Theatre Reviews
Barnum, Menier Chocolate Factory review - a big, blowsy spectacleWednesday, 06 December 2017
You have to hand it to Menier Chocolate Factory, a venue that doesn't let size matter as it stages an all-singing, all-dancing new production of Barnum, a musical about Phineas Taylor (PT) Barnum – the 19th-century showman famed for staging “The Greatest Show on Earth”. Read more... |
Parliament Square, Bush Theatre, review – uncomfortable blaze of angerWednesday, 06 December 2017
The political story of our time is the upsurge in support for Jeremy Corbyn, leftwing leader of the Labour Party, mainly by young activists who are both idealistic and energetic. But what would happen if one of them decided to go freelance, and pushed their protest beyond the bounds of reason? James Fritz’s resonant and beautifully structured play explores this kind of question. Read more... |
Dear Brutus, Southwark Playhouse review - a judicious mix of comedy and sadnessTuesday, 05 December 2017
Confused people, some of whom may have made the wrong choices in life and love, find themselves in an enchanted wood at Midsummer. Dear Brutus has long been seen to echo Shakespeare’s comedy of metamorphosis, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Read more... |
The Passing of the Third Floor Back, Finborough Theatre review - the better nature of Jerome K JeromeMonday, 04 December 2017
Even by the standards of theatrical archaeology that the Finborough has made its own, The Passing of the Third Floor Back is a curiosity. Jerome K Jerome’s 1908 play was a long-running hit in the West End – with Johnston Forbes-Robertson, one of the leading English classical actors of his day, in the lead – before transferring to Broadway for a year. Read more... |
Goats, Royal Court review - unfocused and muddledSaturday, 02 December 2017
The civil war in Syria spawns image after image of hell on earth. Staging the stories of that conflict presents a challenge to playwrights: how do you write about horror in a way that is both accurate and entertaining? Read more... |
A Christmas Carol, Old Vic review - Rhys Ifans takes on Scrooge, triumphantlyThursday, 30 November 2017
Fresh from the success of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Jack Thorne now gives us his exuberant adaptation of another much-loved text. Charles Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol is the well-worn morality fable seared into our collective memory by countless screen versions and stage musicals.... Read more... |
Inside Pussy Riot, Saatchi Gallery review - an immersive misfireWednesday, 29 November 2017
You say you want a revolution? Good luck locating one amid the tonally muddled Inside Pussy Riot. Read more... |
The Secret Theatre, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - a ferocious topical satire dressed up in period costumeFriday, 24 November 2017
The Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse may be a historical recreation, but the same shouldn’t be true of the plays staged within it. Read more... |
Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Apollo Theatre review - inclusive and utterly joyfulThursday, 23 November 2017
Everybody’s been talking about Everybody’s Talking About Jamie since its Sheffield Crucible debut earlier this year. It’s unusual to see a musical come steaming into the West End based on word on mouth – not star casting, or association with an existing franchise. Read more... |
Bad Roads, Royal Court, review – memorably unsettlingThursday, 23 November 2017
War is morally acidic: it dissolves social rules, loosens inhibitions and gives permission to men to behave like animals. And the people who have to put up with this deluge of amorality and abuse are, of course, women. Read more... |
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★★★★★
‘A compulsive, involving, emotionally stirring evening – theatre’s answer to a page-turner.’
The Observer, Kate Kellaway
Direct from a sold-out season at Kiln Theatre the five star, hit play, The Son, is now playing at the Duke of York’s Theatre for a strictly limited season.
★★★★★
‘This final part of Florian Zeller’s trilogy is the most powerful of all.’
The Times, Ann Treneman
Written by the internationally acclaimed Florian Zeller (The Father, The Mother), lauded by The Guardian as ‘the most exciting playwright of our time’, The Son is directed by the award-winning Michael Longhurst.
Book by 30 September and get tickets from £15*
with no booking fee.
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