Rufus Norris may have commissioned a new adaptation of the Brecht by Simon Stephens to tick myriad boxes of contention from the politics of gender, sexuality, disability, and (naturally) the Middle East to the ever looming shadow of radical nationalism but no amount of theatrical panache and comic posturing can ever really disguise the fact that between the songs Threepenny Opera is a bore.
AS YOU LIKE IT – National Theatre
A MAGICAL GLADE OF OFFICE FURNITURE…
Of all Shakespeare’s comedies, this is the one which most combines memorable lines – the seven ages of man, Rosalind’s quickfire epigrams about love – with a defiantly absurd plot and a rejection of every probability except that of young love.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: Finding myself centrestage at my public birthday party
This week I had another birthday — but it wasn’t any birthday: Scott Alan threw a public birthday bash for me. And it was the best of my life!
NEWS: New National Theatre season includes Anne-Marie Duff in DH Lawrence
The National Theatre has announced its new booking period, running from July 2015 to January 2016, with several new productions and some big names – including Anne-Marie Duff, whose previous award-winning NT credits include Strange Interlude and Saint Joan – entering the repertoire, as well as myriad casting updates. NATIONAL THEATRE: JULY 2015 – JANUARY 2016 Shakespeare’s AS YOU LIKE …
NEWS: New National Theatre season includes Anne-Marie Duff in DH Lawrence
The National Theatre has announced its new booking period, running from July 2015 to January 2016, with several new productions and some big names – including Anne-Marie Duff, whose previous award-winning NT credits include Strange Interlude and Saint Joan – entering the repertoire, as well as myriad casting updates. NATIONAL THEATRE: JULY 2015 – JANUARY 2016 Shakespeare’s AS YOU LIKE …
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.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: Three Continents, Two Islands, 11 Shows, 1 Film
I woke up last Saturday in Africa and today I’ve woken up in New York. In between, I’ve also been back home in London, so I’ve been on three continents in the space of a week, or at any rate one huge continent and two comparatively tiny islands, namely mainland UK and Manhattan.
NEWS: Casting announced for wonder.land at Manchester International Festival
The new musical from Damon Albarn, based on Lewis Carroll’s iconic characters, will premiere at MIF15 with a cast featuring Rosalie Craig. Casting is announced for the Manchester International Festival run of wonder.land, a new musical inspired by Lewis Carroll’s iconic Alice in Wonderland, with music by Damon Albarn and book and lyrics by Moira Buffini (Tamara Drewe, Handbagged), directed by National Theatre Director Rufus Norris.
Where will you be on election night? I Vote for the Donmar
For the last General Election, on 6 May 2010, I went to a party at the Paramount Club at the top of Centrepoint. All night we waited up, for no dramatic climax, no result. This time round, I can’t imagine that any self-respecting, remotely politically minded, theatre lover will want to be anywhere but crammed […]