Gripping performances from Clive Owen and Lia Williams, and James Macdonald’s slow-burn direction allows Tennessee Williams’ writing in The Night Of The Iguana to cast its spell.
‘You can practically hear doors flinging open to Yarrow all over town’: JOSEPH & THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT – West End
The staging and orchestration of the Palladium’s new version of Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat looks to the future, as a whole new set of children fall in love with this perennial musical.
‘Thorne’s writing is meaningful & engaging’: THE END OF HISTORY – Royal Court Theatre
In The End of History Thorne shuffles various perspectives within the family, examining their different experiences of the same events from multiple angles, and while these differences drive wedges between them, ultimately and with hope for the future, he explores the ties that keep people together.
‘Simply a wonderful night at the theatre’: PRESENT LAUGHTER – The Old Vic
The Old Vic’s production of Present Laughter finally feels as though we’re shaking off some of the restraints that have shackled Noel Coward to the past.
‘Has nothing to say & misses the point’: BITTER WHEAT – West End
Bitter Wheat is not only frustratingly irresponsible in its treatment of the events that led to the #MeToo movement, it is also a poorly constructed drama.
‘Brings a fresh, more contemporary feel’: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM – Bridge Theatre
It is the slight rearrangement of the text and its implication for the female characters that is Nicholas Hytner’s most notable achievement here in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge Theatre.
‘Highly stylised & fast-moving production which has a lot to say’: EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION – Trafalgar Studios
However light its frame, ultimately Education, Education, Education has serious points to make about the short-termist approaches to education funding used cynically as a political tool to win voters.
‘Sets Williams’ seminal drama in an entirely new context without changing a word’: THE GLASS MENAGERIE – Arcola Theatre
Femi Elufowoju Jr’s production of The Glass Menagerie is fascinating with the tense and vibrant second half in particular proving both gripping and illuminating
‘The strength of the production is in its slow-build effect’: OUR TOWN – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Thornton Wilder’s writing in Our Town feels as fresh and innovative as it must have done in the 1930s and taking an early season risk on a less conventional play ultimately pays off.
‘Consistently interesting & valuable experience’: ORPHEUS DESCENDING – Menier Chocolate Factory
Even a middling Tennessee Williams play – Orpheus Descending – is better than most, and this one still has plenty to say about sacrifice and suffocation in small-town America