Reviews
Citysong, Soho Theatre review - big writing, big heart
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Irish playwright Dylan Coburn Gray's new play won the Verity Bargate Award in 2017, and his reward is a fine production of this beautifully written account of one Dublin family over several decades. It is a light-touch epic which is partly a humorous account of ordinary people's daily lives, partly a meditation on time and partly a social history of changing attitudes to family, and to sex, over the years in Ireland.
Years and Years, Series Finale, BBC One review - soggy ending fails to inspire
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
As Russell T Davies’s doomsday odyssey reached its endgame on BBC One, feisty grandma Muriel (played by indestructible Anne Reid) got to deliver the moral of the story. With the Lyons clan gathered round that now-familiar dining table, she spelt it out for them.
Thatcher: A Very British Revolution, Finale, BBC...
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
The surprisingly touching conclusion to BBC Two’s five-part chronicle of the Thatcher years was a masterpiece of contemporary history....
Hansel and Gretel, ENO, Regent's Park Open...
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Shoving a child-eating drag-queen witch into an oven can't be good for any kid's psyche. Director Timothy Sheader doesn't let us forget it in a...
Napoli, Brooklyn, Park Theatre review - lacking...
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
According to their mother, Luda (played by Madeleine Worrall, pictured below), each of the three sisters (pictured top) in Napoli, Brooklyn,...
Goodyear, Chineke! Orchestra, Marshall, Symphony Hall, Birmingham Review - engaging and uplifting
Joy and sparkle from this youthful band |
Frank Skinner, Leicester Square Theatre - mixing some acid with the charm
Preamble to autumn tour works a treat |
Cate Haste: Passionate Spirit - The Life of Alma Mahler review - a racy life pacily narrated
The creative Viennese soclalite who obsessively nurtured masterpieces by others |
Reissue CDs Weekly: R.E.M.
The surprise return of ‘In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003’ |
Backstreet Boys, SSE Hydro, Glasgow review - 90s boyband showcase grown-up new material
Florida five-piece balance newness and nostalgia on DNA arena tour |
Diego Maradona review - entertaining but skin-deep
Asif Kapadia concludes his trilogy of tragic idols with mixed results |
Men in Black: International review - lacklustre sequel missing original stars
One reboot too many as a new generation of alien exterminators fail to ignite |
Francis Bacon: Couplings, Gagosian Gallery review - sex and power in double figures
A small selection focuses on the painter's radical figure paintings |
Charlie Cunningham, Queen Elizabeth Hall review - Spanish guitar and strong songs
An endearing, intimate set of warm melodies and powerful, percussive guitar |
While the Sun Shines, Orange Tree Theatre review - frothy, yes, up to a point
Slice of Rattigan esoterica is useful to see even as it shows its age |
Kiss My Genders, Hayward Gallery review – a shambles
Important issues addressed in an exhibition that should have been so much better |
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Nevill Holt Opera review - sprinkled with musical fairy-dust
An innocent, joyful take on Britten's ambiguous fantasy |
Sweat, Gielgud Theatre review - searing drama of working life
The indelible power of Lynn Nottage’s new play confirmed in Donmar transfer |
Sometimes Always Never review - small but perfectly crafted
Bill Nighy leads an excellent cast in a tale of loss and lovely words |
Wild Bill, Episode 1, ITV review - an American in Lincolnshire
Rob Lowe plays top cop in goofy crime drama |
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bridge Theatre review – gender-juggling romp
Nicholas Hytner's vivacious 21st-century take shines like a disco glitterball |
Lenny Kravitz, O2 review - gloriously joyful rock 'n' roll
Love is in the air as the rocker brings his monster tour's latest leg to a thrilling close |
What's My Name: Muhammad Ali, Sky Atlantic review - why they called him The Greatest
Portrait of the boxing legend and his place in American history |
Kozhukhin, RPO, Petrenko, RFH review - more cultured than electrifying
Brahms within bounds and smooth Strauss in a well-measured romantic double bill |
We the Animals review - lyrical story of brotherly love and family trauma
In his first feature film, Jeremiah Zagar adapts - and waters down - Justin Torres's autobiographical coming-out novel |
Years and Years, Episode 5, BBC One review - darker and darker
Soap opera family finds itself trapped in doomsday scenario |
Big Little Lies, Series 2, Sky Atlantic review - supercharged start for new season
Meryl Streep boosts an already formidable female cast |
Bob Dylan Special - Rolling Thunder Revue, Netflix
Martin Scorsese reexamines the legendary 1975 tour |
Edouard Vuillard: The Poetry of the Everyday, Holburne Museum, Bath review - dizzying pattern and colour
An artist's world encompassed |
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