878 stories by "Ian Foster"
God, Russia, booze, ghosts, vomit, legacies, tables, blood, metal, tears, redemption, hatred, cruelty, love, sex - the programme notes couldn't capture Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishme…
God, Russia, booze, ghosts, vomit, legacies, tables, blood, metal, tears, redemption, hatred, cruelty, love, sex - the programme notes couldn't capture Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishme…
Inspired by a true story published in the New York Times, Fledgling Theatre Company's They Built It. No-One Came. was a hit at the Edinburgh Festival last summer and has now resurfaced for a…
I'll go anywhere for Alexandra Gilbreath and given that The Rover had the added bonus of Joseph Millson, the trip was a no-brainer.
Its rather lazy, and stereotypical, approach to laughing at the gays aside, there's a quite a lot to enjoy here in the Birmingham REP's production of the award-winning French play What's In …
While John Tiffany's gift for direction may be taking fantastical flight over at the Palace Theatre, rest assured it is no less magical here. Kate O'Flynn's Laura first appears like a spirit…
It can be easy to make grand, sweeping statements about the artistic vision of your theatre company but much more difficult to actually follow through. So it is impressive to see Playing ON,…
The ways in which the titles of shows are worked into the script are a source of endless amusement and new musical Death Takes A Holiday is no exception, pointing up as it does the ridiculou…
This particular 'new town' was designed to rehouse the overspill population from the poorer parts of Liverpool but the forced creation of new communities is rarely so simple as that, and it …
Even without trying, I end up being contrary! The Critics' Circle Awards have announced their winners for 2016 and as I cast my eyes down the list, I was amused to see that their best new pl…
Once again, Gurira turns her focus to the African continent, exploring the kind of history that I'm pretty sure is rarely featured in the majority of Western schoolrooms. The year is 1896 an…
I ranked the play as the fourth best thing that I saw last year and though I don't always like to go back to things I enjoyed (in case it sullies the memory), I wanted to treat myself to thi…
PLAY - The Subterranean Season takes in plays 23-26 in their ever-growing programme of short plays, devised in just two weeks by a collaboration of writers, directors and actors up for the c…
If I had star ratings, RedBellyBlack would gain an extra one automatically for featuring the theme tune to 80s kids TV programme Round The Twist in their show A Year From Now. I would then p…
With so much gloomy news dominating the headlines and cinemas filled largely with Oscar bait, two-hander Dirty Great Love Story arrives at the Arts Theatre to offer a well-timed and satisfyi…
I'm particularly excited for John's Angelica (she was most impressive in The Bodyguard recently) and Terera has long been a favourite around these parts so his Aaron Burr, sir, will undoubte…
I do try and attend new writing nights here and there and I often ponder what, if anything, happens to the many works in progress that feature in their programmes. And in the case of Life Se…
The RSC may have Simon Russell Beale and cutting-edge digital technology but the Southwark Playhouse has real heart when it comes to The Tempest.
I enjoyed Stuart Slade's BU21 massively when it played the Theatre503 early last year but I hadn't intended to revisit the show - sometimes the memory of it is plenty sufficient.
The Arcola launch their Revolution Season, marking the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution and exploring its considerable impact, with a new production of Gorky's The Lower Depths pl…
Roland Schimmelpfennig's 2013 play Winter Solstice receives its British premiere at the Orange Tree in this Actors Touring Company production directed by Ramin Gray. And it is well worth the…
On the face of it, you could see why reviving Promises, Promises would be an appealing prospect - written by Neil Simon from a Billy Wilder film and featuring a score by Burt Bacharach and H…
Established now as one of the major arts festivals in London, VAULT Festival returns from 25 January to 5 March 2017 at its original home beneath Waterloo Station and, for the first time, at…
Its Amaluna arrives at Royal Albert Hall this month, but opening next month is Cirque du Soleil's first-ever UK arena tour of its signature production, Varekai.
Joseph Moncure March's narrative poem managed the remarkable feat of having two musical adaptations thereof running in the same year in New York, one of which - by Michael John LaChiusa - wi…
