Bush Theatre
A masterpiece: P Word, at Park Theatre, reviewed
Look at this line. ‘I’m 80 years old. I find that unforgivable.’ Could an actor get a laugh on ‘unforgivable’?…
It’s years since I saw anything as nasty as this: Cock at the Ambassadors Theatre reviewed
Cock was written by Mike Bartlett in 2009 while he was in Mexico at a drama conference. The title suggests…
What a comic treat: The Game of Love and Chance at the Arcola reviewed
Lady Sylvia is a gorgeous aristocrat whose hand is sought by the charming Dorante whom she has never met. To…
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…
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…
Comedy gold: The Upstart Crow at the Gielgud Theatre reviewed
A Moorish princess shipwrecked on the English coast disguises herself as a boy to protect her virtue. Arriving in London,…
A flimsy tale of self-pity and thwarted ambition: Hunger at the Arcola reviewed
Oh my God. The Nazis have invaded the Arcola Theatre. Norwegian novelist Knut Hamsen won the Nobel Prize in 1920…
How refreshing to see a show about prejudice that barely mentions white people
Lynette Linton opens her stewardship of the Bush with a drama about racial and sexual bigotry. Four British women decide…
The York Realist feels like it’s been written by a newcomer at a creative writing weekend
The Donmar’s new show, The York Realist, dates from 2001. The programme notes tell us that the playwright, Peter Gill,…
There are many scenes in this overlong play that consist, literally, of drivel: John reviewed
The NT’s new production, John, is by a youngish American playwright, Annie Baker. We Brits tend to assume that ‘john’…
Bloody minded
Tristan Bernays loves Hollywood blockbusters. His new play, Boudica, is an attempt to put the blood-and-guts vibe of the action…
BNP supporters will enjoy this new play from the Bush Theatre
Richard Bean, the country’s most bankable playwright, knocks out a new script every four months. Thanks to the success of…
Merchant of Venice at the Globe reviewed: a tip-top production - and a high quality script too
If Julian, Dick, George and Anne had become terrorists they’d have called themselves The Angry Brigade. It’s such a Wendy…
My Night With Reg at the Apollo Theatre reviewed: a great play that will go under without an interval
Gay plays crowd the theatrical canon. There are the necessary enigmas of Noël Coward, like The Vortex or Design For…
Jude Law's Henry V is a buccaneer leading a stag-night raid across the continent — but he'd be a great Macbeth
Henry V is the final show in Michael Grandage’s first West End season. The theatre was full to bursting on…
