All stories by Van Badham on BroadwayStars

Monday, September 16, 2019

Bryony Kimmings on her 'big-dick-swinging' show: ‘Three times we’ve had people faint’ by Van Badham

Reliving her postnatal trauma in I’m a Phoenix, Bitch led to a breakdown and spider hallucinations. These days, Kimmings is all about ‘self-care on steroids’ “I don’t want people t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48AM
Tuesday, June 25, 2019

‘What is Solaris?’: sci-fi classic gets gender-flipped for mainstage adaptation by Van Badham

David Greig and Matthew Lutton take on the somewhat impregnable cult story, which premieres in Australia before transferring to Scotland It’s the lure of the unknowable that drew the Austr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48PM
Monday, February 5, 2018

‘Break walls and open doors’: Robert Lepage on war, theatre and sibling rivalry by Van Badham

As the Québécois director’s acclaimed play The Far Side of the Moon arrives in Australia, he reflects on the dramatic link between family fallouts and geopolitics Theatremaker Robert Lep…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:00PM
Thursday, September 28, 2017

Randy Rainbow: taking Trump apart one show tune at a time | Van Badham by Van Badham

The Trump resistance has become sing-a-long-able, thanks to a 30-something man from Queens and his YouTube channelNorth Korea insists war with America is inevitable! Puerto Rico has no drink…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:04PM
Thursday, September 21, 2017

Black Rider review – Tom Waits, William S Burroughs musical is beautiful but cold by Van Badham

Malthouse theatre, MelbourneMeow Meow steals the show from a diverse – or disparate – cast, but the cult fable resonates regardlessIt’s a helluva thing to be born to play the devil ……

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06AM
Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Globe-trotting replica theatre pops up in Melbourne with rare Shakespeare experience by Van Badham

Pop-up Globe theatre is the world’s first full-scale temporary working replica of London’s second Globe from the 1600sShakespeare compared breasts to globes in The Rape of Lucrece, and u…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM
Monday, October 24, 2016

Melbourne festival: show me The Money and I'll decide how to spend it by Van Badham

An interactive show functions as both a love letter to democracy and an explainer of the frustrations of the democratic process“Democracy,” declares Jonathan Holloway, “is about doing …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:44PM
Saturday, October 22, 2016

Melbourne festival 2016: deeply personal melds with public spectacle in triumph for curator by Van Badham

Artistic director Jonathan Holloway infuses his electrifying first Melbourne festival with a series of interior realisations that reckon with the public self There are few reviews that centr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:40PM
Thursday, September 29, 2016

Australian theatre 2017 previewed: the pick of the season's crop by Van Badham

Not sure what to see at the theatre next year? Van Badham selects the most promising works, from experimental debuts to revivals of unbeatable classicsThe Australian habit of year-in-advance…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:07PM
Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Melbourne theatre productions show the difference 40 years of feminism make by Van Badham

Double Indemnity offers female archetypes, Trilogy is a feminist masterwork and Quippings has been called ‘crip burlesque’Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Double Indemnity is …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:07PM
Monday, May 23, 2016

‘A state of desperation’: battlers of the arts reflect on Australia Council furore by Van Badham

Meanjin, Next Wave festival, Express Media and Force Majeure are just four of 62 arts companies which had their funding cut by Australia CouncilI was living in a wooden house in Bulli when t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:45AM
Sunday, May 1, 2016

Miss Julie review – stalkerish camera feed provides up-close look at human nature by Van Badham

Melbourne Theatre Company, Southbank TheatreDirector Kip Williams’s electric staging of Strindberg classic uses technology to pump up a once-radical dissection of ordinary human livesThere…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:53PM
Thursday, March 3, 2016

Picnic at Hanging Rock review – vanishing schoolgirls haunt a new generation by Van Badham

Malthouse Theatre, MelbourneThis retelling of the Joan Lindsay cult classic proves the book’s postcolonial theme remains relevant – and will terrify the pants off youJoan Lindsay’s Pic…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:33AM
Monday, February 22, 2016

How Malthouse Theatre plans to bring Picnic at Hanging Rock to the stage by Van Badham

Artistic director Matthew Lutton won the coveted rights by promising to be faithful to Joan Lindsay’s cult novel and its themes of white Australia in a mysterious landscapeWhen Matthew Lut…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:52PM
Friday, January 8, 2016

