All stories by Susannah Clapp on BroadwayStars

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom review – a terrific August Wilson revival by Susannah Clapp

Lyttelton, LondonSharon D Clarke as the ‘mother of the blues’ leads a superb cast in Dominic Cooke’s knockout productionWhat are the great American plays of the late 20th and early 21s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:19AM
Sunday, January 31, 2016

Herons review – a feral smash and grab by Susannah Clapp

Lyric Hammersmith, London Young Max Gill is terrific in a new production of Simon Stephens’s meditation on bullyingSean Holmes has pulled off a terrific smash and grab on Herons. His produ…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:39AM

Yen review – zinging dialogue, unforgettable staging by Susannah Clapp

Royal Court, LondonThe hit team behind Pomona turn Anna Jordan’s gritty play into something specialTwo years ago Ned Bennett (director), Georgia Lowe (designer) and Polly Bennett (movement…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:39AM

Escaped Alone review – small talk and everyday terror from Caryl Churchill by Susannah Clapp

Royal Court, LondonChurchill’s magnificent new play unleashes an intricate, elliptical, acutely female view of the apocalypseSo which is the best moment in Caryl Churchill’s sizzling new…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:39AM
Sunday, January 24, 2016

The week in theatre: Susannah Clapp reviews new work by the makers of the Sultan's Elephant by Susannah Clapp

The company whose huge mechanical elephant triumphed last year is using puppets in the shopfronts of Nantes to tell more tall talesLa Révolte des Mannequins Shop windows, Nantes, Fran…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:43AM

Ellen Terry With Eileen Atkins review – bewitching, nonstop Shakespeare by Susannah Clapp

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonThe border between Ellen and Eileen is permeable in Atkins’s extraordinary one-woman show“Sixty-three and on one-night stands.” Ellen Terry, the loved Vi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:33AM
Sunday, January 17, 2016

Give Me Your Love review – the ecstasy and agony by Susannah Clapp

Battersea Arts Centre, LondonA traumatised war veteran gets out of his box – and into it – in a vivid new play by two-man company RidiculusmusIt is one of the best of phoenix stories. La…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:39AM

The Brain Show review – tartan trousers, agile wit by Susannah Clapp

Soho theatre, LondonA genial Rob Newman rubbishes theories about the brain in his mindful new showSometimes I wish the word “comedy” were abolished. I can’t be the only person who tens…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:39AM
Sunday, January 10, 2016

Grey Gardens review – splendidly odd couple of the Kennedy circle by Susannah Clapp

Southwark Playhouse, LondonJackie K’s aunt and cousin are joyfully on song in a tale of Long Island squalor and co-dependency, while a fine new Pericles rules the wavesIt is the theatrical…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:34AM

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me review – low-tech and enticing by Susannah Clapp

Little Angel, LondonThree puppet animals excel as window cleaners in this visually ingenious production of Roald Dahl’s paean to sweetsSurely the obesity police will soon be summoned to th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:34AM

Pericles review – moments of intense psychological insight by Susannah Clapp

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonShakespeare’s tale of incest and hazardous sea crossings resonates powerfully in Dominic Dromgoole’s intimate stagingIt is unnerving to see Pericles these …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:34AM
Sunday, December 27, 2015

wonder.land review – less of a show than a project by Susannah Clapp

Olivier, LondonDamon Albarn’s didactic musical has an interesting premise but fails to translate online curiosities into stage magicHard to believe but true. The most surprising moment in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:49AM

The Dazzle review – some of the best acting in London by Susannah Clapp

Found111, LondonAndrew Scott, Joanna Vanderham and David Dawson excel in a riveting true-life play about obsessive sibling hoardersFound111 is proving to be an inspiring dramatic place. Firs…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:49AM

Cinderella review – saucy and sweet by Susannah Clapp

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonA tight script, beguiling design and Converse trainers instead of glass slippers make this Cinders a winnerThe Lyric’s Cinderella is its own mixture of saucy and s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:49AM
Sunday, December 20, 2015

The Haunting of Hill House review – a spectre in search of a feast by Susannah Clapp

Liverpool PlayhouseAnthony Neilson’s enjoyable production doesn’t fully translate Shirley Jackson’s astonishing prose into stage actionThe Haunting of Hill House is a play spooked by a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:02AM

