878 stories by "Ian Foster"
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...." The festive season is nearly upon us. If you're making a shopping trip to the bright lights or you just love the feel of Christmas in London, here are…
"You can never go back to before"... Mother may spend a song telling us that we can never go 'Back To Before' but fortunately you can go back to Ragtime with no fear.
With over 100 cast, writers, directors and crew, and 25 plays (none of which were by Agatha Christie!) spread over 7 programmes, Sphinx Theatre's Women Centre Stage: Power Play Festival was …
The middle session of Women Centre Stage: Power Play Festival saw our first trip into the Hampstead's main house for PRIDE and Prejudice.
There was undoubtedly a lot of theatre during the Women Centre Stage: Power Play Festival but for me, the New Women session in the middle of the day was the highlight - three cracking pieces…
Caught somewhere between theatre and dance, art installation and gay club extravaganza, Stuart Saint's Princess makes for a fascinating project, conceived as a response to traditional Disney…
The Sphinx Theatre Writers Group have been developing new ideas for six months now and the penultimate session of the Women Centre Stage: Power Play Festival allowed us to peep at the fruits…
Somewhat appropriately in the week following International Men's Day with its theme this year of male suicide, two shows tackling the subject open in London.
It is rather pleasing to see that the winner of a new musical theatre prize " inspiringly named the New Musical Project " is something that tests the boundaries of what we conventionally see…
I try to test my prejudices when it comes to playwrights for whom I have little fondness but the reality is that its hard to psyche yourself up in the name of being open-minded. Harold Pinte…
Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid and Michael Ball and Alfie Boe could form a weirdly intriguing supergroup, it's actually two separate CDs that they've released in pairs.
It was no surprise to discover that Half A Sixpence would be transferring into the West End - its run at Chichester Festival Theatre was a huge success and with Cameron Mackintosh on produci…
There's many a mirror that has gone down in fame but in its current form, new musical The Mirror Never Lies doesn't look set to join them. Based on the Barbara Pym novel The Sweet Dove Died …
When I was at primary school, we did a thing in needlepoint where we sewed seemingly random shapes in a line and only when we'd finished and Mrs Holcroft (I think it was) told us to look at …
Yesterday (14 November 2016) saw the launch of the Women Centre Stage: Power Play Festival at Hampstead Theatre and The Actors Centre. Produced by Sphinx Theatre Company and Joanna Hedges, W…
The Hope Theatre's Gothic Season continues with The Worst Was This - a steampunkish take on Elizabethan London where the troubled relationship between two guys named Will and Chris plays out…
Playing in rep with Twelfth Night at Highgate's Upstairs at the Gatehouse theatre, Arrows and Traps' Othello sees them take a slightly different approach to the tragedy, one which is closer …
School of Rock is a cheerily appealing slice of musical theatre. And with a seemingly endless roll call of talented youngsters who, as we're reminded at the beginning and the end of the show…
Sean Micheal Verey's performance is outstanding, especially as he rattles through multiple characters in the blink of an eye. Recommended.
Hasn't everyone seen this play by now? Since opening at the National in 1992, it has had three West End runs and six major national tours, not to mention a Tony-winning trip to Broadway too.…
Turns out what I should have been on the lookout for was an Alan Ayckbourn play in sheep's clothing. And if that's the way your preferences go, as it seems with the majority of the print cri…
Franz Xaver Kroetz has the distinction of being the most often produced contemporary playwright in his native Germany but perhaps unsurprisingly given latent Brexit feelings, he's little per…
"'Tis the time's plague when madmen lead the blind"... Though no spring chicken myself, I'm not quite the right age to be truly excited about Oscar winning actress-turned politician-turned a…
It's no secret that I'm a big Ivo van Hove fan, I've been to New York and Amsterdam several times to see his work as regular readers will know, so booking for his latest show to hit London -…
Next week sees the 9th Gay Art Festival GFEST start, an eclectic showcase of art, films, and performance work by LGBTQI artists from London, UK and beyond. There's all sorts to choose from -…
