Friday, March 28, 2025

‘Even with segregation, they dressed up and danced’: the radical joy of 1960s Indigenous deb balls by Steve Dow

In 1966, 16-year-old Norma Ingram was ‘presented’ to Sydney society. Now her granddaughter, the playwright Dalara Williams, has written a play celebrating the historic vibrancy of Redfer…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PM

Little Angel Theatre’s Miniature Travelling Circus review – tiny treats for tots by Chris Wiegand

Little Angel theatre, LondonThe big top pops up inside a book as puppeteer Lizzie Wort whirls through a jaunty carnival of acts Roll up, roll up! Abracadabra! There’s barely a trad circus …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PM

Julie Cunningham & Company: Crow/Pigeons review – a beady dance delight by Lyndsey Winship

Sadler’s Wells East, LondonJules Cunningham explores themes of marginalisation in a masterful collaboration with Le Tigre’s JD Samson and a piece that echoes Merce Cunningham Last time J…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Musical review – no frights, no thrills … this mashup is a mystery by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal BathDespite its cleverly conceived monochrome set and some compelling songs, this series of stories from the master of suspense is a letdown Alfred Hitchcock had confirmed his …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM

Sabrage review – this slick cabaret with saucy pillow fights is good unclean fun by Brian Logan

Lafayette, LondonAn irreverent mix of erotic trapeze, penis tricks and audience participation won’t disappoint groups out for a laugh – and a gasp If anything needs its own word, surely …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18AM
Thursday, March 27, 2025

North By Northwest review – Emma Rice takes Hitchcock in delightful new directions by Arifa Akbar

York Theatre RoyalFun, intelligent and powered by Rice’s joyful whimsy, this playful take on the spy movie is a crowd-pleaser Mistaken identity fires Alfred Hitchcock’s Kafkaesque 1959 s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18PM

Robert Icke’s modern-day Oedipus triumphs at Critics’ Circle theatre awards by Chris Wiegand Stage Editor

Other winners include Francesca Amewudah-Rivers for Romeo & Juliet, Danny Sapani as King Lear and Giant playwright Mark Rosenblatt A modern-day version of Oedipus, which turned Sophocles…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM

Red or Dead review – Peter Mullan never walks alone as Liverpool FC hero Bill Shankly by Chris Wiegand

Royal Court, LiverpoolA cast of more than 50 delivers an inspiring adaptation of David Peace’s epic novel about a manager who prized socialism In 2016, an adaptation of David Peace’s The…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM

Audience member dies during opening night of Melbourne international comedy festival by Australian Associated Press

A man watching a comedy gig has died after suffering a medical emergency in a packed theatre on the opening night of a major festival Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM
Wednesday, March 26, 2025

From Blackpool to Play School: Johnny Ball on his days as a ‘bag of nerves’ comic by Johnny Ball

An emergency at Butlin’s gave the children’s TV presenter an early break. He recalls his shaky start as a standup and what he learned from Bob Monkhouse and Les Dawson After spending the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM

Dancing Shoes review – bedroom boogying bloke frees his feet in fab comedy by Mark Fisher

Òran Mór, GlasgowMasculine pals who shudder at intimacy help grieving addict Donny find viral success and unlikely solace in this brilliant, funny three-hander Your standard group-therapy …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM

‘I don’t buy it’ … Ava Pickett on her play about Anne Boleyn’s treason and incest by Arifa Akbar

Was the second wife of Henry VIII really guilty of the crimes she was beheaded for? Pickett’s award-winning new play takes a sideways look at her downfall – by imagining its impact on ev…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:32AM

Michael Ratcliffe obituary by Michael Coveney

Literary editor and chief book reviewer of the Times who later joined the Observer as its theatre critic Michael Ratcliffe, who has died aged 89, was the former theatre critic of the Observe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:32AM
Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Hot Chicks review – scorching account of county lines exploitation by Chris Wiegand

Sherman theatre, CardiffRebecca Jade Hammond’s assured drama about two girls groomed for drug trafficking switches between humour and terror What a punchy play. Rebecca Jade Hammond has wr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36PM

Ambika Mod to play porn addict in ‘funny, unsettling and honest’ play at the Royal Court by Chris Wiegand Stage Editor

The One Day actor will star in Sophia Chetin-Leuner’s Porn Play, one of four new premieres announced by the London theatre Ambika Mod is to star as an academic addicted to violent pornogra…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AM

The play that changed my life: Eimear McBride on nine hours of Dostoevsky, seen three times by Eimear McBride