Dr Seuss’s The Lorax review – a joyful mix of flesh and fabric by Susannah Clapp

Old Vic, LondonYou’ll want to save the trees, hug the fish and bellow rude rhymes in this buoyant, fully environmentalist musicalThe timing could not be better. In the week of agreement in…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:02AM

Les Liaisons Dangereuses review – Janet McTeer is a marvel by Susannah Clapp

Donmar Warehouse, LondonMcTeer revels in the role of the cruel Marquise in Josie Rourke’s staging, opposite Dominic West’s curiously languid partner-in-crimeLes Liaisons Dangereuses is o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:02AM
Sunday, December 13, 2015

Susannah Clapp: the best theatre of 2015 by Susannah Clapp

Cheers all round for a resounding chorus of Greek tragedies, marathon performances, the return of Martin McDonagh and show-making female designersObserver critics’ reviews of the year in f…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54AM

Macbeth review – a giddy dance by Susannah Clapp

Young Vic, LondonShakespeare’s most exciting play is hampered by too much visual distractionIn the last three years the Young Vic has become a dramatic nut-cracker. It has continually pris…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:42AM

A Christmas Carol review – a kindly Scrooge? Humbug! by Susannah Clapp

Noël Coward, LondonJim Broadbent can’t help but exude cheer as Dickens’s curmudgeon in a sparkling if shambolic take on the seasonal classicThere is an extraordinary moment towards the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:42AM

Sleeping Beauty review – a fairytale too far by Susannah Clapp

Old Vic, BristolSally Cookson splices the traditional story with a Romany folk tale, reverses the genders, and introduces a flock of sheepThe trouble with the Sleeping Beauty, remarked Angel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:42AM
Sunday, December 6, 2015

Here We Go review – matters of life and death by Susannah Clapp

Lyttelton, LondonCharacters discuss their own demise and flickering moments are captured in this short, idiosyncratic work by Caryl ChurchillNearly 20 years ago, the RSC put on a collection …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:37AM

Funny Girl review – Sheridan Smith makes Streisand’s role her own by Susannah Clapp

Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonSmith redefines ‘funny’ as Broadway pizzazz feels the pinch in the Menier’s fastest-selling show everOh, what a double-take can do. When Sheridan Smith�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:37AM

Linda review – Noma Dumezweni is a knockout by Susannah Clapp

Royal Court, LondonPenelope Skinner’s play about the invisibility of older women is fierce and rousing, and certainly doesn’t suffer from the loss of original lead Kim CattrallIt is not …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:37AM
Sunday, November 29, 2015

The Homecoming review – a great simmerer that keeps coming to the boil by Susannah Clapp

Trafalgar Studios, LondonHarold Pinter’s study of power and sex has lost none of its ferocityFor all the difference in idiom, you can see echoes of Ibsen in the ferocious power-and-sex pla…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:10AM

Little Eyolf review – more clear, bleak Ibsen from Richard Eyre by Susannah Clapp

Almeida, LondonLydia Leonard excels in Ibsen’s masterly study of how unhappiness corrodesHenrik Ibsen is routinely described as the father of realism and the father of modern drama. It is …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:10AM

Ben Hur review – more panto than Pinter by Susannah Clapp

Tricycle, LondonPatrick Barlow follows up his hit adaptation of The 39 Steps with a pocket-sized interpretation of the 50s biblical film epicPatrick Barlow’s adaptation of The 39 Steps, at…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:10AM
Sunday, November 22, 2015

The Illusionists review – be very amazed by Susannah Clapp

Shaftesbury, London This garish sleight-of-hand variety show would work better on the tellyOh, the difference there can be between magical and magic. The Illusionists is a sleight-of-hand va…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12AM

I Want My Hat Back review – inspired, homespun magic by Susannah Clapp

Temporary theatre, National Theatre, London Jon Klassen’s children’s story takes to the stage with just a touch of gore and much joyful audience participationI am not sure what my best b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12AM

Henry V review – robust and clear by Susannah Clapp

Barbican, LondonOliver Ford Davies as Chorus outshines Alex Hassell’s restrained Henry in Gregory Doran’s measured productionThere is a kind of conjuring in Gregory Doran’s production …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12AM
Sunday, November 8, 2015

Theatre review roundup: Oliver! and Roaring Trade by Susannah Clapp

It's already a smash hit, but this telly-hyped Oliver! just reheats tired clichés that belong in the 1960sOliver!Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London WC2 Roaring TradeSoho, London Continu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54PM

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
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic