Theatre
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.…
Perfect to fall asleep to: Good Grief reviewed
Good Grief is a new drama starring Sian Clifford who shot to fame as the older sister in Fleabag. The…
How Facebook became a freedom-gobbling corporate monster
Southwark Playhouse is beating the latest lockdown with a zingy new musical about social media. The performers, Francesca Forristal and…
Actors will be in trouble if the Bridge Theatre's latest experiment catches on
Flight has been hailed as a new form of dramatic presentation — prefab theatre. It’s great to look at. A…
Deserves to be a permanent winter fixture: Potted Panto at the Garrick reviewed
Potted Panto is a 70-minute parody presented by two burlesque comedians. Jeff is a tall, playful bungler and his colleague,…
Like eating 58 luxury chocolates: The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk reviewed
The Flying Lovers of Vitebskbegins with a phone conversation between a pretentious art critic and a man called Marc. This…
Absorbing and beautifully designed: Jane Eyre reviewed
Blackeyed Theatre is another victim of the virus. Its production of Jane Eyrewas midway through a UK tour, and due…
The genius of I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue
I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue has just been voted the greatest radio comedy of all time by Radio Times,…
Skilful and riveting: Poltergeist at the Southwark Playhouse reviewed
Sasha is angry. He’s a gay artist on his way to his niece’s birthday party and he keeps popping codeine…
As an essay in cheap comedy the show is a great success: Emilia reviewed
Emilia is a period piece about Emilia Bassano who may have been the ‘dark lady’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets. The writer,…
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…
Why great speeches are made for stage and screen
Curious thing, writer’s block. If you believe it exists. Terry Pratchett didn’t. ‘There’s no such thing,’ he said. ‘It was…
How on earth did Harold Pinter and Danny Dyer become such good friends?
Collectors of TV titles that sound as if they were thought of by Alan Partridge will presumably have spotted Danny…
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…
Letters: In defence of seagulls
China’s covered Sir: If Charles Moore had contacted the BBC, rather than conducting a fruitless Google search, we would have…
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…
