True love Hollywood style, old friends and just a little misbehaviour The play, The Philadelphia Story, on which High Society is based, premiered on Broadway on 28 March 1939, starring Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord, a role specifically written for her. Based on a book by Arthur Kopit, the Broadway success was swiftly followed by […]
Albatross at Omnibus Theatre
A study of glacial shifts in a mother-daughter relationship Albatrosses are mysterious creatures. In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s canonical poem, ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, a reckless sailor slays an albatross and thereby dooms his crew to death. There’s something inexplicably prophetic about these gigantic sea birds, and, following the success of her debut play […]
The Harder They Come – Theatre Royal Stratford East
Joyful theatre adaptation of the film that “brought reggae music to the world” returns to the London stage If the distinctive sound of reggae music makes you think of lazy Caribbean holidays and rum cocktails on the beach, then you are probably not alone. But if you consider for a moment the origins of reggae […]
Stage Kiss at Hampstead Theatre
An eccentric romcom about theatre itself From Casablanca to Titanic, kisses are the crown jewels of the most memorable sequences in entertainment history. Yet, behind the scenes, in gloomy rehearsal rooms, intimacy between performers is often without electricity. Kissing strangers is an actor’s bread and butter, and Sarah Ruhl’s Stage Kiss runs with the weirdness […]
Sherlock Holmes – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
A New Who-Dun-It from One of the World’s Most Renowned Detectives Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is always a magical experience, primarily for its location in the centre of the park, but also for the high standards of its productions. With Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson living together around the corner at 221B Baker […]
Krapp’s Last Tape/Godot’s To-do List
Beckett’s Poetics of Despair Gary Oldman revisiting his old stomping ground at the Royal Court to perform Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, a monologue for actor and reel-to-reel tape machine, is the hot ticket du jour. This production was born at the York Theatre Royal as a thank-you from the actor to the space where […]
Grace Pervades at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Play’s The Thing The Theatre Royal Bath is one of the country’s great theatrical producing houses and has a mutually beneficial informal relationship with its namesake theatre in the West End’s Haymarket, placing many of its productions there. Last year, Ralph Fiennes had his own season in Bath, which featured the sell-out premiere of […]
Chat Noir – Review – The Lost Estate
Immersive Theatre and Dining at Chat Noir It’s 1890 in Paris, and the night is young. Imagine you’ve travelled back in time as a guest of Rodolphe Salis, stepping into his infamous nightclub, Chat Noir, to embrace the anarchic spirit of bohemian Montmartre. The Lost Estate does exactly that, only this time, the illusion unfolds […]
Firewing at Hampstead Theatre
A twisting story about nature and mentorship There’s something about oddball men and niche hobbies that makes for great drama. The BBC’s Detectorists hooked a new generation into the joys of metal detecting. And Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse’s Gone Fishing continues to offer charming TV from tranquil riverbanks across the country. So David Pearson’s […]
Please Please Me at the Kiln Theatre
A sensitive portrait of an unsung pioneer Beatlemania is going through a revival. Peter Jackson’s Get Back, a documentary following the creation of the band’s final studio album, came out in 2021 to critical acclaim. And there’s a buzz over Sam Mendes’s upcoming Four-Film Cinematic Event, which dedicates a feature-length biopic to each member of […]