James Graham’s latest history play has an eye on the present but a messy staging.
‘This revival of an American classic is both relevant & fun’: TROUBLE IN MIND – National Theatre
Race, rage and relevance: sensitive revival of American writer Alice Childress’ 1955 anti-racist play shines bright.
‘A farcical comedy or a serious anatomy of our septic isle?’: MANOR – National Theatre
Moira Buffini’s ambitious state-of-the-nation, climate-change play runs straight into the doldrums.
‘A perfect tour de force of visual, intellectual & emotional pleasure’: DEATH OF ENGLAND: FACE TO FACE – National Theatre/Sky Arts
One of the absolute highpoints of new writing in the past couple of years has been the Death of England trilogy.
‘The controversy has generated more heat than the play itself’: RARE EARTH METTLE – Royal Court Theatre
Al Smith’s new play was jinxed before it started – and, bogged down in cartoonish detail, it never really recovers.
‘The writing is always perceptive & convincing’: SESSIONS – Soho Theatre
Intense, but inconclusive: this powerful new play about black men’s mental health fails to reach a satisfying resolution.
‘A mind-expanding experience’: TENDER NAPALM – King’s Head Theatre
I had a mind-expanding experience this week. And, listen, there’s still a chance for you to have one too.
‘Some moments are desperately moving, almost unbearably sad’: OLD BRIDGE – Bush Theatre
Powerful, poetic and profound: this well-deserved winner of the 2020 Papatango New Writing Prize now gets a cracking production on the main stage at the Bush Theatre.
‘This is Shakespeare for the Netflix generation’: MACBETH – Almeida Theatre
Saoirse Ronan makes her UK stage debut in Yael Farber’s testosterone-fest, which is vivid, but much too long.
‘Explores how belief can be a psychological & emotional journey’: 10 NIGHTS – Bush Theatre
This new coproduction between Graeae and Tamasha is not perfect, but it offers a moving insight into ritual and belief.
‘The general tone is that of history lite’: THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT – West End
This is a labour of love. Hilary Mantel has adapted The Mirror and the Light, the third novel of her Tudor trilogy, in collaboration with actor Ben Miles.
‘Patsy Ferran & Luke Thallon perform with superb control’: CAMP SIEGFRIED – Old Vic Theatre
Bess Wohl’s history play is an imaginatively-written, brilliantly chilling and resonant account of life at a Nazi summer camp, starring Patsy Ferran and Luke Thallon.
‘The writing has a comic crackle & pop that sizzles & screeches’: IS GOD IS – Royal Court Theatre
American playwright Aleshea Harris’ dazzlingly satirical 2018 extravaganza is about two women seeking justice and getting even, and it comes to the Royal Court from New York, trailing shouts of enthusiasm.
‘A good story well told’: THE MEMORY OF WATER – Hampstead Theatre
I remember seeing Shelagh Stephenson’s contemporary classic at the Hampstead, when this venue was still an ageing prefab, and enjoying Terry Johnson’s racy staging,
‘I respected the gesture more than I admired the art’: ROCKETS & BLUE LIGHTS – National Theatre
At its best, the subjective and poetic image creation in Rockets and Blue Lights at the National Theatre is both audacious and striking. At its worst, it is over-complex, confusing and overly didactic.
‘Just a bit too educational to be truly pleasurable’: CHANGING DESTINY – Young Vic Theatre
The Young Vic’s main stage reopens with Booker Prize winner Ben Okri’s short play Changing Destiny, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah
‘Fine attention to emotional detail’: OLEANNA – Arts Theatre
The great thing about Lucy Bailey’s 80-minute production of Oleanna is its sense of balance. And I have to say that it changed my mind about the power balance in the drama.
‘Able to jump from silliness to seriousness in mid-sentence’: LAST EASTER – Orange Tree Theatre
By the end of Orange Tree Theatre’s production of Bryony Lavery’s Last Easter the certainty that friendship and love are life’s true miracles is quietly and effectively realised.
‘A gem of a two-hander’: CONSTELLATIONS – Vaudeville Theatre
I finally caught up with Michael Longhurst’s restaging of his 2012 Royal Court production of Nick Payne’s Constellations, a gem of a two-hander.
‘Equally impressive’: SWEATBOX / BLIS-TA – Clean Break (Online review)
Although some theatres are tentatively reopening, the creative vigour of other companies like Clean Break is undimmed.