Tag Archives: michael frayn

Noises Off, Phoenix Theatre

Posted on January 26, 2023 by mkmswain

Michael Frayn’s enduring backstage farce is still sublime comedy. Read my full London Theatre review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged alexander hanson, comedy, farce, felicity kendal, Jonathan Coy, Joseph Millson, katherine kingsley, london, london theatre, matthew kelly, michael frayn, noises off, play, review, theatre, tracy-ann oberman, west end | Leave a comment

A complete guide to Noises Off in the West End

Posted on November 26, 2022 by mkmswain

Michael Frayn’s genius farce celebrates its 40th anniversary. Read my full London Theatre article here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged 40th anniversary, alexander hanson, book tickets, comedy, farce, felicity kendal, guide, london, london theatre, matthew kelly, michael frayn, phoenix theatre, play, theatre, tracy-ann oberman, west end | Leave a comment

“Doors and sardines. Getting on, getting off. Getting the sardines on, getting the sardines off. That’s farce. That’s the theatre. That’s life.” Michael Frayn’s laugh-til-you-weep backstage comedy transfers from the Lyric Hammersmith (where it first appeared in 1982), and Jeremy Herrin’s superb revival has … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged actor, backstage, bedroom farce, book tickets, comedy, daniel rigby, director, farce, funny, garrick theatre, humour, jeremy herrin, lisa mcgrillis, lloyd owen, lyric hammersmith, meera syal, michael frayn, noises off, play, play within a play, review, sarah hadland, theartsdesk, theatre, west end | Leave a comment

The Antipodes leads October’s Top 10 new London shows

Posted on September 24, 2019 by mkmswain

From Annie Baker to Ealing comedy and a royal reunion. Read my full BroadwayWorld article here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged a day in the death of joe egg, almeida theatre, annie baker, arthur darvill, best, blank, book tickets, boulevard theatre, broadwayworld, charlie fink, claire foy, claire skinner, clean break, comedy, conleth hill, dave malloy, death of a salesman, doctor who, donmar warehouse, drama, ealing comedy, farce, garrick theatre, ghost quartet, groan ups, kara tointon, london, lungs, matt smith, meera syal, michael frayn, Mike Bartlett, mischief theatre, musical, national theatre, noises off, october, old vic, piccadilly theatre, play, samantha bond, sarah hadland, sharon d clark, stephen mangan, the antipodes, the crown, the man in the white suit, theatre, toby stephens, top 10, trafalgar studios, vassa, vaudeville theatre, visit london, wendell pierce, west end, wyndhams theatre | Leave a comment

Noises Off, Lyric Hammersmith

Posted on July 3, 2019 by mkmswain

Do not anger the theatre gods, for their vengeance is swift and mighty. On press night of Michael Frayn’s peerless portrait of backstage disasters, the Lyric suffered its own “technical difficulties”, adding a distinctly meta frisson to this already gloriously … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged actors, backstage, bedroom farce, book tickets, broadwayworld, cheap tickets, comedy, director, farce, jeremy herrin, london, lyric hammersmith, meera syal, michael frayn, noises off, review, sex, slapstick, summer, theatre, ticket deal | Leave a comment

The Bridges of Madison County leads July’s Top 10 new London shows

Posted on June 26, 2019 by mkmswain

From Jason Robert Brown and Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals to riotous comedy. Read my full BroadwayWorld article here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged andrew lloyd webber, andrew scott, anna gunn, barbican, best, blues in the night, book tickets, broadwayworld, captain corellis mandolin, cheap tickets, clive owen, coliseum, comedy, fleabag, gloria estefan, harold pinter theatre, hot priest, jack thorne, jason donovan, jason robert brown, jazz, jenna russell, jesus christ superstar, joseph, joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat, kiln theatre, lesley sharp, london, louis de bernieres, lyric hammersmith, matt cardle, meera syal, menier chocolate factory, michael frayn, musical, noel coward theatre, noises off, old vic, on your feet, palladium, present laughter, royal court, sale, save, sharon d clarke, sheridan smith, summer, tennessee williams, the bridges of madison county, the end of history, the night of the iguana, ticket deal, top 10, visit london, west end | Leave a comment

Ten great plays within plays

Posted on August 26, 2015 by mkmswain

To coincide with the opening of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good at the National Theatre, here are 10 great examples of the play-within-a-play, from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy to groundbreaking work from Stoppard, Pirandello, Weiss and Brecht. Read my full National Theatre article here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged absurdist, act, acting, alan bennett, apartheid, australia, best, brecht, britten, caucasian chalk circle, chekhov, communist, convict, criminal, de sade, drama, epic theatre, farce, farquhar, fugard, great, guard, hamlet, kyd, marat, marat/sade, metatheatre, michael frayn, national theatre, noises off, our countrys good, peter weiss, pirandello, play, play within a play, plays within plays, restoration comedy, revenge tragedy, revolution, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, shakespeare, six characters in search of an author, soldier, south africa, Stoppard, the habit of art, the island, The Recruiting Officer, the seagull, the spanish tragedy, theatre, timberlake wertenbaker, top 10, w h auden | Leave a comment

Stop! The Play, Trafalgar Studios

Posted on June 4, 2015 by mkmswain

The play’s the thing, once again, in the latest backstage comedy, an affable if limited dig at luvvie pretensions. Noises Off still reigns supreme in this genre, with successors unable to match the bravura precision of Michael Frayn’s masterful multitasking … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged acting, actor, actress, art, artist, backstage, banksy, behind the scenes, chaos, comedy, director, disaster, drama, farce, london, michael frayn, noises off, parody, play, play within a play, playwright, protest, reduced shakespeare company, rehearsal, review, sex, sketch, stand-up, stop the play, the arts desk, the play that goes wrong, theartsdesk, theatre, trafalgar studios, writer, writing | 1 Comment

10 questions on Chekhov for playwright Simon Stephens

Posted on October 16, 2014 by mkmswain

Fresh from global domination with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, currently garnering rapturous reviews on Broadway, inexhaustible playwright and adaptor Simon Stephens has swapped Mark Haddon for Anton Chekhov and a new version of The Cherry Orchard, … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged a doll's house, adapt, adaptation, anton chekhov, aristotle, birdland, book, brecht, carrie cracknell, chekhov, christmas, christopher hampton, comedy, david lan, drama, fiction, first world war, ibsen, interview, ivanov, john donnelly, katie mitchell, leonard cohen, london, lyric hammersmith, mark haddon, michael frayn, play, playwright, q and a, raymond carver, royal court, russia, russian, russian revolution, sean holmes, shakespeare, short story, simon stephens, story, the cherry orchard, the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, the seagull, theatre, three sisters, tom stoppard, tragedy, uncle vanya, white bear, world war one, write, writer, writing, ww1, young vic | Leave a comment

Tag Archives: michael frayn

Noises Off, Phoenix Theatre

A complete guide to Noises Off in the West End

Noises Off, Garrick Theatre

The Antipodes leads October’s Top 10 new London shows

Noises Off, Lyric Hammersmith

The Bridges of Madison County leads July’s Top 10 new London shows

Ten great plays within plays

Stop! The Play, Trafalgar Studios

10 questions on Chekhov for playwright Simon Stephens

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