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‘The physical fighting feels like an odd choice’: PRIVATE LIVES – Donmar Warehouse

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Rev StanLeave a Comment

The first thing I said to my friend during the interval of Private Lives at the Donmar Warehouse was, ‘I don’t remember this being a play about domestic violence’. We’d just witnessed Elyot (Stephen Mangan) and Amanda (Rachael Stirling) having a physical fight which included Elyot grabbing Amanda by the throat and throwing her onto a sofa.

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‘The approach unbalances the play entirely’: PRIVATE LIVES – Donmar Warehouse

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Maryam PhilpottLeave a Comment

The sun is setting on Michael Longhurst’s time at the Donmar Warehouse and his penultimate production is a timeless classic, Noel Coward’s sparky and charismatic relationship comedy about middle aged love, Private Lives, a fairly safe bet which this century alone has resulted in some great comic pairings from Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan to Toby Stephens and Anna Chancellor. But Coward’s work is tricky to get right and it always looks far easier than it really is.

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NEWS: John Simm, Dervla Kirwan Hugh Bonneville, James Nesbitt & Sheila Hancock all feature in Chichester Festival Theatre’s new season

In Musicals, Native, News, Plays, Press Releases, Regional theatre, Sticky, Touring by Press ReleasesLeave a Comment

Chichester Festival Theatre’s Festival 2019 has been announced by artistic director Daniel Evans. It includes John Simm & Dervla Kirwan in Macbeth, Hugh Bonneville in Shadowlands & Tim Firth’s first solo musical starring James Nesbitt.

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Year in Review: Ian Foster’s Best Supporting Actress in a Play & in a Musical

In Awards, Features, London theatre, Musicals, Native, Opinion, Plays, Regional theatre by Ian FosterLeave a Comment

In addition to lists of top productions, Mates contributor Ian Foster reviews his reviews from the past year to award his personal prizes for the best performances for Best Actor and Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress in both plays and musicals…