The Maly Drama Theatre of St Petersburg’s wildly imaginative epic The Devils was so extraordinary it demanded another viewing – or two The Maly Drama Theatre of St Petersburg’s product…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM

‘This is injustice’: inside Trump’s attack on funding for LGBTQ+ arts by David Smith In Washington

The president has demanded that the National Endowment for the Arts denies grants to projects promoting ‘gender ideology’, leading to protest and legal action “We now, as a community, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:13AM
Monday, March 24, 2025

Improv was British comedy’s ‘ugly stepchild’ – so why is it enjoying a resurgence? by Rachel Aroesti

Long derided, improvisational comedy is now attracting big-name stars such as Kiell Smith-Bynoe and One Day’s Ambika Mod. There’s more to it than showing off, they say – and don’t ge…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM

Lauren Pattison: ‘One gig was so bad I tried to leave without being paid’ by Interview By Liam Pape

The comic on idolising Russell Howard, spending summer away from the Edinburgh fringe and lying to cabbies Why did you get into comedy?I started standup as a teenager despite being painfully…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM

$921 to see Denzel Washington’s Othello? How Broadway tickets got so expensive by Jesse Hassenger

A blockbuster production of the Shakespeare tragedy might boast Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal but it’s sparked a debate over excessive pricing How much would you pay to be in the s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:10AM

Othello review – Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal’s underwhelming blockbuster by Adrian Horton

Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York The record-breaking take on the Shakespearean tragedy might already be a smash, but it’s disappointingly muddled With the smell of doom and regression in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM

From The Simpsons to Werner Herzog: the coolest, craziest, scariest Nessies ever by Mark Fisher

Loch Ness Monster hunters have included the Chuckle Brothers – and even David Lean. As the Scottish icon is honoured in a new stamp and a stirring musical, we separate the classy from the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM
Sunday, March 23, 2025

Comedian Katherine Ryan reveals second skin cancer diagnosis by Rachel Hall

Standup, 41, says she was initially given all-clear by private doctor after raising concerns about a mole The comedian Katherine Ryan has received a second skin cancer diagnosis after raisin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM

‘It’s nice to be morally dubious’: Cheaters star Joshua McGuire on the hit show and his new role – as a rhino by Ammar Kalia

The ‘class clown’ from the racy BBC sitcom discusses his return to the stage, the draw of the dark side and preparing his parents to see him in ‘full bum’ nudity on screen For the pa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM

Playhouse Creatures review – backstage banter with the pioneering first women of theatre by Arifa Akbar

Orange Tree theatre, LondonCamaraderie, comedy and a love of the trade shine through in April De Angelis’s group portrait of Nell Gwyn and the other female actors who were the first to be …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM

The week in dance: Lyon Opera Ballet: Cunningham Forever (Biped & Beach Birds); Giselle… – review by Sarah Crompton

Sadler’s Wells; Linbury theatre, Royal Opera House, LondonLyon Opera Ballet perform alongside digital forms to the music of Gavin Bryars in a Merce Cunningham double bill. Plus, a new twis…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM

The week in theatre: Retrograde; Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors – review by Nancy Durrant

Apollo; Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonIvanno Jeremiah rivets as Sidney Poitier in Ryan Calais Cameron’s electrifying McCarthy-era three-hander. Plus, a strenuously madcap vampire spoof T…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM

Wild Rose review – heart-grabbing musical of the Jessie Buckley-starring film by Clare Brennan

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghA Glasgow country-singing ex-con single mother dreams of the big time in Nicola Taylor’s new musical, directed by John Tiffany Rose-Lynn is twentysomething and wild,…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM
Thursday, March 20, 2025

New play about impact of dementia on Black Britons can start ‘conversation’ by Lanre Bakare Arts and Culture Correspondent

Lynette Linton, outgoing creative director of Bush Theatre, hopes production will lead to people getting more support Part of the creative team behind a new play about the impact of dementia…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM

Lyon Opera Ballet/Cunningham Forever review – a modern master’s wild ambition by Lyndsey Winship

Sadler’s Wells, LondonMerce Cunningham’s demands on dancers are the stuff of legend, but as in the celebration of two of his classic works here, utterly essential Merce Cunningham was al…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AM
Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Buena Vista Social Club review – exuberant yet dramatically thin Broadway musical by Jesse Hassenger

Schoenfeld Theatre, New York The 1997 album that later became a hit documentary now reaches the stage in a play with thrilling music performances but a lacking script Was it restraint or ove…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:00PM

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
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre