Theatre
Racists will love it: National Theatre's Death of England – Delroy reviewed
Death of England: Delroy is a companion piece to Death of England, which ran in February at the NT and…
The Beeb could turn this script into TV gold: Howerd's End reviewed
It’s touch and go whether the theatre will survive this latest assault. Some venues have pushed back their entire programme…
Finally a lockdown drama that will endure: James Graham's Bubble reviewed
Theatres can open if they want to. That’s the current position. The only factor keeping a playhouse dark is a…
The mix of slapstick and sermonising is certainly original: In Bad Taste reviewed
In Bad Taste is a slapstick comedy about five female terrorists who murder the governor of the Bank of England.…
The jackboot zealotry of ushers is ruining theatre
Southwark Playhouse has revived an American show, The Last Five Years, whose run was cancelled in March. In advance, I…
A night of angry pipsqueaks: Young Vic's 50th birthday gala reviewed
When Kwame Kwei-Armah took over the Young Vic he strapped a ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign over the front of the…
Enjoyable but hardly classic Alan Bennett: The Outside Dog & The Hand of God reviewed
The season of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads continues at the Bridge. In The Hand of God we meet Celia, a…
Brilliantly performed twaddle: Old Vic’s Faith Healer reviewed
The Old Vic refuses to reopen. Director Matthew Warchus says the social distancing rules make it impossible for him to…
Does Rada seriously believe George Bernard Shaw was an Irish Mengele?
What has happened to Rada? The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is the latest arts establishment to have gone mad.…
Covid marshals are killing theatre: The Shrine & Bed Among the Lentils reviewed
Covid marshals have invaded theatreland. Arriving for a weekday matinee at the Bridge, I was greeted by stewards holding up…
An investor should snap up this weepy musical: Sleepless reviewed
It has roughly the same proportions as Shakespeare’s Globe. The Roman Theatre in Verulamium (St Albans) is an atmospheric ruin…
Edinburgh Festival is in ruins – but there's one gem amid the rubble
The virus has broken Edinburgh. The shattered remnants of the festival are visible on the internet. Here’s what happened. The…
Unique and disturbing: Donmar Warehouse's Blindness reviewed
Okay, I admit it. I have a girl crush on Juliet Stevenson. Ever since I first saw her in the…
The New Normal Festival shows how theatre could return
So the madness continues. Planes full of passengers are going everywhere. Theatres full of ghosts are going bust. My first…
From riveting Hitchockian melodrama to bigoted drivel: BBC’s Unprecedented reviewed
Back to the West End at last. After a four- month lay-off, I grabbed the first available chance to catch…
Theatres can now reopen – but they will resemble prison camps
Auditoriums can now reopen — but they will resemble prison camps, says Lloyd Evans
RSC’s Merchant of Venice is full of puzzling ornaments and accents
The BBC announces Merchant of Venice as if it were a Hollywood blockbuster. ‘In the melting pot of Venice, trade…
James Graham's small new drama is exquisite: BBC Four's Unprecedented reviewed
Let’s face it. Theatre via the internet is barely theatre. It takes a huge amount of creativity and inventiveness to…
Not even a genius could make Much Ado About Nothing funny
The RSC’s 2014 version of Much Ado is breathtaking to look at. Sets, lighting and costumes are exquisitely done, even…
Chaotic, if good-natured, muddle: Hytner’s Midsummer Night’s Dream reviewed
Nicholas Hytner’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream opens in a world of puritanical austerity. The cast wear sombre black costumes and…
Paapa Essiedu is a dazzling, all-encompassing prince: RSC’s Hamlet reviewed
The Beeb has released Simon Godwin’s Hamlet staged by the RSC in 2016. The director makes one major change and…
The Madness of George III is much easier to like than King Lear
The longest interval in theatre history continues. Last week the National Theatre livestreamed a 2018 version of The Madness of…
As a lyricist, Ian Dury had few equals in the 20th century
The National Theatre’s programme of livestreamed shows continues with the Donmar’s 2014 production of Coriolanus starring Tom Hiddleston. The play…
So good and so raw that avoiding it might be the wisest course: Sea Wall reviewed
Sea Wall, by Simon Stephens, is a half-hour monologue about grief performed by Andrew Scott. The YouTube clip has been…
Like a project the BBC might have considered 30 years ago and turned down: The Understudy reviewed
Hats off to the Lawrence Batley Theatre for producing a brand-new full-length show on-line. Stephen Fry, with avuncular fruitiness, narrates…
