All stories by Rev Stan on BroadwayStars

Saturday, May 21, 2022

‘It is refreshing to see a play like this’: THE MINISTRY OF LESBIAN AFFAIRS – Soho Theatre ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs at the Soho Theatre is one of those plays that unashamedly bursts off the stage, much like the lesbian choir around which the story revolves.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Monday, May 16, 2022

‘A slow burn’: THE BREACH – Hampstead Theatre ★★★ by Rev Stan

There is a stillness that descends over a theatre audience when they are gripped and fidgeting when they aren’t. In the first half of The Breach at Hampstead Theatre, the audience was fidg…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Wednesday, April 27, 2022

‘Has some interesting things to say about some of life’s struggles in an unfair society’: SAD – Omnibus Theatre ★★★ by Rev Stan

Gloria has taken refuge in her attic, distracting herself from the dark winter months and grief by playing punk and dictating entries for her memoir into her laptop.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Monday, April 18, 2022

‘Modern families, money & the morals of genetics’: THE FEVER SYNDROME – Hampstead Theatre ★★★ by Rev Stan

The family at the centre of the story is that of Richard Myers (Robert Lindsay), an eminent geneticist who now has Parkinson's Disease.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Saturday, March 26, 2022

‘Is it a dark comedy, a thriller or a horror?’: UNDER THE RADAR – Old Red Lion Theatre by Rev Stan

In Jonathan Crewe's play Under the Radar, female journalist Lee Stilling (Eleanor Hill) is profiling male inventor Martin Christensen, who has built his own submarine.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Friday, March 18, 2022

‘I was gripped in the presence of two great artists & gripped by their stories’: THE COLLABORATION – Young Vic Theatre ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

Anthony McCarten's new play The Collaboration at the Young Vic kicks off as you arrive in the auditorium with an 80s DJ set. It's toe-tapping, hip and creates a party, edgy, youthful yet nos…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Thursday, March 3, 2022

‘Kit Harington is nuanced, often quiet & considered’: HENRY V – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

Henry V opens with a burst of energy at a club with a worse for wear party prince. It's lifted from Henry IV part 2 and is an important reminder of Henry V's past and subsequent transformati…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Thursday, February 24, 2022

‘Like looking at broken mirror pieces’: THE FOREST – Hampstead Theatre ★★★★ by Rev Stan

The play follows Pierre, a successful surgeon who's married and the father of a grown-up daughter, as he juggles his professional and family life with having a mistress.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Friday, February 4, 2022

‘Surreal & almost cosmic’: THE GLOW – Royal Court Theatre by Rev Stan

Alistair McDowall's The Glow at the Royal Court is a play I've had to ponder - a lot - and I still don't have any firm conclusions.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Saturday, January 15, 2022

‘Shades of Scandi humour on the slopes’: FORCE MAJEURE – Donmar Warehouse by Rev Stan

The Donmar Warehouse's stage has been converted into a French ski resort for Force Majeure. Force Majeur...

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Friday, January 7, 2022

‘Laugh-out-loud funny & highly entertaining’: PEGGY FOR YOU – Hampstead Theatre ★★★★ by Rev Stan

Peggy Ramsay is a play agent, but she is more famous than the playwrights and the work that she represents.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Monday, January 3, 2022

‘It envelops you into the landscape of serious athletics’: FAIR PLAY – Bush Theatre ★★★★ by Rev Stan

Fair Play is set in the world of female athletics. Ann joins a running club, meets Sophie, and the two bond over their love of running.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Thursday, November 25, 2021

‘One of the stars is for the staircase, which was great’: MANOR – National Theatre ★★ by Rev Stan

As the stage was plunged into darkness at the end of Manor on the National Theatre's Lyttelton stage, I was thinking: What was the point?

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Tuesday, November 23, 2021

‘Arthur Darvill is stand-out as a filthy rich businessman’: RARE EARTH METTLE – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★ by Rev Stan

Al Smith's new play Rare Earth Mettle at the Royal Court is a meaty piece that covers a lot of ground.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Friday, November 5, 2021

‘Emotions are kept dialled to practical’: ‘NIGHT, MOTHER – Hampstead Theatre ★★★ by Rev Stan

The play is set in rural America, where a mother (Stockard Channing) and daughter Jessie (Rebecca Night), who has epilepsy, live together.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Tuesday, October 26, 2021

‘A fun, frothy play in part carried by its status as a West End institution’: THE MOUSETRAP – West End by Rev Stan

