2,436 stories by "Michael Billington"
Novello, LondonWhat difference does it make that Tennessee Williams's play is performed by a black cast in Debbie Allen's Broadway production? It undoubtedly gives the work a new dynamic. Bu…
Apollo, LondonBenedict Andrews's radical update of the classic delivers emotional intensity shot through with humour " and a blistering performance by Jack O'ConnellThis is a classic example…
The Globe's new artistic director may have little directing experience. But as an actor, she had a huge range, a fierce intelligence and a profound understanding of Shakespeare's languageFor…
Minerva Theatre, ChichesterDeborah Bruce's play follows the fallout of a friendship between a young boy and an autistic, eccentric hoarder as police, press and property hunters prey on themO…
Duke of York's, LondonIt's a well-known fact that Peter Nichols's play, which first appeared in 1981, forms part of an unofficial trinity of dramas about infidelity: it came after Pinter's B…
Mick Lally theatre, Galway Mark O'Rowe's three-hander turns the Irish idyll into a seething mass of lust, junkies, pimps and wimpy husbandsDramatists from JM Synge to Martin McDonagh have lo…
Black Box, GalwayThe anguish and torment of Büchner's tragedy and Schubert's song cycle Winterreise are fused to brilliant effect in this pioneering piece of music-theatre Georg Büchner's …
Southwark Playhouse, LondonOliver Cotton's explosive new play explores wealth and morality as a luxurious dinner party is interrupted by an intruderOliver Cotton is not afraid to tackle big …
Park theatre, LondonIn his final play, which takes place over three summers, Elyot explores passions and pressures before and after the decriminalisation of homosexuality Related: Kevin Elyo…
Young Vic Studio, London Rating: **Sam Shepard was once regarded as the quintessential American playwright. But, on the evidence of the recent revival of the rambling A Lie of the Mind and t…
Regent's Park Open Air theatre, LondonCharles Dickens' 1859 novel simply does not lend itself to a modern-day reinterpretation featuring border police and demonstrationsIt is part of the van…
Royal Court, LondonThis family drama confronts a host of dilemmas but is at its best when it allows a fine cast to express the characters' strained relationshipsVivienne Franzmann has in the…
Theatre Royal Haymarket, LondonHelen Edmundson's account of the power struggle between the pious monarch and her ambitious friend Sarah Churchill is a rousing hymn to female agencyRomola Gar…
It's true that plays often defy instant analysis but Mamet's attempt to prevent post-show discussions perpetuates the notion of theatre as a sanctified templeIt would be easy to mock David M…
Home, ManchesterThe Homeland star impresses in Thomas Ostermeier's engrossing staging of a memoir about political change and the left's disregard of the working classThe title suggests a Joa…
Audiences struggled to relate to the 50-year-old Profumo scandal. Lloyd Webber needs to focus on passionate love' Matt Trueman: Stephen Ward to close after four months' Xan Brooks: Stephen W…
This thrilling play about three sons who go home to their dads " and their childhoods " shows verbatim theatre's power to heed the forgottenThe scene: a wine-bar close to the Royal Exchange,…
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonA terrific cast give a masterclass in power and paranoia in this tremendous modern-day revival of Shakespeare's tale of revengeBlanche McIntyre'…
Donmar Warehouse, London Singing MPs grill charity founder Camila Batmanghelidjh and chair Alan Yentob in a show that's as melodramatic as Tosca " though not as tunefulIs there anything the …
Finborough theatre, LondonThis tale of an idealistic teacher in a Scottish mining village wears its enjoyably scathing politics on its sleeveAs an outpost for Scottish drama, the Finborough …
Hampstead theatre, LondonIn Andrew Keatley's powerful play, a life is destroyed by a pupil's allegation of sexual assault, and shameful secrets are exposed'Is the accuser always holy now?" a…
London Palladium Toad, Badger, Mole and Rat are joined by new female characters in a fast-moving musical which ranges in style from Gilbert and Sullivan to raucous rockKenneth Grahame's 1908…
Wyndham's, LondonSix-time Tony award-winner McDonald captures the style and spirit of the legendary jazz singer, but Lanie Robertson's play wallows in her declineOne legend gets to play anot…
Storyhouse, ChesterIn Loveday Ingram's swaggering production, Caesar bids to 'make Rome great again' then poses for selfies at a rock festivalHedging his bets, Henry James described Chester …
A new show, Terror, restores drama to its classical function by asking us to make a moral decision. But it doesn't go nearly far enoughDrama invites judgment. One of the oldest plays in the …
