Arthur Schnitzler was, like Chekhov, a doctor; he was an Austrian Jew at a time when mistrust was rising. The Doctor belongs passionately to that time: but director Robert Icke’s very free adaptation belongs – urgently and exhilaratingly – to our own.
NEWS: Juliet Stevenson & Ria Zmitrowicz will star in the world premiere of Robert Icke’s The Doctor at the Almeida
The Almeida Theatre has announced a new play written and directed by Robert Icke called The Doctor, freely adapted from Arthur Schnitzler’s 1912 play Professor Bernhardi, featuring Juliet Stevenson and Ria Zmitrowicz.
‘The play is full of rich parts & the cast is more than up to the task’: THE WILD DUCK – Almeida Theatre
Robert Icke’s new production of The Wild Duck is bold and controversial but delivers an interpretation that strikes home very hard indeed.
Mark Shenton takes a looks at the thumbs up & down reviews in the West End, plus news from Broadway & beyond
Mark Shenton’s news, reviews, quotes, tweets and farewells of the week, from the West End, Broadway and beyond.
‘Ultimately it lands a huge emotional punch’: THE WILD DUCK – Almeida Theatre ★★★★
Though Robert Icke’s didacticism can be irritating, this Wild Duck undoubtedly pulls its modern audience into Ibsen’s tense, spiralling emotions to powerful effect.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: The Wild Duck at Almeida Theatre
Robert Icke offers a new interpretation of Henrik Ibsen’s play examining the nature of truth. Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews for The Wild Duck at the Almeida Theatre…
‘Still slow cooked, but mmm… delicious’: THE WILD DUCK – Almeida Theatre ★★★★
Robert Icke’s conversational, documentary production of The Wild Duck at the Almeida Theatre makes this complex morality play immediately accessible.
‘The core of the play is beautifully, tenderly, sadly rendered’: THE WILD DUCK – Almeida Theatre ★★★★
Director Robert Icke, most ingenious of re-framers and refreshers, presents Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, a classic of pain and lies, with a touch of meta-theatre at the Almeida Theatre.
NEWS: Full cast is announced for Ibsen’s The Wild Duck at the Almeida in a new version by Robert Icke
The full cast for the Almeida Theatre production of The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen, in a new version created by the venue’s associate director Robert Icke, is Nicholas Day, Grace Doherty, Nicholas Farrell, Andrea Hall, Kevin Harvey, Edward Hogg, Lyndsey Marshal, Clara Read and Rick Warden.
That was August in Theatreland – news, misses & celeb spots
August was dominated by Edinburgh for me but the London theatre wheels were still turning; here’s my round up of my favourite bits of news, my theatre hits and misses and few celeb spots…
NEWS: Robert Icke directs a new version of Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck at the Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre has announced a new production of Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck in a new version created by Almeida associate director Robert Icke.
‘Astounding performances’: MARY STUART – West End
In Mary Stuart, at the Duke of York’s Theatre, Robert Icke has created an extraordinary retelling of a pivotal moment in British history, making it current and engaging, to an audience hundreds of years later.
Terri’s #TimesUp vlog: Women rule in Mary Stuart & new musical Oranges & Elephants
It’s natural that your reactions to shows are filtered through the prism of the current social and political climate. And savvy theatres, of course, seek to judge the mood and programme accordingly.
‘Political dynamite’: MARY STUART – West End ★★★★
In Robert Icke’s arresting adaptation of Mary Stuart, the scene opens with a sober-suited group of men watching two women in identical black velvet suits and white shirts, while a coin is spun to see which will be Queen Elizabeth I. One is Juliet Stevenson, one Lia Williams. They know no more than we do; they will obey the coin.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Mary Stuart at the Duke of York’s Theatre
Robert Icke’s production of this Schiller classic takes up residence at the West End’s Duke of York’s Theatre, following on from another Almeida Theatre production Ink. Juliet Stevenson and Lia Williamson once again play the two queens, with a toss of a coin each night deciding who is Mary Stuart and who is Queen Elizabeth. Here’s what critics made of the West End transfer.
‘Dangerous & depressingly familiar’: MARY STUART – West End
Lia Williams and Juliet Stevenson are both extraordinary in Mary Stuart at the Duke of York’s Theatre, but the level of sexualisation, sexual violence and assault in the depiction of these two powerful women concerned me immensely.
NEWS: The Ferryman, Follies & Ink dominate 2017 Standard Awards shortlists
Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman, James Graham’s Ink and the National’s revival of Sondheim’s Follies dominate the shortlists for the 2017 Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
HAMLET – Harold Pinter Theatre
Andrew Scott’s interpretation of the Prince of Denmark is stylish, relevant and completely contemporary.