Cole Porter’s 1948 love letter to showbiz is brilliantly served by Opera North’s big, bold and bawdy production – both soaringly romantic and packed with meta winks. A touring staple, Jo Davies’ detailed take (the revival helmed by Ed Goggin) beds down very comfortably in the London Coliseum.
Read my full BroadwayWorld review here
The bells, the bells! They’re ringing out at the Donmar – ushering girls into class, and nuns into cloister. It’s one of the creative ways in which director Polly Findlay reframes this beloved classic, although a new adaptation from David Harrower also rings the changes.
The acclaimed children’s author and illustrator discusses exploring the ocean in his latest work The Big Book of the Blue.
Polly Stenham’s updating of Strindberg’s Miss Julie moves the action to contemporary London, and finds both contempt and sympathy for this new version of the idle rich. But, shorn of its 19th-century context, the play struggles to make the class transgression feel dangerous, nor does this 85-minute piece dwell long enough on subjects like racism or sexism.
On my June MoveTo Town and Country Arts page:
It begins with deep breathing, in order to access words that hold unimaginable power. And Ian Rickson’s exquisite production of Brian Friel’s masterpiece maintains that space throughout: for words to breathe and simmer, to hang in the air, and for us to understand how vital language is not just as a means of communication, but identity, nationality, and a rich heritage at risk of extinction.
From a ground-breaking musical to a mighty modern classic.
Michelle Terry’s first season as Artistic Director of the Globe will be carefully scrutinised. Emma Rice’s contentious exit raised important questions about the venue’s purpose, its balancing of tradition and innovation, new and returning audiences, and about how we engage with Shakespeare in the 21st century.
The band’s back together. Alfred Molina plays Rothko for the third time in Michael Grandage’s revisiting of John Logan’s richly textured two-hander, first seen at the Donmar in 2009 and then bypassing the West End for Broadway. Another excellent Alfred – Alfred Enoch, of the Harry Potter films and American TV series How To Get Away With Murder – succeeds Eddie Redmayne as Rothko’s assistant, forming a compelling duo in this 90-minute meditation on the nature, process and purpose of art.
American playwright Rajiv Joseph’s latest certainly doesn’t lack for ambition, spanning 90 years, three countries, and mixing history and fiction in its form to make a point about, well, mixing history and fiction. Storytelling through to the pertinent “fake news” abounds, but this near-three-hour show is ultimately more compelling in its ideas than in its drama.
