Joe Hill-Gibbins’ of The Tragedy of King Richard the Second is inherently divisive, and the critics have obliged but, only three days into the year, it is very hard to imagine a more exciting or compelling Shakespeare coming along in 2019.
‘Shows us what Shakespeare can be’: THE TRAGEDY OF KING RICHARD THE SECOND – Almeida Theatre
Simon Russell Beale and Leo Bill shine in Joe Hill-Gibbins’ perfectly reimagined The Tragedy of King Richard the Second at the Almeida Theatre.
‘Unafraid to reflect a cold & unfeeling world’: MACHINAL – Almeida Theatre
Sophie Treadwell’s 1928 play Machinal may be the story of one woman battling societal pressure but Natalie Abrahami’s production for the Almeida Theatre teases out a more elemental struggle, one which stretches over the majority of the 20th century and by extension, even further.
OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS – Hampstead Theatre
At a time when everyone is talking about globalization, when this is an issue in every election, plays about the international reach of European countries are still quite rare. So it’s great to be able to see two recent dramas that give some sense of how difficult it is to grasp the bigger picture in all its complexity.
Round-up of theatre things: Obsession & Janet Suzman as Rose
Fresh from taking the Barbican by storm (again) with Roman Tragedies, Ivo van Hove and Toneelgroep Amsterdam will be returning to London next month with a version of Luchino Visconti’s 1943 film Obsession.
THE SEWING GROUP – Royal Court Theatre
E V Crowe has been steadily building a reputation as a writer of taut, stringent control since her debut, Kin (2010) followed by the positively garrulous (by her standards) but impressive Hero (2012) with Daniel Mays. Last year, Brenda, a study in mystery and abuse, premiered at the High Tide festival and certainly took no prisoners. Nor does her latest, The Sewing Group.
THE SEWING GROUP – Royal Court Theatre
New drama about our desire for a simpler life is intriguing, but its ending is a bit flawed.
THE SEWING GROUP – Royal Court Theatre
When I was at primary school, we did a thing in needlepoint where we sewed seemingly random shapes in a line and only when we’d finished and Mrs Holcroft (I think it was) told us to look at the spaces inbetween, did we see that we’d made a handicraft tribute to Jesus.
NEWS: Last night of Mike Bartlett’s Wild will be live-streamed free, 23 Jul
Hampstead Theatre today announces that its acclaimed production of Wild, Mike Bartlett’s new play inspired by Edward Snowden, will be streamed worldwide, free, and live on its final night, this Saturday 23 July 2016 at 7.30pm GMT, in association with The Guardian.
WILD – Hampstead Theatre
Mike Bartlett’s latest, inspired by the Edward Snowden affair, relies on a coup de theatre to get out of a stalled plot.