'It is funny & sad & angry': Writer Kieran Hurley on bringing Fringe hit Mouthpiece to London by Rev Stan

Following a five-star run at the Traverse Theatre, Fringe First winner Kieran Hurley brings Mouthpiece to Soho Theatre next month. Here he talks about the play, the point of theatre and maki…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00am on March 27, 2019☆⚑

'Challenges your thinking & reactions': DOWNSTATE " National Theatre ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

Downstate is a challenging, difficult play with humour and wit inflected with wisdom, carefully balancing entertainment without detracting from the seriousness of the subject matter.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 9:00am on March 23, 2019☆⚑

'Warm, funny & perceptive piece': RANDON SELFIES " Ovalhouse ★★★★ by Rev Stan

Random Selfies by award-winning writer Mike Kenny (The Railway Children) is the story of child loneliness in a busy world.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00am on March 22, 2019☆⚑

'You need the laughs because it reminds you to breathe': BETRAYAL " West End by Rev Stan

Hiddleston, Ashton and Cox deliver precise, layered performances in a production that grips with tension. I think Lloyd has saved the best to last in his Pinter at the Pinter season.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 7:00am on March 14, 2019☆⚑

'It's an odd play': DEAD END " Vault Festival by Rev Stan

There's a lot we don't know about death and a lot we don't know about the characters in Kathryn Gardner's play Dead End.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 9:00am on March 7, 2019☆⚑

'Trademark van Hove is a good & bad thing': ALL ABOUT EVE " West End ★★★★ by Rev Stan

Ivo van Hove's production and stage adaptation of the film All About Eve is trademark van Hove and that is a good and bad thing.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 7:00am on March 6, 2019☆⚑

'It is inventive storytelling': LIPSTICK: A FAIRY TALE Of IRAN " Omnibus Theatre ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

Mixing the more colourful and camp with the harsh realities of inequality and creative restraint for Iranian women is a powerful storytelling device in Lipstick: A Fairy Tale of Iran at the …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 8:00am on March 4, 2019☆⚑

'A gripping & intense drama': THE SON " Kiln Theatre ★★★★ by Rev Stan

There is a heartbreaking inevitability to Florian Zeller's play The Son which is currently on at the Kiln Theatre. Nicolas (Laurie Kynaston), a once bubbly teenager, has become withdrawn sin…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 6:00am on February 28, 2019☆⚑

'I remained unsurprised & unmoved': When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other " National Theatre by Rev Stan

Despite committed performances by Blanchett and Dillane, there is something cold and mechanical to what is going on in When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other at the National Theatre.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00am on February 10, 2019☆⚑

'Interesting snapshot of an often overlooked period of social history': THE ORCHESTRA " Omnibus Theatre by Rev Stan

Jean Anouilh's The Orchestra is an interesting snapshot of a period of social history that is often overlooked.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 7:00am on February 4, 2019☆⚑

'Refreshingly bold & honest': COST OF LIVING " Hampstead Theatre ★★★★ by Rev Stan

Cost of Living is a refreshingly bold play, it presents disability in a matter of fact way focusing on relationships while challenging inhibitions.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 5:00am on February 1, 2019☆⚑

'Compelling & gripping drama that packs a punch': KOMPROMAT " Vault Festival ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

The 2010 'spy in the bag' murder is the inspiration behind Kompromat, a new play by David Thame which imagines the murderer using a honey trap to ensnare his victim.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 5:00am on January 28, 2019☆⚑

'I knew I wanted to direct this classic gem': Kristine Landon-Smith directs The Orchestra at the Omnibus Theatre by Rev Stan

Jean Anouilh's play The Orchestra tells the story of a third-rate orchestra in France just after the Second World War and it is a play that made a big impression on director Kristine Landon-…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00am on January 23, 2019☆⚑

It's dangerous, edgy, sensuous & sexy': Peter Darney directs Kompromat at the Vault Festival by Rev Stan

Peter Darney is currently directing gay crime thriller Kompromat by David Thame, which was inspired by the 2010 'spy in the bag' murders and opens at the Vault Festival this week.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00pm on January 21, 2019☆⚑

'Sharp & witty': ROSENBAUM'S RESCUE " Park Theatre ★★★★ by Rev Stan

A Bodin Saphir's play Rosenbaum's Rescue, directed by Kate Fahy, is an engaging look at the nature of truth and whether it is merely a matter of perspective or personal belief.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 9:00am on January 18, 2019☆⚑

Pinter & misogyny post #MeToo: Was the playwright ahead of the curve or playing for laughs? by Rev Stan

Pinter Six of the Pinter at the Pinter season is the first that I can say I quite enjoyed but it didn't stop a nagging question I've had for a while: Was Pinter a misogynist? I'm not alone a…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00pm on January 14, 2019☆⚑

'An interesting idea to look at #MeToo from this angle': ANOMALY " Old Red Lion Theatre by Rev Stan

Liv Warden's play Anomaly, inspired by the Weinstein scandal, focuses on the family of a media mogul who's been caught up in a scandal that can't be hushed up by PR.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 9:00am on January 11, 2019☆⚑

Nine plays Rev Stan is particularly looking forward to seeing in 2019 by Rev Stan

Starting off 2019 with plenty of theatre in the diary, these are the nine plays Rev Stan is particularly looking forward to seeing.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 9:00am on January 4, 2019☆⚑

Can we move beyond gender-swapping roles on stage & write better characters for women? by Rev Stan

A theatre announces that a classic male role will be played by a woman and gets a plethora of headlines as a result. While giving a woman a meaty, lead role is something to be applauded, it …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 1:00pm on January 2, 2019☆⚑

Rev Stan's favourite plays of the year (& first six-star production) by Rev Stan

It's time for Rev Stan's best plays of 2018 overall, gleaned from everything I've seen " large productions and small, commercial theatres, subsidised and fringe.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 8:00am on December 30, 2018☆⚑

'Will keep you thinking long after you've left the theatre': SWEAT " Donmar Warehouse ★★★★★ by Rev Stan

Seven years ago playwright Lynn Nottage started spending time in Reading, Pennsylvania, one of the poorest towns in America and wrote Sweat based on her experiences there.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 5:00am on December 20, 2018☆⚑

Is it time for theatres to reward loyal ticket buyers and how should it be done? by Rev Stan

When tickets went on sale for the concluding play in Jamie Lloyd's Pinter at the Pinter season " Betrayal starring Tom Hiddleston " those who had already booked tickets for other, arguably l…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 1:00pm on December 15, 2018☆⚑

'Not so much one note as one emotion': HOLE " Royal Court Theatre by Rev Stan

Hole, by Ellie Kendrick, is a mixture of speech, song, movement and music exploring female anger through a series of stories, themes and metaphors.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 6:00am on December 10, 2018☆⚑

'Harington & Flynn prove themselves agile performers': TRUE WEST " WestEnd by Rev Stan

Kit Harington and Johnny Flynn prove themselves agile performers with quick-fire dialogue and sharp comic timing in True West at the Vaudeville Theatre.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 5:00am on December 6, 2018☆⚑

'Fun, silly & at times interesting': THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS " Southwark Playhouse ★★★ by Rev Stan

The Night Before Christmas is adult Christmas fare, counter-programming to the Dr Seuss musical which is on next door at the Southwark Playhouse.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 8:00am on December 4, 2018☆⚑