Theatre
The true cost of theatre closures
It turns out that if there’s one thing more expensive than making theatre, it’s not making it. Empty buildings haemorrhage…
Enjoyable in spite of the National's best efforts: Under Milk Wood reviewed
Before the National Theatre produced Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood they had to make a decision. How could they stuff…
This interactive Doctor Who show is as bombastic, fey and tedious as the TV series
Death of a Black Man is a little-known script from the 1970s written by Alfred Fagon who suffered a fatal…
Godot Is a Woman will have you laughing all evening and arguing all night
Godot Is a Woman opens with three tramps standing on a bare stage beneath a solitary upright. This isn’t Samuel…
Two hours of kitsch tomfoolery: Amélie at the Criterion reviewed
The latest movie to turn into a musical is Amélie, from 2001, about a Parisian do-gooder or ‘godmother of the…
Anthony Hopkins's portrayal of dementia will undo you: The Father reviewed
The Father is an immensely powerful film about dementia starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, who was asleep in his bed in…
Remembering David Storey, giant of postwar English culture
Jasper Rees remembers David Storey, giant of postwar English culture and wry teller of tales, whose newly published memoir is perhaps his most remarkable work
A Shakespeare play at the Globe whose best features have nothing to do with Shakespeare
Back to the Globe after more than a year. The theatre has zealously maintained its pre–Covid staffing levels. On press…
A brilliant, tense, ragged slice of drama: Waiting for Lefty reviewed
A Russian Doll is a monologue about Putin’s campaign to swing the Brexit vote in his favour. It stars Rachel…
A last hurrah for the Zoom play
Lockdown is about to end but some theatres are gripped by cabin fever and want to explore the two new…
Clever, funny and fearless: Good Girl at Soho Theatre online reviewed
A new work by Alan Bennett features in Still Life, a medley of five ‘untold stories’ from Nottingham Playhouse. The…
Do theatres actually read scripts before agreeing to stage them?
Money is a new internet play about financial corruption starring Mel Giedroyc. She appears on-screen for less time than it…
The problem with Equity’s anti-racism guidelines
‘Rouse tempers, goad and lacerate, raise whirlwinds.’ Those were the words that Kenneth Tynan, the most celebrated drama critic of…
Xenophobic twaddle: Bush Theatre's 2036 reviewed
The Bush Theatre’s new strand, 2036, opens with a monologue, Pawn, which takes its name from the most downtrodden piece…
Why do theatres think audiences want Covid-related drama?
Hats off to the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. They’ve discovered a new form of racism. Some people say we…
Theatre's final taboo: fun
The stage has become a pleasure-free zone in which snarling dramatists fight over their pet political causes, says Lloyd Evans
This comedy duo should be on Netflix: General Secretary reviewed
General Secretary is a new drama with a dull title and an off-putting poster. A pair of angry women in…
A fantastic online show of Euripides's take on Helen of Troy
Everyone knows Helen of Troy. The feckless sex popsicle betrayed her husband, Menelaus, and ran off with the dashing Paris,…
If you want a play that brings girls into science, commission a man: Jina and the STEM Sisters reviewed
Jina and the STEM Sisters is a blatant act of propaganda. And its intentions are excellent. This is a musical…
Promising material squandered: BKLYN – The Musical reviewed
BKLYN — The Musical gives itself a headache for no reason. What does ‘BKLYN’ mean? Perhaps it’s a random jumble…
How real is the performing arts exodus?
Richard Bratby on the post-Covid exodus of talent from the performing arts
There's the kernel of a good show in this copycat Hamilton: Treason the Musical reviewed
Copycat Hamiltons are everywhere. Lin-Manuel Miranda led the way by turning an unexamined corner of history into a smash-hit show.…
Unhappy blend of melodrama and allegory: Southwark Playhouse’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice reviewed
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a musical fantasy set in a Nordic town near the Arctic circle. Johan is a magician…
Even Adrian Lester's sweetness, grace and nobility can't rescue Almeida's Hymn
The Almeida is fighting back against lockdown with a sprawling family drama about two long-lost siblings. Adrian Lester plays Gilbert…
This fabulous play is like a Chekhov classic: The One Day in the Year reviewed
The One Day In the Year is an Australian drama about the annual commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign in 1915.…
