National Theatre and Sky Arts’ hybrid theatre and film production of Romeo & Juliet has been a fascinating experiment resulting in a smart, interesting and entirely collaborative piece of art.
‘Celebrating the breadth & creativity of the theatre industry’: THE MEANING OF ZONG / AFTERPLAY – BBC Sounds
The Meaning of Zong and Afterplay showcase the power of audio drama to transport an audience’s imagination and to see the familiar a little differently.
With light at the end of the tunnel for live performance and some of our biggest institutions announcing summer programmes at their venues, the BBC’s new Lights Up Festival has arrived at a moment of optimism, not just acting as a reminder of all …
‘The creativity & visual style really impress’: ASSEMBLY – Donmar Warehouse (Online review)
Assembly, the first production from the Donmar Local company, shows a lot of promise, combining an enthusiastic group of performers with a creative team eager to explore technical boundaries in the presentation of meaningful stories.
‘A significant achievement of this third lockdown’: Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels – Finborough Theatre (Online review)
When we left 1 and A in Episode 14 of Athena Stevens’ Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels they were both in some kind of moral and emotional jeopardy, and it seemed appropriate on International Women’s Day to return to this nuanced and considered exploration of female agency, solidarity and behaviour.
‘You’ll be eager to find out what happens next’: Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels – Finborough Theatre (Online review)
Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels has already become a gripping anatomy of relationships and the attempts to manipulate two quite different women.
‘Offers very human portraits of great writers’: LITTLE WARS (Online review)
With a charitable donation for every digital ticket sold going to Women for Refugee Women, Little Wars is still an all too rare experience – a play that puts women at its centre without focusing specifically on ‘women’s issues’.
‘Engaging insights into living with & exploring the nature of disability’: Unlimited Festival – Southbank Centre (Online review)
Festivals are a vital part of the theatre ecosystem, a place to try out new material, explore form and style while giving a valuable platform to all kinds of performance. These activities have been among the hardest hit during the period of closur…
‘Will be just the kind of theatre magic we’ve all been waiting for’: SWINGIN’ THE DREAM – RSC (Online review)
The RSC, Young Vic and Theatre for a New Audience have a difficult but fascinating task ahead in re-creating lost work Swingin’ the Dream that honours the original while offering something new to modern audiences.
‘Atmospheric & absorbing short drama’: THAT DINNER OF ’67 – BBC Radio 4
With director Stanley Kramer’s making of the groundbreaking film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner as its subject matter, Tracy-Ann Oberman and David Spicer’s new radio drama has a compelling contemporary relevance.
‘Makes a virtue of its scratch staging’: SUNSET BOULVARD IN CONCERT – Leicester Curve (Online review)
Curve Leicester’s Sunset Boulevard certainly offers ‘new ways to dream,’ proving a beautiful and fitting finale to a year of considerable change for theatre.
‘Will put a warm glow in your heart’: THE NUTCRACKER – Birmingham Royal Ballet (Online review)
Integral to the festive Birmingham experience, the chance to watch this delightful production of The Nutcracker from home is a rare silver lining in an otherwise troubled month for the performing arts.
‘Will only go from strength to strength as the run continues’: A CHRISTMAS CAROL – Old Vic (Online review)
Andrew Lincoln brings a real gravitas to proceedings in A Christmas Carol, anchoring the production and delivering a performance of variety and skill that will leave you hoping he returns to the stage more often in the future.
‘Sparkles with ghostly Christmas chill’: A CHRISTMAS CAROL – Bridge Theatre
Filled with a real love of Dickens’ words as well as his characters the Bridge Theatre has found a fresh and exciting way to tell the familiar tale of A Christmas Carol and give Scrooge’s redemption arc a renewed emphasis.
‘Joseph Potter is more than a match for this quick-fire writing’: THE POLTERGEIST – Southwark Playhouse (Online review)
Philip Ridley’s play The Poltergeist made an intimate transition to the screen and will be unmissable as soon as live performances can be scheduled.
‘A triumph of ingenuity & responsiveness’: 15 HEROINES – Jermyn Street Theatre (Online theatre)
15 Heroines is an impressive and energised reworking of Greek myth that leaves the audience keen to find out more about each of these women and their remarkable lives.
Being a woman in Greek Mythology isn’t easy and for the most part they sit on the sidelines, forgotten sideshows to what are predominantly male narratives of war, conquest and feats of daring. Where women do feature, they are mere prizes to be won,…
‘Feels like a statement of intent’: CRAVE – Chichester Festival Theatre
A Sarah Kane play is by no means a safe option for any theatre looking to attract audiences back to its auditorium, but this bold and intriguing production of Crave at Chichester Festival Theatre was worth the risk.
‘Has an intimacy redolent of Graham’s earlier works’: BUBBLE – Nottingham Playhouse (Online review)
One of the highest profile events in Nottingham Playhouse’s Unlocked Festival was Bubble, a hybrid production, performed in-house and live streamed over the weekend to a potential international audience – a new James Graham comedy about life in lockdown.
‘Puts musical theatre at the top of the theatrical agenda’: SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD – London Palladium
This incredible concert version of Songs for a New World serves as an all-to-brief reminder of how it feels to listen to live music in an enclosed, traditional theatre space, responding to every note and beat.
‘Character investment is strong from the beginning’: AFTER YOU – TONIGHT AT THE LONDON COLISEUM (Online review)
After You is a brief but well constructed story about musical theatre’s favourite theme – love – but is less the straightforward tale of boy meets girl who live happily ever after. It is more a two-hander that plays with convention.
‘A story predicated on equality, mutual support & finding your own path’: ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS – Bristol Old Vic (Online review)
Romantics Anonymous is a story predicated on equality, mutual support and finding your own path as individuals (and as a couple) rather than waiting for someone else to come and save you from your life – implications that after years of rom coms and social messaging is subtly but usefully employed through a charmingly conceived but nonetheless carefully structured story.