Death of a Salesman will become the stuff of legend, hopefully setting a precedent for future ‘classic’ revivals.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Thursday, May 2, 2019

#ReadaPlayaWeek: Texts from Valerie Windsor, Rose Leiman Goldemberg, Maureen Duffy & Claire Luckham by Not Exactly Billington

Not Exactly Billington has set themselves a challenge to read a new (to them) playtext every week. In April, the #ReadaPlayaWeek titles included Valerie Windsor’s Effie’s Burning, Rose L…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, April 30, 2019

‘A blistering attack on the politics of the era’: TOP GIRLS – National Theatre by Not Exactly Billington

I’m coming to Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls (1982) afresh. Well, sort of. I read the play a few years ago, but I’ve not seen it and wasn’t born until 10 years after its original produc…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Saturday, April 20, 2019

‘Memorable & playful’: CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN – Touring by Not Exactly Billington

Following Melly Still’s moving and visually stunning production of The Lovely Bones last year, I had high hopes for her latest literary adaptation, Louis de Bernières’ Captain Corelli�…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:00PM
Thursday, April 11, 2019

‘A celebration of friendship, tradition & heritage’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – Touring by Not Exactly Billington

Barber Shop Chronicles is a celebration of friendship, tradition and heritage. Ellams skilfully toes the line between sentiment, gaucheness, sincerity and wit while exploring issues of racia…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Thursday, April 4, 2019

#ReadaPlayaWeek: Texts from Lisa Evans, Marie Laberge, Owen Sheers & Adam Barnard by Not Exactly Billington

Not Exactly Billington have set themselves a challenge to read a new (to them) playtext every week. In March, their #ReadaPlayaWeek titles included Lisa Evans' Stamping, Shouting and Singing…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Thursday, March 28, 2019

‘It’s all first rate stuff’: THE COMEDY ABOUT A BANK ROBBERY – Touring by Not Exactly Billington

And, as with all their previous productions, Mischief Theatre’s The Comedy About A Bank Robbery proves exactly why their triumph is so deserved.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Wednesday, March 27, 2019

‘Light-hearted & giddily enjoyable’: EDMOND DE BERGERAC – Birmingham by Not Exactly Billington

Alexis Michalik’s play (translated by Jeremy Sams) detailing the fictionalised writing process behind Cyrano, impishly titled Edmond de Bergerac, receives its English premiere in Roxana Si…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Thursday, March 21, 2019

‘Pretty perfect family entertainment’: THE WORST WITCH – Touring by Not Exactly Billington

I’m delighted to say that Emma Reeves’ new stage adaptation loses none of The Worst Witch’s gleeful mayhem and enchantment.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, March 19, 2019

‘The joy is in meeting the characters’: JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN – Young Vic Theatre by Not Exactly Billington

The joy of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train is in meeting his characters: watching them perform to each other; hearing their patois and verbal brio; exude a charisma wh…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Wednesday, March 6, 2019

‘A sure-fire hit’: THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN – Touring by Not Exactly Billington

The Girl on the Train is contemporary, both in its subject and staging. There is a strong balance between a suspenseful whodunit that drives the play and a psychological element about memory…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Monday, March 4, 2019

#ReadaPlayaWeek: Laura Wade’s Breathing Corpses, Superhoe by Nicôle Lecky & more by Not Exactly Billington

It’s a #ReadaPlayaWeek: featuring Laura Wade’s Breathing Corpses; Adult Child/Dead Child (1987) by Claire Dowie; Thatcher’s Women by Kay Adshead; and Superhoe by Nicôle Lecky.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:00PM
Saturday, March 2, 2019

‘Only marginally entertaining’: SHIPWRECK – Almeida Theatre by Not Exactly Billington

Anne Washburn’s latest offering, Shipwreck, is a marathon play at the Almeida Theatre that takes direct aim at the Trump Administration.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Friday, March 1, 2019

‘I am utterly beguiled’: AMERICAN IDIOT – Touring by Not Exactly Billington

Having seen the ways that people can come together in a crisis in the uplifting Come From Away last week, this week brought a more anarchic and nihilistic view of post-9/11 America from Amer…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, February 19, 2019

‘Surely this is the epitome of contemporary theatre’: THE UNRETURNING – Touring by Not Exactly Billington

Frantic Assembly’s production of Anna Jordan’s play The Unreturning about three different men returning from (or amidst) war is a startling delve into the pull and promise of home, and t…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Thursday, February 14, 2019

‘Raises important issues about modern attitudes to love, sex & gender’: HOME, I’M DARLING – West End by Not Exactly Billington

How far would you go to achieve domestic perfection? What even is domestic perfection? Is our happiness shaped by or confounded by traditional gender roles? These are the questions Laura Wad…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Wednesday, February 6, 2019

#ReadaPlayaWeek 2019 returns by Not Exactly Billington

For three years, #ReadaPlayaWeek was a, well, weekly feature of our blog. Starting out as a way to familiarise myself more with the canon, long-established and establishment writers were a r…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:00PM
Tuesday, January 22, 2019

‘Extraordinary study of belief’: OUR LADY OF KIBEHO – Northampton by Not Exactly Billington

Katori Hall teams up once again with director James Dacre to present the extraordinary Our Lady of Kibeho, a study on belief that is at once universal and deeply personal, while also scrutin…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Saturday, January 5, 2019

‘Anaïs Mitchell has instigated something special’: HADESTOWN – National Theatre by Not Exactly Billington

Anaïs Mitchell has instigated something special, and I hope, and expect, Hadestown to evolve further throughout the years, as each new version creates its own musical and mythological tradi…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Thursday, December 27, 2018

‘Theatre has been the lodestar’: A Top 10 of Theatre in 2018 by Not Exactly Billington

“The inheritance of wisdom, community and self” – Matthew Lopez. Each year, around March, I think of a brilliant way to start the Best of the Year list. Each year, around December, I f…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:08AM
Thursday, December 20, 2018

‘Playful & engaging’: TREASURE ISLAND – Leicester by Not Exactly Billington

This year, after a reported £3.6 million refurbishment at Leicester’s Haymarket Theatre, it has reopened. Sandi Toksvig’s new version of Treasure Island, directed by Matthew Forbes, is …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Wednesday, December 19, 2018

‘I urge, families, friends & theatre-lovers to go’: THE CAT IN THE HAT – Touring by Not Exactly Billington

From catchy tunes and magical turns to a solid moral lesson for kiddies to learn, Suba Das has created a joyous show in The Cat in the Hat, I urge, families, friends and theatre-lovers to go.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Monday, December 17, 2018

‘A treat for the eyes & ears’: WHITE CHRISTMAS – Leicester by Not Exactly Billington

With White Christmas, Curve has yet again produced a classy production filled with yuletide magic and enough fluffy escapism to warm hearts on these cold winter nights.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Sunday, November 18, 2018

‘A superlative production’: LES MISÉRABLES – Touring by Not Exactly Billington

Now, Laurence Connor and James Powell’s new production of Les Misérables (seen on Broadway a few years ago) gives Les Mis a fresh look which will assure its longevity.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Saturday, November 17, 2018

‘Hall’s text is a creeping force of nature’: THE MOUNTAINTOP – Touring by Not Exactly Billington

The night before Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination on the balcony outside of his Memphis motel room, Katori Hall’s play The Mountaintop takes us inside Room 306 where he was stayi…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM

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