Delayed two years by the pandemic, one of the most hotly anticipated shows of 2020 finally makes it to the stage in 2022. The combination of TV writer and former Dr Who showrunner Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and Reece Shearsmith proves irresistible as The Unfriend finally premieres in Chichester’s Minerva Theatre and it has been worth the wait.
NEWS: Sherlock creators Steven Moffat & Mark Gatiss collaborate in Chichester Festival Season packed with world premieres
World premieres in Chichester Festival Theatre’s Festival 2020 include first plays by Steven Moffat and Kate Mosse and new work by Suhayla El-Bushra and Christopher Shinn.
‘Hauntingly good in its fluidity’: THE SON – West End
British theatre’s determination to adopt Florian Zeller as one of its own continues unabated as the Kiln Theatre’s production of The Son transfers into the Duke of York’s for the autumn.
‘Well-made family drama’: THE SON – West End
This portrayal of contemporary family life dealing with depression is honest and believable in The Son, yet there’s a cold judgement underpinning it.
‘Devastatingly raw piece of drama’: THE SON – West End ★★★★★
Brilliantly and emotionally engagingly translated by Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller’s The Son is a piece of writing that draws you in from the start and never relinquishes its hold until the very end.
‘Akin to a beautifully composed piece of music’: THE SON – West End
The Son is akin to a beautifully composed piece of music. A perfect balance of light and shade with an inevitable surge to a heart thumping climax.
‘A tense psychological thriller as bleak as it is strong’: THE SON – Kiln Theatre ★★★★
The final episode of Florian Zeller’s domestic trilogy, The Son, is powerfully, even melodramatically, effective.
‘A gripping & intense drama’: THE SON – Kiln Theatre ★★★★
There is a heartbreaking inevitability to Florian Zeller’s play The Son which is currently on at the Kiln Theatre. Nicolas (Laurie Kynaston), a once bubbly teenager, has become withdrawn since his parent’s divorce. He lies, skips school and his behaviour has started to frighten his mother Anne (Amanda Abbington).
NEWS: Amanda Abbington will star in Florian Zeller’s The Son at the Kiln Theatre
As the world première of Ishy Din’s Approaching Empty opens at Kiln Theatre, the company’s artistic director Indhu Rubasingham has announced the casting for the UK première of Florian Zeller’s The Son, in a translation by Christopher Hampton. Michael Longhurst directs Amanda Abbington, Laurie Kynaston, John Light, Oseloka Obi, Amaka Okafor and Martin Turner. The production opens on 26 February 2019, with previews from 20 February, and runs until 6 April.
‘Let’s hope this isn’t the last we see of this sweet show’: A LITTLE PRINCESS – Royal Festival Hall ★★★
After the recent success in the UK of Big Fish and The Addams Family, Andrew Lippa’s lesser-known show A Little Princess has had its UK premiere at the Southbank Centre.
NEWS: Elizabeth McGovern Robert Lindsay, Amanda Abbington & Tara Fitzgerald line up for Bath Theatre Royal’s summer season
Jonathan Church, artistic director of Theatre Royal Bath, has announced the theatre’s full 2018 summer season programme. Some of the country’s most prolific actors will star in a selection of both UK premieres and renowned classics in the theatre’s historic Main House and the intimate Ustinov Studio.
ABIGAIL’S PARTY – Touring
Abigail’s Party was quite ground-breaking in its day, with the incomparable Mike Leigh at the helm and Alison Steadman heading up the cast as Beverly, it made waves on screen and on stage. The production that is currently on UK tour keeps to the essentials that are familiar to those who have encountered the show before.
INTERVIEW: Spotlight On… Abigail’s Party star Amanda Abbington
“It was a part of my growing up, I watched it when I was quite young and it was always my benchmark, I wanted to be an actress because of that play.”
ABIGAIL’S PARTY – Touring
Strains of Donna Summer and Demis Roussos on the turntable, flock wallpaper and a retro bar, can only be setting the scene for Mike Leigh’s classic piece, Abigail’s Party. Devised and directed by Mike Leigh in 1977, the television incarnation starred Alison Steadman as nightmare hostess, Beverly and is an iconic masterpiece.
PHOTOS: Amanda Abbington stars in 40th anniversary revival of Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party
Theatre Royal Bath has today released production photography of the 40th anniversary, West End-bound production of Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party starring Amanda Abbington.