Duty to the art must be done, Robert Holman is a veteran writer, it’s his newest play, and a great cast: would go a long way to see Sylvestra Le Touzel and indeed young Matthew Tennyson.
‘A superficial study of truth and lies’: ALYS, ALWAYS – Bridge Theatre
Alys, Always, a adaptation of Harriet Lane’s psychological and satirical bestseller, is neither vital, nor convincing.
‘Worth your time & more so than the book’: ALYS, ALWAYS – Bridge Theatre
Look, as a piece of drama Alys, Always isn’t the best thing you’ll ever see. It’s unlikely to be troubling the Olivier nominations next year I wouldn’t think. But, actually, I sort of don’t care. It’s really good fun; sheer entertainment with a little bit of something to mentally chew over after the show.
‘Ends up feeling slight & inconsequential’: ALYS, ALWAYS – Bridge Theatre
Nicholas Hytner finally directs a play by a woman but Lucinda Coxon’s adaptation of novel Alys, Always is a disappointment for me at the Bridge Theatre.
NEWS: Final cast details announced for Alys, Always at the Bridge Theatre
Final casting details have been announced for the premiere of Lucinda Coxon’s Alys, Always, directed by Nicholas Hytner and based on the novel by Harriet Lane, starring Joanne Froggatt and Robert Glenister.
‘An uneven double bill, but it does work well’: HOGARTH’S PROGRESS – Rose Theatre, Kingston
Hogarth’s Progress consists of two plays by Nick Dear: The Art of Success, 30 years old, and a new companion piece, The Taste of the Town, set 30 years later. Both tell the story of William Hogarth, artist and satirist, his wife Jane and a fluctuating cast of friends and enemies.
‘Feels misguided’: HOGARTH’s PROGRESS – Rose Theatre, Kingston
The oft-misquoted George Santayana once said “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” and taking a glance at Nick Dear’s Hogarth’s Progress, you can’t help but feel it is most apposite for the folks at the Rose Theatre Kingston.
NEWS: Keith Allen & Bryan Dick share title role in Hogarth’s Progress double bill, Full casting
Keith Allen and Bryan Dick will star as William Hogarth, older and younger, in the double bill of Nick Dear’s Hogarth’s Progress at Rose Theatre, Kingston. Full casting is now announced.
NEWS: Keith Allen & Bryan Dick will lead the cast of Rose Theatre’s double-bill Hogarth’s Progress
Rose Theatre Kingston has announced the full cast for Nick Dear’s double-bill Hogarth’s Progress. Anthony Banks directs Bryan Dick as the younger William Hogarth in the first major UK revival of Dear’s The Art of Success, and Keith Allen as the older William Hogarth in the world première of The Taste of the Town.
‘Surely, this is the crème de la crème of Brodie adaptations’: THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE – Donmar Warehouse
Polly Findlay’s fluent production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie avoids the fluting exaggerations of some previous versions and tells the story with a fine appreciation of its grounding in the needy emotions of all concerned.
‘This is one classroom you’ll yearn to stay in’: THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE – Donmar Warehouse
Based on the novel by Muriel Sparks, David Harrower’s new stage adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie not only marks the 100th anniversary year of Spark’s birth but provides a scorchingly fantastic opportunity for Lia Williams to inhabit the title role so fully.
‘Eclipses any version of this story you may have seen before’: THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE – Donmar Warehouse
It’s a short run at the Donmar – take any available ticket, Polly Findlay’s splendidly-cast and nimbly directed production is a must-see. And let’s hope it has a longer life somewhere else.
‘An enjoyable & distinct adaptation’: THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE – Donmar Warehouse
A hundred years since the birth of novelist Muriel Spark, her 1961 tale The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie has been adapted for the Donmar Warehouse by Blackbird playwright David Harrower and directed by Polly Findlay.
NEWS: Lia Williams stars in new adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie at the Donmar Warehouse
To mark the centenary year of Muriel Spark’s birth, the Donmar Warehouse will present a new stage adaptation of the author’s iconic novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, adapted by Scottish playwright David Harrower and starring Lia Williams in the title role (playing from 4 June to 28 July 2018, press night is 12 June).
WASTE – National Theatre
Do scandals have a sell-by date? When it comes to sex and politicians, the answer is no. The tabloids, and the news-hungry public, still seem to relish a good story about a powerful man who is caught with his trousers around his ankles. So Harley Granville Barker’s Waste — first put on in 1907 and then rewritten some 20 years later — is ostensibly a highly relevant drama of a personal tragedy in which our characteristic national mix of prurience and puritanism gets a longwinded airing. Certainly, the plot is instantly recognisable.