Are you allowed to call yourself a theatre fan if you haven't seen The Mousetrap, the West End's longest-running play? Possibly. But I've ticked that box now.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Tuesday, October 5, 2021

‘A gripping and affecting piece’: THE NORMAL HEART — National Theatre ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

The Normal Heart is a play of fights. Set in the early 80s, in New York, gay men are dying, but gay activist Ned Weeks (Ben Daniels) is struggling to get anyone to do anything. Only Dr Emma…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Wednesday, September 22, 2021

‘It carries with it a powerful message’: IS GOD IS – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

Two actors on stage describe their characters as if the direction in the playtext is part of the script. It is the first of many quirks in Aleshea Harris’ dark revenge comedy Is God Is.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, September 14, 2021

‘Digital gives huge opportunities to change the industry in a positive way’: RevStan interviews PR guru Chloe Nelkin on theatre creativity during by Rev Stan

Chloe Nelkin has run theatre, arts and opera PR company, Chloe Nelkin Consulting, for 10 years, and we sat down to talk about how theatres responded during lockdown and what the legacy will …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Monday, September 13, 2021

‘The superb script is compellingly brought to life’: THE MEMORY OF WATER – Hampstead Theatre ★★★★ by Rev Stan

The three sisters in Shelagh Stephenson’s play The Memory of Water – Teresa (Lucy Black), Mary (Laura Rogers) and Catherine (Carolina Main) – have gathered at their mother’s home ahe…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Thursday, July 29, 2021

‘Like watching a cross between Waiting For Godot and Noises Off’: THE TWO CHARACTER PLAY – Hampstead Theatre by Rev Stan

The Two Character Play at London’s Hampstead Theatre was at times interesting and enjoyable and at others frustrating and perplexing.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Monday, July 19, 2021

‘Witty, weighted & lyrical’: LAVA – Bush Theatre ★★★★ by Rev Stan

Last year a critic described a dramatic response to the Black Lives Matter protests, to which Benedict Lombe contributed, as ‘more lecture than theatre’. The quote is projected onto the …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Friday, July 16, 2021

‘It is an intoxicating world’: ANNA X – Harold Pinter Theatre ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

Anna X by Joseph Charlton is a fresh, contemporary play set in New York that explores identity and acceptance in the modern age.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Friday, June 25, 2021

‘Packs a powerful punch’: J’OUVERT – Harold Pinter Theatre by Rev Stan

J’Ouvert bursts onto the stage and it is the theatre experience I've been waiting to get back to. Theatre that can pack a powerful punch and do it while at the same time be entertaining.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Sunday, May 30, 2021

‘The promised tension is never realised’: WALDEN – Harold Pinter Theatre by Rev Stan

I really wanted to like Walden, it was my first trip to the theatre since they were last open in early December, but it just didn’t deliver the promised tension and drama.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Sunday, March 7, 2021

Rev Stan’s Lockdown London walks lead to the Old Red Lion Theatre by Rev Stan

London has an abundance of pub theatres, and the Old Red Lion in Islington is one of my favourites. The space is tiny with pew-like seating on two sides of the tea-tray sized stage.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Friday, January 22, 2021

‘Rich, multi-layered play that is clever in its storytelling’: OVERFLOW – Bush Theatre (Online review) ★★★★ by Rev Stan

Travis Alabanza's play Overflow is set in the toilet of a club from where transgirl Rosie (Reece Lyons) has locked herself in.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Tuesday, October 20, 2020

‘What happens when the camera stops rolling & there is no self-editing?’: ALL BY MYSELF – Part of the Main Theatre Company (Online review) by Rev Stan

All By Myself is a production by Part of the Main theatre company for Applecart Arts and it explores identity during the Covid crisis when your only connection to the outside world is via th…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Sunday, September 13, 2020

Rev Stan marks the Young Vic’s 50th Birthday with a pick of her favourite productions by Rev Stan

The Young Vic is celebrating its 50th birthday and while I've only been visiting since 2007-ish, I’ve seen many fantastic and memorable plays there in that time.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Saturday, September 5, 2020

‘Gives Scott even more scope to sprinkle his performance magic’: THREE KINGS – Old Vic (Online review) ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

Three Kings, beautifully written by Stephen Beresford, gives Andrew Scott even more scope to sprinkle his performance magic. Created especially for the Old Vic’s In Camera season, it is de…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Saturday, August 8, 2020

’An extraordinary piece of storytelling’: BLINDNESS – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

Blindness is adapted by Simon Stephens from a novel by José Saramago and tells the story of an epidemic in which people suddenly go blind.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM

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