With new theatre, it is sometimes tricky to differentiate between what comes from the original writing and from the production you are viewing. After all, such an early incarnation of a musical will have very few, if any, comparisons by which the production itself can be directly judged. With Hadestown, the two are even more […]
David Hare’s plays always seek to provoke one’s mind of current issues such as inequality, social deprivation and most particularly the politics of the changing state of the Labour Party – and his most recent play showing at the National Theatre does just this. It focuses on NHS and funding, creating a meaningful story into […]
I like the elephantine plays. That’s why I went to this, and because of the Tony, and because of the premise. A combo of all. What else do I have to go on? Maybe I should read scripts before applying for press tickets. Maybe. I don’t think Oslo is that elephantine, actually. And it certainly […]
Follies is, in one way, exactly what you might expect from a 1971 work by the noted musical dramatist Stephen Sondheim, in that it’s a true spectacle, with lyrics that bounce effortlessly off its superb score, and huge, colourful and bombastic set-pieces that leave the audience in awe. On the other hand, the latest revival […]
I’m gaslighting myself in going to the big shows. Shows that scream, shows that flash, shows that flail their banality around like spaghetti and people clap. They clap! They clap. Why review? It’s hard to be in a room with 890 people who probably disagree with you. I wasn’t in love with Angels; I don’t […]
Okay, time for another round. For some reason I forgot why I chose Best Actor/Best Actress categories—was there a special reason for that? They seem like a 1950’s vestige. Who knows. So here are the winners, acknowledging that two productions win twice, but I can assure those who didn’t see them they really were that […]
Virtual reality is one of those things that most of us are aware of, but for many (me included), its uses don’t appear to extend much beyond teenage boys wearing a headset and playing the latest video game. In Lindsey Ferrentino’s new play, the technology is presented as an antidote to physical pain, specifically the […]
It’s over-expansive and yet at its most expansive it’s simultaneously at its best. Disregard (or don’t) the critics who call the ending effusive mush or ’emotional blackmail’. The ending is the best part; it’s the only good part, in fact. A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer, now at the Dorfman, is a Serious […]