All stories by Shyama Perera on BroadwayStars

Monday, September 27, 2021

‘The stage is full of colour & movement’: THE PLEASURE GARDEN – Above the Stag Theatre by Shyama Perera

The biggest pleasure in Glenn Chandler and Charles Miller’s new musical, inspired by the hedonistic history of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, is the beautiful set and video projections.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Wednesday, September 15, 2021

‘Rosemary Ashe & Richard Gibson lead a joyous cast’: CALL ME MADAM – Upstairs at the Gatehouse ★★★★ by Shyama Perera

Rosemary Ashe's high-energy singing and delivery drive the action in this playful revival of Irving Berlin's 1950 Broadway comedy, directed by Mark Giesser.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:59AM
Friday, September 10, 2021

‘Young love is under the microscope in James Lewis’ knotty two-hander’: LATELY – Lion & Unicorn Theatre by Shyama Perera

Callum and Alison are instantly drawn to each other when they meet at school. Or it could be university. We never know. We’re in Shithole-on-Sea and our sense of place is, fittingly, all a…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 02:14PM
Sunday, August 29, 2021

‘Well-oiled storytelling’: WHEN DARKNESS FALLS – Park Theatre by Shyama Perera

This play won’t give you sleepless nights. It does give you rich historical detail. I imagine anyone who enjoys ghost stories went rushing home to Google Guernsey’s dark history.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:00AM
Sunday, August 22, 2021

‘A tense & funny watch across 100 minutes’: A RAT, A RAT – Golden Goose Theatre ★★★★ by Shyama Perera

Mental illness is no fun. The portents aren’t good in A Rat, A Rat, yet this lively short play by Chloe Yates finds humour and possibility in every exchange.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:36AM
Wednesday, March 11, 2020

‘A masterly exercise in exploring the grey’: DRIP DRIP DRIP – Pleasance Theatre ★★★★★ by Shyama Perera

At a time when headlines reduce the debate around racism to good or bad, black or white, Drip Drip Drip is a masterly exercise in exploring the grey... It's theatre at its best.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:23AM
Monday, March 9, 2020

‘Beth Burrows connects with the audience instantly & pulls them in’ – ONCE UPON A MATTRESS by Shyama Perera

From the wicked Queen who can’t let go of her stupidly innocent son, from the dumbstruck King to the spunky swamp Princess who swims the moat and swashbuckles her way into favour, this is …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Wednesday, March 4, 2020

‘You will leave thoughtful & smiling’: THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP – Soho Theatre ★★★★ by Shyama Perera

It’s amazing how entertaining deportation can be. We laughed our way through the stories of crime and punishment collated in the glorious confection that is Hassan Abdulrazzak’s The Spec…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:12AM
Monday, March 2, 2020

‘Jimmy Porter is the Heathcliff of kitchen sink drama’: LOOK BACK IN ANGER – White Bear Theatre by Shyama Perera

Jimmy Porter is the Heathcliff of kitchen sink drama. Dark, sexy, harsh, demanding, cruel; his vicious turns of phrase delivered in poetic flourishes, excite and repel in equal measure.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:39AM
Thursday, February 20, 2020

‘Bristles with promise from the off’: NETFLIX & CHILL – Drayton Arms Theatre by Shyama Perera

Netflix & Chill bristles with promise from the off. Ben’s a working-class boy who’s been to university and is saving for a masters by working as a chef in the local pub. He’s gentl…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:47AM
Saturday, February 8, 2020

‘Strangely wonderful & wonderfully strange’: PEOPLE SHOW 137 – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★ by Shyama Perera

Strangely wonderful and wonderfully strange. That’s the only way to sum up People Show 137. Basically, two old blokes, aided and abetted by some other old blokes, a chanteuse puppet, and t…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:46AM
Monday, December 16, 2019

‘A charming presentation of a Victorian classic’: A LITTLE PRINCESS – Drayton Arms Theatre by Shyama Perera

Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that the litmus test of a good Christmas show is not whether the grown-ups are enjoying the writing or the acting or the storyline, but how the …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:13AM
Friday, November 8, 2019

‘There are scenes that will remain with you long after the performance is over’: THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS – Cervantes Theatre ★★★★ by Shyama Perera

After a cinematic start with the characters caught in spotlights mid-activity, we tumble into The House of the Spirits with a series of brutal scenes – rape, bullying, exploitation, pain.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:30AM
Wednesday, October 30, 2019

‘Men are men until they err & then it’s the victims who are blamed’: WHEN THE CROWS VISIT – Kiln Theatre by Shyama Perera

Anupama Chandrasekhar’s tense and searching new play When the Crows Visit is a theatrical response to the 2012 Delhi gang rape of a young woman on a bus. These men walk among us, protected…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:45AM
Wednesday, October 23, 2019

‘Looks at the big picture through the small detail’: THE GIRL WHO FELL – Trafalgar Studios ★★★★ by Shyama Perera

Trafalgar Studios, London – until 23 November 2019 We can only judge the dead through the narratives of others. When those narratives contain a level of both culpability and finger-pointin…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:55AM
Thursday, October 17, 2019

‘Exploring the dark corners where memory hides’: DISSOCIATED – Etcetera Theatre by Shyama Perera

There are some really interesting ideas in Dissociated, from the exploration of a woman’s psyche during continuous nights of conscious sleep to the fact that the traumas she unearths are p…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:28AM
Friday, September 13, 2019

‘Had me pinned to my seat with anxiety’: AT LAST – Lion & Unicorn Theatre ★★★★ by Shyama Perera

How deep are the internal divisions in British society post-Brexit, and is it possible that the anger erupting on the streets around Westminster every day could escalate to the point of civi…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:04AM
Friday, August 23, 2019

‘Two short plays exploring issues around women & the grief many experience when love goes wrong’: Ophelia Rewound & Muse – Camden People by Shyama Perera

It is interesting that Camden People’s Theatre is running two, unconnected, shorts each evening, both exploring issues around women and the grief many experience when love goes wrong.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:04PM
Friday, August 16, 2019

‘Well-crafted & executed storytelling’: THE MOZART QUESTION – Upstairs at the Gatehouse ★★★★ by Shyama Perera

Michael Morpurgo’s story, The Mozart Question, is essentially about the solace and joy great music gifts us. For Paola’s parents, however, beautiful music presages pain and shame and gui…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:29AM

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