Simon Stone turns his attention to another important literary woman, Phaedra as imagined by Euripides, Seneca and Racine and given a modern retelling in a production at the National Theatre written and directed by Stone. Stone’s vision for Phaedra is riveting in a piece that explores mature sexuality, fantasy and generational competition between mother and daughter.
‘Continues to resonate’: OTHELLO – National Theatre
Othello at the National Theatre is a production that has thought very carefully about the things it wants to say and, particularly, what Othello has meant at different points in its performance history. Clint Dyer’s perspective is not on fire just yet but it soon will be, bringing a meaningful reflection on Shakespeare’s tale to the stage while clearly distinguishing it from all of those that have come before.
‘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.
NEWS: Royal Court Theatre announces its reopening programme
London’s Royal Court Theatre has announced its reopening programme, running from 16 June to 18 December 2021. Highlights include: seven methods of killing kylie jenner by Jasmine Lee-Jones, The Song Project created by Chloe Lamford, Wende, Isobel Waller-Bridge and Imogen Knight, Is God Is by Aleshea Harris, What If If Only by Caryl Churchill and Rare Earth Mettle by Al Smith.
’An acute emotional punch’: LIVING NEWSPAPER: A COUNTER NARRATIVE – Royal Court Theatre (Online review)
The promise of being “urgent, responsive and fast” may not always be achieved, but at its very best the Royal Court’s Living Newspaper: A Counter Narrative is both pertinent and full of joyous energy.
Unprecedented or uninteresting? Do bad times provoke bad art?
We are living, I have frequently been told, through weird times. Maybe. But do weird times necessarily require weird art? Do bad times provoke bad art?
‘A powerful account of female middle-class anxieties in Britain today’: SHOE LADY – Royal Court Theatre
Shoe Lady at the Royal Court is not the most involving play in the world, but it does have an evocative resonance.
‘Parkinson has such an ability to tread the line between comedy & emotion’: SHOE LADY – Royal Court Theatre
Shoe Lady is an intriguing and well-considered examination of the social and domestic pressures placed on women to perform multiple and often contradictory roles in our society.
‘Funny, sad & meaningful’: TEENAGE DICK – Donmar Warehouse
In Teenage Dick Mike Lew has created a version of Richard III that suits the high school context extremely well, asking the audience to consider attitudes to disability, power and social structures that perpetuate all kinds of inequality.
‘The best thing is its pitch perfect cast’: THE ANTIPODES – National Theatre
The Antipodes is certainly not the play for you if you want an easy, purely entertaining night at the theatre. However, if you’re willing to put in the effort and have something to chew over then it very much is for you.
‘This is a writer with lots to say’: THE ANTIPODES – National Theatre
While the descent into a kind of collective insanity may seem strange in lieu of a plot in Annie Baker’s Antipodes at the National Theatre, as with all her work you find your thoughts returning to it again and again once the curtain comes down.
‘A play whose time has come yet again’: EUROPE – Donmar Warehouse
Europe at the Donmar Warehouse is a magnificent revival of David Greig’s 1990s visionary classic which is timely, tough and tender, brutal and brilliant.
‘Packs a fierce climactic punch’: EUROPE – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★
Michael Longhurst’s terrific, visceral debut production of David Greig’s Europe at the Donmar Warehouse packs a fierce climactic punch.
‘Truly compelling & startling piece’: THE AMERICAN CLOCK – The Old Vic ★★★★
An innovative take on the lesser-known Arthur Miller play The American Clock, bringing the Vaudeville elements to the fore – as startlingly relevant as it ever has been.
‘A lovely piece of new writing’: SUPERHOE – Royal Court Theatre
Superhoe at the Royal Court is a bright new monologue about coming of age in the Instagram era that really rocks its youthful socks.
‘Utterly compelling storytelling’: THE CANE – Royal Court Theatre
A finely tuned, rapid fire and utterly compelling 100 minutes of theatre. The Cane challenges, provokes and entertains
‘Great writing, great production, great stuff’: THE CANE – Royal Court Theatre
Mark Ravenhill’s comeback play The Cane at the Royal Court Theatre is a brilliant, complex and mature account of the abuse of power.
‘Engaging & powerful three-hander’: THE CANE – Royal Court Theatre
Mark Ravenhill’s fascinating new play The Cane at the Royal Court Theatre examines the issues of culpability for small-scale endorsed acts of violence and the nature of justice.
‘Tragedy goes hand-in-hand with farce’: PITY – Royal Court Theatre
Now, on the main stage at the Royal Court Theatre, Rory Mullarkey’s leftfield fantasy, Pity, offers a surreal state-of-the-world account of our society, and of its discombobulations.
‘A handful of bearable moments’: JUBILEE – Lyric Hammersmith
The best that can be said about Chris Goode’s Jubilee is that it must surely be in the running for the hotly contested accolade of the worst show of the whole decade.