Reviews Archive
Love, Loss & Chianti - two plays by Christopher Reid. Riverside Studios, Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, London W8 to 17 May 2020. 4****. William Russell.
Spell binding and beautifully performed.
The Coastguard by Marie Macneill, Barbican Theatre Plymouth, Tour till 29 February 2020, 5*****, Cormac Richards
An exquisitely understated theatrical treat
Not I, Rockaby & Catastrophe by Samuel Beckett. The Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, 410 Brockley Road, London SE4 to 7 March 2020. 3***. William Russell.
Not for the faint hearted but well worth taking the risk - three short Beckett plays impeccably performed.
Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare: Theatre Royal Nottingham: till 7/3/20 & tour: 5*****. Alan Geary
The RSC at the top of its game.
The Prince of Egypt. Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Philip Lazebnik. The Dominion Theatre, Tottenham Court Road, London W11. to 31 October 2020, 2**. William Russell
Lavish but dire musical about how Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and abandoned his not quite brother Ramses.
Moonlight and Magnolias by Ron Hutchinson: Nottingham Playhouse: till 7/3/20: 4****. Alan Geary
A gem of a play
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, Tobacco Factory Theatres Bristol till 21 March 2020, 3***, Cormac Richards
Epic drama falls a little short
A Number by Caryl Churchill. The Bridge, Potters Field Park, London SE1 to 14 March 2020. 4****. William Russell
A chilling, finely performed and staged production.
The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, Theatre Royal Plymouth till 29 February 2020 and tour till 7 November 2020, 4****, Cormac Richards
Old Fashioned maybe, but still very entertaining
Elton John - It's a Little Bit Funny by Chris Burgess. Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate Village, London N6 to 1 March 2020 & then on tour. 4****. William Russell.
A terrific revue featuring the songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin to send everyone up and away with Rocket Man and all the rest.
Notch by Danaja Wass, Vaults Festival, London to 23rd February 2020. 3***. Mark Courtice
A bleak glimpse into the black hole of obsession, powerful and openly theatrical.
La Cage aux Folles by Jean Poiret in a new version by Simon Callow. The Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, London N4 to 21 March 2020. 4****. William Russell.
Forget the Jerry Herman musical and enjoy this laughter filled version of the original farce - the best laugh likely in ages.
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, Theatre Royal Plymouth till 22 February and tour till 4 April 2020, 5*****, Cormac Richards
Terrific re-jigging of Shakespeare play that works!
A Monster Calls adapted from the novel by Patrick Ness: Theatre Royal Nottingham: Till 22/2/20 & tour: 5*****. Alan Geary
A definite must-see
The Cutting Edge by Jack Shepherd. The Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, London E8 to 21 March 2020. 4****. William Russell.
Maggie Steed marvellous as Elvira, an ageing sozzled Bohemian artist' in Jack Shepherd's play about the nature of art and life in the country.
Luisa Miller Giuseppe Verdi. English National Opera, London Coliseum, to 6th March 2020 3*** Mark Courtice
Superb singing in a production that sacrifices subtlety to concept
People Show 137: God Knows How Many. Southwark Playhouse, London and then tour to 26.05.2020. 4****. Mark Courtice
Veteran disrupters in delightful, thoughtful and reminiscent form
Far Away by Caryl Churchill. The Donmar Warehouse, 41 Earlham Street, London WC2H to 1 April 2020. 4****. William Russell.
A chilling, thought-provoking view of a future world at war with itself.
The Dog Walker by Paul Minx. Jermyn Street Theatre, 18b Jermyn Street, London SW1Y to 7 March 2020. 4****. William Russell.
A story of two lost people in New York very well acted, directed and with a superb set.
Lepoldstadt by Tom Stoppard. Wyndham's Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London WC2 to 13 June 2020. 4****. William Russell.
An elegiac, deeply moving piece about a Jewish family in Vienna covering the years from 1899 to 1955.