Thursday, December 22, 2022
Glittery stars and local heroes
What joy it is to have pantomime and Christmas shows back with full audiences up and down the country – everything from local shows to star-driven productio…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:48PMWednesday, December 21, 2022
Jonathan Harvey's (mostly) family-friendly script sparkles
When Ian McKellen, one of our greatest Shakespearean actors, gave us his acclaimed Widow Twankey at the Old Vic in 2004, some wonde…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:48PMSaturday, August 27, 2022
Young Latina whose act tackles disability is among the winners at prestigious awards ceremony
Both of the top prizes for being funny at the 2022 Edinburgh fringe festival have gone to foreig…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18PMThursday, August 11, 2022
War as entertainment, Die Hard as an epic poem, and a potted biography
Afghanistan Is Not Funny, Gilded Balloon ★★★★
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:54PMMonday, August 8, 2022
A musical whodunnit and an ovine origin story
Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!, Summerhall ★★★★★
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:33PMSaturday, August 6, 2022
'World king' as a young man; and a comedy legend
Les Dawson: Flying High, Assembly George Square ★★★
Any opportunity to watch impressionist Jon Culshaw at work is not to be miss…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:03PMWednesday, March 2, 2022
Brexit battle laid bare
Few critics become playwrights, but Tim Walker has done just that with Bloody Difficult Women, his debut. It's taking a risk; should any of his less generous critical…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:33AMSunday, January 16, 2022
Australian plays against type as the baddie
There was a time when UK pantomime was heavily populated by Australian soap stars; rather late in the day Jason Donovan – formerly known as Sco…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:42AMFriday, December 31, 2021
Shirley Ballas and Scarlett Moffatt are good fun
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells ★★★★
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 06:36AMMonday, December 13, 2021
Clive Rowe dons the frocks, while Rob Rinder and Anton Du Beke slap their thighs
Jack and the Beanstalk, Hackney Empire ★★★
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:06PMThursday, June 3, 2021
Premiere of solo stage production of TS Eliot's work
For 75 captivating minutes, Ralph Fiennes digs deep into TS Eliot’s Four Quartets, the poet’s interlinked reflections on time, faith …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:48PMTuesday, April 20, 2021
Yasmeen Khan's spoof has a big heart
Oscar Wilde's fabulous play satirised Victorian England and contained a shedload of quotable quips. Now Yasmeen Khan has written an updated and uprooted …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:48PMSunday, January 10, 2021
Free stream of its first pantomime
In a much depleted and truncated pantomime season that withered on the vine, the National Theatre's debut production of Dick Whittington lasted only four p…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:32PMSunday, December 20, 2020
Children and adults are catered for
Cinderella ****
I did worry that pantomime – that most audience-driven of theatrical pursuits – might not work through the tube, but Nottingham Play…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:03PMSunday, December 13, 2020
The Pin sketch duo's assured theatrical debut
Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen together form The Pin, a sketch duo who have won much critical acclaim and full houses in the Edinburgh Fringe shows.…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:12PMTuesday, September 22, 2020
Jamie Kenna brings Brighton favourite to life
It’s fitting that there’s another run of Dave Simpson’s terrific play about Brighton’s favourite son, Max Miller (aka The Cheeky Chappi…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 11:24PMTuesday, September 1, 2020
Magnificent backdrop of ruins for fundraiser
On a normal bank holiday weekend there would be festival events held in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey. But in this anything-but-normal year, c…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:18AMMonday, July 20, 2020
Lots of bum and poo gags to keep the kids happy
In each of its incarnations – books, television series and theatre shows – covering more than 80 titles, Horrible Histories, created by Te…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:18AMFriday, May 22, 2020
Nice in-jokes and smart observations about actors
A running gag in David Nicholls' novel The Understudy is that its main character is called Steve McQueen. Not that Steve McQueen, the multi…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:12AMTuesday, March 3, 2020
Immersion in Georgian court intrigue
Les Enfants Terribles is the theatre company behind several interesting immersive projects, including Alice's Adventures Underground and Inside Pussy Rio…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:36AMMonday, February 17, 2020
Ben Elton's new comedy is a gagfest
What joy it is to welcome this offshoot of the television series to the West End stage – complete with several of that show's cast, plus a few new addit…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:36PMThursday, January 9, 2020
Mischief Theatre and Penn & Teller mash-up
Mischief Theatre's “Goes Wrong” oeuvre is now well established: broad humour combined with physical comedy and slapstick mishaps. Magic Goe…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:48PMWednesday, December 18, 2019
Mischief Theatre with another enjoyable farce
Mischief Theatre is a wonder of modern commercial theatre. In 2008, group of young actors who had met at drama school started the ensemble – w…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:06PMWednesday, December 11, 2019
Purists may quibble at circus-themed show
When Qdos brought back pantomime to the Palladium three years ago after an absence of nearly 30 years, it set the bar high with superb production v…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:18PMSunday, November 3, 2019
David Baddiel's debut play tackles a big issue
David Baddiel is a very fine comic, and over the past few years has become an acclaimed author of children's books. So I'm genuinely sad to sa…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:33AMMonday, September 30, 2019
Jane Austen redux fizzes with ideas
What a joy Laura Wade's latest play is. Transferring from its successful run at the Minerva Theatre at Chichester last year, The Watsons is developed from…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:24PMThursday, August 29, 2019
Jacobean comedy gets a rare outing
It was a bold choice by director Blanche McIntyre to stage Ben Jonson's seldom performed, sprawling slice-of-life play in the bijou Sam Wanamaker Playhouse…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:18PMWednesday, August 28, 2019
Final outing for Phoebe Waller-Bridge as her iconic creation
We're saying goodbye to a much treasured friend. Fleabag will live on, of course – other actresses have and will inhabit the ro…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 07:54PMFriday, August 16, 2019
More from the world's biggest and best arts festival
The Red Pleasance Dome ★★★★
Comic Marcus Brigstocke has spoken in the past about his addictions and now he has written this two…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:06PMSaturday, August 10, 2019
More from the world's biggest and best arts festival
On the Other Hand, We’re Happy Summerhall ****
This affecting co-production between Paines Plough and Theatr Clywd of Daf James’s pl…
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:42AMTuesday, July 2, 2019
Jeremy Herrin's production of modern classic feels leaden
Michael Frayn's Noises Off is a modern classic, a backstage sex farce that pokes affectionate fun at a profession he loves. And now …
SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:42PM 
