A Complicite show is event theatre. Previous works such as A Disappearing Number, An Encounter and The Master and Margarita are locked in a pantheon of the great works of my lifetime. So, it’s no surprise to learn that I admired their latest work Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of The Dead immeasurably. What I didn’t do, was fall for it.
‘This is an entertainment that is lit up by the excellence of its acting’: COCK – West End
Mike Bartlett’s Cock invites suggestive comments, but the main thing about the play is that it has proved to be a magnet for star casting.
‘Mike Bartlett’s play continues to fascinate & challenge’: COCK – West End
Theatre has always been a place to explore identity by using different character perspectives to consider points of view, social structures or inherited notions of what an individual can and should be.
‘The quality of this production shines through’: Phèdre – National Theatre (Online review)
Following news that the National Theatre has launched its much anticipated streaming service National Theatre At Home, John Chapman goes back to 2009 and NT Live’s very first live streamed production on cinema screens, Helen Mirren in Phèdre.
NEWS: Three prizes each for & Juliet, Dear Evan Hansen & Emilia as Olivier Awards 2020 winners are announced
The winners of the Olivier Awards 2020 with Mastercard were announced in a special ITV programme filmed at The London Palladium, and on Official London Theatre’s YouTube channel.
NEWS: Acting honours for Andrew Scott, Sharon D Clarke & Juliet Stevenson & Jamie Lloyd is named Best Director at Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards
Andrew Scott, Sharon D. Clarke, Juliet Stevenson, Sam Tutty and Hammed Animashaun have won the top acting honours at the 2019 Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards.
NEWS: Stirling Prize-winning architect Steve Tompkins tops The Stage 100
Steve Tompkins, director of Haworth Tompkins, the architecture studio responsible for projects including many of UK theatre’s most high-profile building projects, has been named number one in The Stage 100 in association with Spektrix.
‘A conscience-pricking, outrage-provoking piece of work’: EAR FOR EYE – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★
There is no one quite like debbie tucker green and her new play ear for eye, no one writing with the same urgency, disquiet and plain brilliance for adjusting and changing forms.
‘Constant wonder at the skill in storytelling’: MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE – Touring ★★★★★
It’s 23 years since Mathew Bourne changed the gender of the swans in Swan Lake for his choreography of the ballet but it still stands the test of time.
‘If you have not yet seen it, that should be put right as soon as possible’: WAR HORSE – Touring ★★★★★
The touring production of War Horse at the Festival Theatre is involving, emotional, visually spectacular and every bit as good as you have probably heard.
HEISENBERG: The Uncertainty Principle – West End
Anne-Marie Duff and Kenneth Cranham try their best in unconvincing rom-com, which is predictable and portentous.
THE RED SHOES – Touring
The story of aspiring ballerina Vicky Page, who falls in love with composer Julian Craster while also falling under the spell of controlling dance impresario Boris Lermontov, is of course from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1948 film.
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME – Touring
Having read the book a few years ago, I was quite curious to see how Mark Haddon‘s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time would translate to the stage and Simon Stevens adaptation certainly doesn’t disappoint. It is spellbinding!
PHOTOS: Emma Rice, Donmar Shakespeare & Our Ladies win inaugural Tonic Awards
The winners were announced at the ceremony last night (29 March 2017) for the inaugural Tonic Awards, at the May Fair Theatre hosted by Jenni Murray DBE. The Awards were initiated to celebrate the achievements of game-changing women who are redefining theatre and the performing arts. The winners honoured at this evening’s event are: Rosemary Squire, Donmar Warehouse’s all-female Shakespeare Trilogy, …
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME – Touring
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is Simon Stephens’ charming adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel of the same name. The story of Christopher Boone is one that has touched many people over the years, telling of an intelligent and inquisitive 15-year-old with Asperger’s Syndrome.
THE RED BARN – National Theatre
David Hare’s latest is a superb adaptation of a Simenon thriller that is set in the United States.
ELEGY – Donmar Warehouse
New one from Nick Payne explores brain science and female relationships, but is just a bit too superficial.
WONDER.LAND – Manchester & London
Wonder.land is a brand new musical, directed by Rufus Norris, that is being performed as part of the Manchester International Festival. Taking its inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice in Wonderland, the new musical tells the story of Aly, a young teen who battles with bullies at school and struggles to find happiness at home with her mother and baby brother ‘cabbage pants’ Charlie. Aly is unable to look to her father for support either, as although he loves her dearly, he is addicted to online gambling.