2,446 stories by "Michael Billington"
Duke of York's, LondonWith even a Tory attacking the "arrogant, posh boys" who run her party, now seems a good time to revive Laura Wade's 2010 play.It has undergone a good deal of revision …
Southwark Playhouse, LondonThe shape-shifting actor brings poetic wit to her swashbuckling hero, though this all-female staging of Glyn Maxwell's adaptation makes no sharp pointsReduced Edmo…
Watford Palace theatreDiane Samuels' play, set in an East End tailor's, about four characters in search of an identity, produces some fascinating arguments around feminismDiane Samuels, famo…
Barbican, LondonInspired by US photographer Loren McIntyre's experiences with Brazilian rainforest tribes, this transporting Complicite show is a triumph of sound designSimon McBurney is an …
Vaudeville, LondonRobert Askins's Broadway hit about a Bible belt teenager in thrall to a foul-mouthed puppet is merely crudeAmerican religious fervour inevitably breeds a reaction. Although…
Almeida, London Its setting in rural England is problematic, but Robert Icke's modernised version of Chekhov's masterpiece is rich in psychological detailRobert Icke seems on a personal miss…
Apollo, LondonJessica Swale's play about the orange-seller turned actor cannily mixes Carry On gags with an explicitly feminist messageIt is tricky to transfer a play from the noisily intera…
The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonOliver Ryan and Sandy Grierson share the roles of the doctor and the demon in Maria Aberg's darkly inventive, richly psychological productionIt is fascinating to…
Playhouse, LondonThe actor best known as Chandler Bing returns to the London stage with a self-written confessional drama that feels like an extended sitcomMatthew Perry is a likable actor w…
Nottingham PlayhouseKefi Chadwick's play about an undercover police officer infiltrating a protest group is a powerful exploration of the corrosiveness of informingThe case of police spies f…
Gate, LondonNina Segal turns a baby's nursery into an arena where an anxious couple explore private nightmares and global catastrophesIn Sarah Kane's Blasted, a Leeds hotel room opens up to …
Young Vic, LondonThe director's new work based on the ancient text is one of aesthetic beauty and great skill, if less convincing as a parable of our times Three decades ago, Peter Brook's p…
Hampstead theatre, LondonClaire Skinner and Tom Goodman-Hill play a couple struggling to cope with their son's death in a play handled with finesse by director Edward HallThis 2006 play by D…
Gaskill, who was Royal Court artistic director at a time that was rich, bloody and embattled, helped to hasten the demise of stage censorship in BritainWilliam ("Bill" to everyone in the the…
Ibsen's play about an architect jealous of rivals and haunted by guilt presents a searing self-portrait for a magnetic actorYou come out of most classic theatre these days discussing the dir…
Way Upstream once flooded the National. As the play is revived, Michael Billington takes a look at great theatrical disastersTheatre is a disaster area: a world of precarious illusion in whi…
Lyttelton theatre, LondonThis big, bold piece about 1920s race relations is a play of passion and power, starring a majestic Sharon D Clarke as the bisexual singerAugust Wilson's play has en…
Garrick, LondonLester's magnificent acting makes you nostalgic for a vanished gestural style in this welcome revival of Lolita Chakrabarti's play about racial prejudicePlays about theatre do…
Whether playing charismatic leaders or acting as a fine foil to Olivier, Finlay brought a robust intelligence and grace to his stage rolesLike a lot of northern actors " think of Albert Finn…
The Guardian's new series of performance videos catch the intricate thought processes behind Shakespeare's lines How do you make Shakespeare instantly available? One answer is to film star a…
Royal Court, LondonLinda Bassett, Kika Markham, June Watson and Deborah Findlay deliver pitch-perfect performances in Churchill's apocalyptic and compassionate conversation piece Related: He…
Tricycle, LondonMcKee gives a first-rate performance in Florian Zeller's play about a woman floundering between hostility and gaiety as her family falls apartIt is important to remember that…
St James, LondonMona Golabek's original solo show tells of her mother's steadfast desire to be a concert pianist, in spite of the Holocaust, evacuation and warThis solo show with music might…
Royal Court, LondonAnna Jordan's prize-winning play faultlessly captures the mix of violence and virtue at the edge of society with acting of absolute convictionThe good thing about this Bru…
Gielgud Theatre, LondonForget all the prurient press speculation about Harry Potter's private parts. The revelation of this revival is that Daniel Radcliffe really can act, proving that his …