Alan Cumming shows some emotion on his Sappy Songs Australian tour by Van Badham

The performer returns to cabaret for a series of shows in Melbourne and Sydney. While they may be sappy, he tells Van Badham, they will also be funnyHe’s won an Olivier award and a Tony, h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AM
Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Hugh Jackman's Broadway to Oz review – the screamingly camp end of large by Van Badham

Rod Laver Arena, MelbourneThings can’t get much camper than a gyrating, can-can kicking Jackman taking us through his life and times, complete with glitter maracas and disco ballsHugh Jack…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:30PM
Tuesday, August 18, 2015

A Social Service review – Melbourne artist-in-residence drama hits home by Van Badham

Malthouse theatre, MelbourneDavid Woods and Nicola Gunn hook-up for a funny and topical handling of a subject – housing policy – few Australian theatre-makers would go nearThe greatest c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:42AM
Wednesday, May 13, 2015

After the budget: shh! Australia's era of artistic silencing begins by Van Badham

Attorney general George Brandis has a history of making loud statements about freedom. Why, as arts minister, is he opposed to arm’s length funding? Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:48AM
Sunday, April 5, 2015

Endgame review – innovation choked by Samuel Beckett's strict staging edicts by Van Badham

Southbank Theatre, MelbourneBeckett’s play was once spectacularly fresh, but Endgame’s staging brief now seems conservative and leaves modern audiences feeling estranged Continue reading…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:16PM
Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Alan Seymour unravelled not just Anzac day but Australia's 'knotty roots' by Van Badham

His play The One Day of the Year famously challenged Anzacery, but it’s Seymour’s take on class, education and family that ensure his legacyAs a battered, school-issue staple of countles…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:57AM
Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Circa: Beyond review – this is what feminist circus looks like by Van Badham

Regal theatre, Perth festivalQueensland’s finest upends expectations of who gets to be strong, tough, brave or balletic in the circus – with lots of tumbles and leaps along the way Conti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:56PM

Not I, Footfalls, Rockaby review – a technical masterclass in Beckett by Van Badham

State Theatre of Western Australia, Perth festivalLisa Dwan’s perfomance in this Samuel Beckett triptych impresses even as the plays themselves communicate their drama from a cold distance…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:13PM
Monday, February 16, 2015

Matthew Mitcham’s Twists and Turns review – beautiful for its imperfections by Van Badham

Fringe World, PerthThe Olympic Gold medallist is a diver not a comic, but this moving cabaret of his life story lets him shine through show tunes, chanson, ukelele and a trampoline Continue …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:32PM
Friday, December 19, 2014

Australian theatre in 2014: the year of interesting plays in unexpected places by Van Badham

A strong season of local productions worth travelling for scarcely received due attention before suffering the stern economy of short seasons• Australian art in 2014: the year of protest, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:46AM
Sunday, October 19, 2014

Hipbone Sticking Out review a tale of two cultures, a play of two halves by Van Badham

Ambitious vision, epic themes and excellent performances combine in a piece of theatre as complex as the relationship between black and white Australia Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:52AM
Saturday, October 18, 2014

Primo review  La Clique. For children. In a fish tank by Van Badham

ArtPlay, Melbourne festivalSwimmers in kaleidoscope waters prove a visual event for young theatregoers still learning the parameters of their own bodies Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:41AM
Sunday, February 23, 2014

Krapp’s Last Tape – review by Van Badham

As director and performer of Beckett’s play, Robert Wilson shows his mastery of multiple theatrical disciplines, writes Van BadhamVan Badham

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:34PM
Saturday, February 22, 2014

La Curva – review by Van Badham

As technically dazzling as it is frustrating, Israel Galván’s La Curva is a work of great artistry and ferocious provocation, writes Van BadhamVan Badham

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:03AM

Robert Wilson: 'There are schools teaching stage decoration. Burn those schools!' by Van Badham

The legendary avant garde theatre director, in Perth performing Kraft’s Last Tape, says that too much of what we see on stage merely illustrates what we already knowVan Badham

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:43AM
Friday, February 21, 2014

Squidboy: presented by Don't Be Lonely and Theatre Beating – review by Van Badham

Perth Fringe World festival: Perth Institute of Contemporary ArtWhether clowning, bouffon and mime are the fad forms of our performance era is a question to which there is perhaps no answer …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:44AM

You Once Said Yes – review by Van Badham

You Once Said Yes is a work that physically takes the audience through a progression of sites or stagesVan Badham

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:11AM

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