This is Masks And Faces (full title: Masks And Faces or Before And Behind The Curtain) his 1852 play set in the world of the theatrical profession which the Finborough rediscovered and produced in 2004 and is now being presented as a recorded Zoom reading.
A double whammy of encore performances proves to be a pleasure
Regular readers will know that I like nothing more than seeing shows I’ve already seen and loved again… and again. As a critic, you see shows under specific circumstances — as invited by the production.
‘It’s very hard once you’ve got a line like that in your head’: Assessing the aftermath of a bad review
In a free-for-all age of journalism, the currency of individual theatre reviews matter a lot less than they used to; all a theatre PR wants is a spread of five-star reviews, and they’re easier to summon than ever if you don’t look too closely which publications they come from. The general public won’t notice the difference, so its a bluff that often works.
MISSED THE BOAT: Stephen Ward
I very nearly did see this one, but it opened and closed so swiftly that I didn’t really have the chance – I wasn’t living in London at that point, so a bit more planning was required for my theatre trips.
NEWS: Critics’ Circle Awards sets date for 11 Feb, renames Best New Play in honour of Michael Billington
The next Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards, celebrating the best of 2019’s theatre, will take place at 1pm on Tuesday 11 February 2020 at the West End’s Prince of Wales Theatre, hosted by Critics’ Circle Drama Section Chairman Henry Hitchings and produced by (MyTheatreMates’ own) Terri Paddock. The ceremony is one of the best-loved in the theatre awards calendar with its …
What is wrong with Come From Away being ‘relentlessly cheerful’?
I’m not one for twee, saccharine niceness, but the simple, honest goodness that runs through Come From Away is something that I can get on board with.
Schiller thrillers: The Faction launches two-week SchillerFest at The Bunker, 31 October
The Faction celebrate the work of 18th-century German powerhouse Friedrich Schiller with a two-week SchillerFest, at the Bunker Theatre from 31 October to 11 November 2017, showcasing his greatest plays and a line-up including Dame Eileen Atkins, Ciaran Hinds, Celia Imrie and Guardian critic Michael Billington.
The Critic, or who is Helena?
Guardian critic Michael Billington recently brought back his bizarre alter-ego, a young woman named Helena, for his review of Fatherland at the Manchester International Festival.
This House & politics today: a very personal despair
Here I was watching the style of archaic, combative, misogynistic, blinkered, self-serving power politics which have helped to bring this country and the USA to a terrifying position of ungovernability which we are living through today.
TICKETS: Mark’s Top Ten recommendations (21 Dec)
You’re not going to find any pantos on my top ten list this season — I’ve just not been to any at all this year, thanks to my double round of surgery for a hip replacement, then displacement.
TICKETS: Mark’s Top Ten recommendations + this week’s openings (7 Dec)
What’s opening in London and beyond this week, plus my personal Top Ten of the Week including Bend it Like Beckham and The Winter’s Tale
TICKETS: Mark’s Top Ten recommendations + this week’s openings (7 Dec)
What’s opening in London and beyond this week, plus my personal Top Ten of the Week including Bend it Like Beckham and The Winter’s Tale
Mark’s Critical Digest: Linda, Funny Girl, The Girls, Oliver!, Barbarians and Macbeth
Reviews digest of openings in London, Leicester and Leeds from national critics for new productions of Linda, Funny Girl, The Girls, Oliver!, Barbarians and Macbeth.
Press pass: Reviews and everything else you need to know about Bradley Cooper in The Elephant Man
After nearly a week of staggered press performances, and one starry gala evening, the reviews are now out for the West End transfer for The Elephant Man, which is now running for a limited 12-week season until 8 August 2015 at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Scott Ellis‘ production already comes trailing four Tony Awards nominations – […]
The past, present and future of theatre criticism
Mark has been taking part in a workshop as part of the Young Critics programme held at Winchester’s Theatre Royal. He gave the following speech to young critics on 4 April 2015.
No one ever built a statue to a critic, it was once famously said, but in 2013 two critics received OBE’s in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list. Michael Billington and Philip French, theatre and film critics for The Guardian and The Observer,were honoured after writing reviews in their particular disciplines for a 100 years between them. And in New York, there are not one but two Broadway theatres named after critics, Brooks Atkinson (pictured left) and Walter Kerr. We don’t yet have a Ken Tynan or even a Jack Tinker Theatre here, let alone a Billington.
And 2013 marked another centenary: that of the Critics’ Circle itself. So critics have been around for a long time, and are still having a demonstrable influence in setting the cultural agendas of the areas they cover. But will they be around much longer?
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