Tag Archives: National Theatre

Writer: Helen Edmundson Direction: Rufus Norris Reviewer: Maryam Philpott With further indignities heaped on the Windrush generation on the very day that The National Theatre’s new production of Small Island faced the press, this adaptation of the late Andrea Levy’s 2004 multi-award-winning novel couldn’t be more timely. With uncertainty over their UK status still unresolved, Helen Edmundson’s adaptation, directed by Rufus ...

Writer: Caryl Churchill Director: Lyndsey Turner Reviewer: Maryam Philpott On the surface, the 1980s seemed like a huge breakthrough for women and for anyone growing-up in that decade there were gutsy female role models everywhere; the holders of the two pre-eminent governmental roles, the Prime Minister and the monarch, were women and on television the likes of Joan Collins and ...

God walks onto the stage and instantly the audience erupts into deafening applause and the ovation continues. The sold-out Olivier Theatre is filled with his greatest fans and admirers, all of whom snapped up tickets within hours of the interview being announced only three days before. God subtly pushes at the air with his downward-facing palms and an excited hush ...

Writer: Molière, adapted by John Donnelly Director: Blanche McIntyre Reviewer: Scott Matthewman It seems that Molière’s tale of a conman posing as a man of faith who inveigles his way into a high society family has a resonance with today’s theatre audience. How else could one explain this, the third version in a year of Tartuffe, following Christopher Hampton’s West ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Adaptor:  Justin Audibert Director: Ruth Mary Johnson Reviewer: David Guest Young people know how to be hopeful and happy even when adults are acting childishly around them. That’s an oversimplification, but it’s certainly one of the themes explored in an enjoyable one hour version of The Winter’s Tale at the National Theatre. Kids aren’t bothered that it’s one ...

Writer: Martin Crimp Director: Katie Mitchell Reviewer: Maryam Philpott The National’s first big show of 2019 was causing controversy long before rehearsals began with the announcement that the show would take place in the small Dorfman theatre and members would have to try their luck in the ballot with everyone else. With plot details in lock-down and warnings of potentially ...

Writer and Director: Anthony Neilson Reviewer:  Richard Maguire   The National Theatre’s recipe for Christmas: Take a classic Edgar Allan Poe story and season with plenty of Hitchcock; Add a splash of The Exorcist and a pinch of Misery; Place in The Dorfman for two and a half hours; Serve with postmodern irony. It’s definitely a recipe for success. Surprisingly, The Tell-Tale Heart is Anthony ...

Music, Book and Lyrics: Anaïs Mitchell Director: Rachel Chavkin Reviewer: Scott Matthewman There are many stars that have aligned to create Hadestown, a hellishly magnificent new musical based on Anaïs Mitchell’s 2010 concept album which reframes the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in the grand tradition of the music of the American South. Chief among them is Mitchell herself, ...