The mark of a great revival is that compelling combination of recapturing the past and commenting on the present. Ayub Khan Din’s distinctive comedy/drama, which impressed on its searing 1996 debut and subsequent 1999 award-winning film adaptation, is reborn in … Continue reading →
London is burning. The streets of Tottenham, Brixton, Enfield and Wood Green are alight as peaceful protest turns to violent protest turns to ruthless opportunism. Those who recall the 2011 riots will be under no illusions about the reality of … Continue reading →
The intellectually rigorous artistic response to the anniversary of the First World War continues with Nicholas Wright’s economical adaptation of Pat Barker’s acclaimed 1990s literary trilogy, which arrives at Richmond Theatre following a national tour. Regeneration and its sequels are … Continue reading →
When A Doll’s House premiered in 1879, actress Hedwig Niemann-Raabe refused to perform Ibsen’s ending as written, declaring: “I would never leave my children!” While Helen Baxendale can and does inhabit a similarly divisive role without complaint, that particular action … Continue reading →
It seems almost unnecessary to criticise Tony Kushner’s insufferable polemic when he does so regularly within the text of A Bright Room Called Day. Characters rebuke one another for their “bad romantic posturing”, “elegant despair” and “carefully constructed but immobile” … Continue reading →
Shall I compare thee to the Oscar-winning movie? It’s an inescapable association, but one this new stage version embraces wholeheartedly, with faithful re-creations of beloved scenes and the majority of Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard’s ingenious screenplay retained. Yet unlike … Continue reading →
“Praise the Lord! We are a musical nation.” Dylan Thomas’s ‘play for voices’ is not just one of the greatest radio dramas of all time, it is also the definitive argument that language can be as profoundly musical as any … Continue reading →
Owen McCafferty’s spellbinding study of violence, truth and forgiveness has gained extra resonance since its 2012 premiere at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre. In fact, its appearance at the Soho seems almost eerily appropriate, coming as it does in the wake of Gerry … Continue reading →
The entertainment industry finds itself endlessly fascinating. From 42nd Street and A Chorus Line to The Player and Singin’ in the Rain, moviemakers and theatrical impresarios alike can’t resist looking inward. When the story is engaging and/or the satire biting, it’s … Continue reading →
There’s no witch, no chocolate factory, no helicopter or revolutionary barricade, just four singers, five doors, a piano and a bass. And yet Closer Than Ever, nestled in the pocket-sized Jermyn Street Theatre, has to be one of the hottest musical … Continue reading →
