MARIANKA SWAIN ~ WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW

BWW Interview: Tim Howar

Posted on May 22, 2019 by mkmswain

The actor and singer discusses playing the title role in The Phantom of the Opera.

Read my full BroadwayWorld interview here

The audience plays surveillance state in this pioneering collaboration between playwright Ella Hickson and sound designers Ben and Max Ringham. We experience the action through individual sets of headphones, corresponding to a hidden mic on our protagonist Anna – listening in to her every exchange and private moment.

Read my full BroadwayWorld review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged 60s, anna, ben and max ringham, berlin, book tickets, broadwayworld, cold war, communist, east berlin, ella hickson, germany, headphones, national theatre, phoebe fox, review, sound design, spy, thriller | Leave a comment

No laughing matter: The challenges of reviewing comedy

Posted on May 14, 2019 by mkmswain

BroadwayWorld reviewers share their thoughts.

Read the full article here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged article, broadwayworld, comedy, comic, edinburgh festival, farce, funny, gender, humour, improv, joke, laugh, play, review, reviewer, reviewing, simon amstell, sketch, stand-up, theatre | Leave a comment

Travelling to London’s South Bank: Transport and Navigation Tips

Posted on May 12, 2019 by mkmswain

Advice on travelling to theatres in and around the South Bank, including the National and Shakespeare’s Globe.

Read my full BroadwayWorld article here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged bike, boat, bridge, broadwayworld, bus, directions, embankment, guide, help, london, national theatre, old vic, play, river, riverside, shakespeares globe, south bank, southbank centre, taxi, theatre, tips, train, transport, travel, tube, visit london, walk, waterloo, young vic | Leave a comment

Death of a Salesman, Young Vic

Posted on May 10, 2019 by mkmswain

Seventy years on from its Broadway opening, Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell present Arthur Miller’s masterpiece afresh in an inspired, shattering revival. One key change – making the 1940s Loman family African-American – gives the play a whole new texture, while retaining its searing condemnation of the American Dream’s false promises.

Read my full BroadwayWorld review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged 1940s, african-american, american dream, arinze kene, arthur miller, broadwayworld, death of a salesman, london, marianne elliott, new york, play, race, review, sharon d clarke, theatre, wendell pierce, young vic | Leave a comment

London’s best pre-theatre outdoor places to eat and drink

Posted on May 6, 2019 by mkmswain

In honour of our recent sunny spell, hopefully the first of many as we head into summer, here are some of London’s finest pre-theatre outdoor eating and drinking options.

Read my full BroadwayWorld article here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged bar, best, broadwayworld, cocktail, dining, dinner, drink, eat, guide, london, meal, musical, play, pre show, pre theatre, pub, restaurant, south bank, theatre, top, visit london, west end | Leave a comment

Creative energy

Posted on May 4, 2019 by mkmswain

Strictly Come Dancing pro Oti Mabuse discusses making her musical theatre choreography debut with Ain’t Misbehavin’.

Read my full Dancing Times interview here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre, TV | Tagged aint misbehavin, ballroom, bbc, choreographer, choreography, dance, dancer, dancing, dancing times, debut, fats waller, interview, jazz, latin, musical, oti mabuse, southwark playhouse, strictly, strictly come dancing, the greatest dancer, theatre, tv, tyrone huntley | Leave a comment

Rosmersholm, Duke of York’s Theatre

Posted on May 4, 2019 by mkmswain

As politicians and pundits dissect the local election results, Duncan Macmillan serves up a blistering new adaptation of an 1886 work that feels eerily like a 2019 commentary. Move over, James Graham – it turns out Ibsen has supplied the political play for today.

Read my full BroadwayWorld review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged book tickets, brexit, broadwayworld, cheap tickets, duke of yorks theatre, duncan macmillan, election, giles terera, hamilton, hayley atwell, ibsen, london, play, politics, review, rosmersholm, theatre, ticket deal, tom burke, visit london, west end | Leave a comment

Small Island, National Theatre

Posted on May 3, 2019 by mkmswain

The 2004 prize-winning novel by Andrea Levy, who sadly passed away earlier this year, has been beautifully translated to stage by adaptor Helen Edmundson and NT head honcho Rufus Norris, using thrilling theatrical solutions to honour Levy’s epic – and still urgent – tale.

Read my full BroadwayWorld review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged andrea levy, book tickets, broadwayworld, caribbean, immigrant, immigration, jamaica, leah harvey, london, national theatre, play, review, rufus norris, second world war, small island, theatre, west indies, windrush | Leave a comment

Man of La Mancha, London Coliseum

Posted on May 1, 2019 by mkmswain

English National Opera continues its run of semi-staged musicals, in commercial collaboration with Grade Linnit, with a revival of this vintage oddity. Mind, commercial might be a stretch, as Dale Wasserman, Joe Darion and Mitch Leigh’s 1965 work – it quickly transpires – is a tough sell, particularly in a quixotically cast revival that struggles to find a coherent tone.

Read my full theartsdesk review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged coliseum, danielle de niese, don quixote, english national opera, eno, frasier, kelsey grammer, london, man of la mancha, musical, nicholas lyndhurst, peter polycarpou, review, spain, theartsdesk, theatre, west end | Leave a comment

MARIANKA SWAIN ~ WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW

BWW Interview: Tim Howar

ANNA, National Theatre

No laughing matter: The challenges of reviewing comedy

Travelling to London’s South Bank: Transport and Navigation Tips

Death of a Salesman, Young Vic

London’s best pre-theatre outdoor places to eat and drink

Creative energy

Rosmersholm, Duke of York’s Theatre

Small Island, National Theatre

Man of La Mancha, London Coliseum

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