Review – Drowned or Saved by Geoffrey Williams: Drowned or Saved?, a new play written and directed by Geoffrey Williams, was the most harrowing 75 minutes I have spent in the theatre in many years. A play of visceral and psychic pain, it depicts Primo Levi’s attempt to complete a new story while he struggles […]
China National Peking Opera Company at Sadler’s Wells – Review
Peking Opera Classics at Sadler’s Wells: I’m a big opera fan but have to confess that when I was asked to review the China National Peking Opera Company at Sadler’s Wells, I had no real sense of whether it going to be Mozart in Mandarin or a more indigenous form of entertainment. I went the troupe of 65 performers […]
Macbeth at the Barbican – Review:
Royal Shakespeare Company production of Macbeth – Barbican Arts Centre: Macbeth is a startlingly gruesome play. It begins with the ending of a war but the slaying of the great and the good, adults, families and children alike, continues throughout. By the bloody end of the play, both the actors and the audience are exhausted […]
Wicked at the Apollo Theatre – Review
Wicked continues to defy gravity in London’s West End The Tony Award-winning production of Wicked has just celebrated its 12th successful year at the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End, where it has been selling out to enthusiastic audiences night after night, defying all expectations and proving beyond doubt that the public has an insatiable […]
I’m Not Running – The Lyttelton, National Theatre – Review
David Hare’s sharp new political drama – I’m Not Running: David Hare’s sharp new political drama, I’m Not Running, is the 17th play he has written for the National Theatre. This complex, contemporary plot addresses the state of the Labour Party in 2018, placing a strong female protagonist in the lead – and highlighting the […]
Matilda the Musical – Review
The RSC’s Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Company’s fearless and moving production of Matilda, inspirationally directed by Matthew Warchus, began life at RSC Stratford Upon Avon in 2010 and has been in residence at the Cambridge Theatre since 2011. Unsurprisingly this classy show remains popular as ever, and it has to be […]
Battersea Arts Centre – BAC to its best
‘’Loved. Lost. Reborn’’ Theatre intervals are usually only long enough to drink some warm white wine and go to the loo, but given nearly three and half years, the BAC has shown us what can really be done if you have plenty of time, with the official reopening of its aptly named Grand Hall, destroyed […]
Exit the King at the National Theatre
Ionesco – Exit the King: Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist classic Exit the King is said to be a modern-day equivalent of the 15th-century morality play, Everyman. It’s remarkably showing for its very first time at the National Theatre on the Olivier stage, in a new adaptation by Patrick Marber. Patrick Marber’s thought-provoking and at times baffling production […]
Live in the Square – Grosvenor Square
Mayfair Magic at Live in the Square: The last time we had a summer like this in England was 1976. I remember it well – my O-Level year. We all tried our best to revise while sunbathing (frying gently in baby oil rather than factor 30). This year, exams are well behind me and I’m […]
Knights of the Rose at The Arts Theatre
Knights of the Rose – a Medieval Rock Musical A medieval tale brimming with romance, rock anthems and swashbuckling Knights comes to London’s West End in the form of Knights of the Rose. Corny, yes, silly, yes, PC, not really! This brand new epic, fun and somewhat baffling rock musical by Jennifer Marsden and directed […]