Director Bijan Sheibani turns playwright in a fine two-hander about family and the crisis of masculinity in The Arrival at the Bush Theatre.
‘As finely-tuned a theatrical machine as you are likely to see’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – Touring ★★★★
There is a winning combination of the playful and the profound in Barber Shop Chronicles which allies serious stagecraft and knowledge to sheer enjoyability.
‘The kind of work that should open some doors’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – Touring ★★★★
Theatre is tackling a constant diversity issue, a key component being how to attract an audience that rarely feels the theatre is open to them. Barber Shop Chronicles is the kind of work that should open some doors.
‘Geographical & emotional odyssey’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – Touring
Barber Shop Chronicles is a bold and inexorable march towards changing the way we share stories, shifting the mainstream narrative and dealing with both joy and pain in equal measure.
‘A celebration of friendship, tradition & heritage’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – Touring
Barber Shop Chronicles is a celebration of friendship, tradition and heritage. Ellams skilfully toes the line between sentiment, gaucheness, sincerity and wit while exploring issues of racial, social and gender identity with a keen eye for human foibles.
‘Life-affirming & vivid’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – Touring ★★★★★
Barber Shop Chronicles is a hugely impressive production. Life-affirming and vivid. Putting lives on stage which have not been seen there before.
NEWS: National Theatre announces new season including cast of 40 for stage adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Small Island
Gershwyn Eustache Jnr, Leah Harvey and Aisling Loftus lead the cast of Small Island, adapted by Helen Edmundson from Andrea Levy’s prize-winning novel, directed by Rufus Norris in the Olivier Theatre, as part of the National Theatre’s new season.
Out of 346 shows seen, what were Ian Foster’s Top Ten #theatre2017 picks?
Well, we made it, just. 2017 passed by with just the 346 visits to the theatre, I don’t really know why I do it to myself! Out of those, 33 were return visits to shows I’d already seen and I got out of London for 32 shows – not too bad considering I don’t do Edinburgh and no one is covering my travel expenses!
‘One of the shows of the year’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – National Theatre
It is a rare occurrence indeed to see an audience as happy, as involved, and as diverse as the one that sat with me to watch Barber Shop Chronicles at the NT. What a glorious show. Such dynamism, energy, and an array of fantastic performances.
Text of the Day: Barber Shop Chronicles
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
NEWS: The National Theatre’s latest season packs in Tony Award winners Oslo
The National Theatre’s June 2017 – January 2018 season is live: Network, with Bryan Cranston; John Tiffany directs Pinocchio; Tony Award-winning play Oslo opens in the Lyttelton; Barber Shop Chronicles returns to the Dorfman.
BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – National Theatre
Black theatre used to be one of most creative aspects of contemporary British drama. But recently a lot of the impetus behind plays by black playwrights seems to have dried up. The great names of the past couple of decades are either silent, or, which is worse, merely repeating themselves.
NEWS: NT announces Queer Theatre, more Follies casting, further season details
The National Theatre has announced programme details for its new season running from April to November 2017. In addition to the two inbound political plays heading for the West End – the European premiere of Broadway hit Oslo and the staged reading All the President’s Men? – Scenes from the U.S. Senate’s Confirmation Hearings, reported here – highlights include: Jane Eyre returns, following an acclaimed …
NEWS: Rufus Norris announces 2017 National Theatre season
artistic director Rufus Norris announced the flagship institution’s 2017 season which will include four world premieres – including a current work-in-progress on the state of Brexit Britain – two European premieres and new work by Inua Ellams, Yaёl Farber, DC Moore, Lindsey Ferrentino and Nina Raine.