Director Rebecca Frecknall tackles one of the greatest plays of all time, Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire back in the intimacy of the Almeida Theatre and brings a devastating new clarity to it, eschewing the distraction of a heavy set and the cliches that tend to dog interpretations of Williams, from the exaggerated Southern accents to Blanche’s affected gentility.
‘Thrilling theatrical experience’: CONSTELLATIONS – Vaudeville Theatre
Nick Payne’s infinitely fascinating and multi-faceted 2012 play about the endless possibilities of life (and facing death) is perfectly expressed in a revival of director Michael Longhurst’s original production that has now been cast in four different age, race and gender combinations that itself yields multiple meanings.
‘A fun-filled adventure for all the family’: THE WIDER EARTH – Natural History Museum ★★★★
The Wider Earth is a fun-filled adventure for all the family, lifting the lid on a lesser known part of the life of Charles Darwin – the puppetry is simply extraordinary.
‘A glorious adaptation’: SUMMER & SMOKE – Almeida Theatre
The business of Summer & Smoke at the Almeida Theatre is handled with such subtly that it allows the deep emotional connection at the heart of the story to flourish. With a magnetic central pairing, Rebecca Frecknall’s production is unmissably beautiful, and the Almeida at its finest.
‘Truly excellent play’: THE WEIR – Touring ★★★★
The Weir is a piece of theatre that will remind you that at its best all you need are a few good voices with some well-chosen words for a thoroughly enthralling evening.
JUBILEE – Manchester & London ★★★★★
Jubilee is a riot. From the slogans spray-painted on to plywood surrounding the Royal Exchange’s in-the-round space to the chaotic way the cast commandeer the stage, it is obvious from the start that this is no ordinary night at the theatre.
THE WINTER’S TALE – Edinburgh
Lucid and engaging, the Lyceum’s Scottish-set production of The Winter’s Tale has much to recommend it, even if it does not quite convince.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR – Open Air Theatre
In what is unquestionably a Superstar for the 21st century, Timothy Sheader’s Jesus is no long-haired prophet. In an electrifying performance that captures both Christ’s charisma and his flawed vulnerability, Declan Bennett’s Messiah is a powerfully charged hipster.
SPLENDOUR – Donmar Warehouse
Peter McKintosh designs cold, skilful dictator chic: above a shining marble floor, the majestic Mittel-Europa chandelier dims to a blood-red aurora or to surveillance-camera pinpoints. A wide dark window looms beyond two silver-gilt audience chairs. We are in a Presidential Palace anywhere on the grim modern globe. The Leader himself is never seen; we watch, in fragmented, fugal snap-scenes, four women waiting for him through a long afternoon and evening. Outside, a denied revolution is brewing beyond the river as the despised “Northerners” take revenge.