Tag Archives: National Theatre

Writer: Simon Woods Director: Simon Godwin Reviewer: Stephen Bates Most of us may feel that we have had enough of politics in our lives right now, but actor turned playwright Simon Woods seems to think otherwise. His play is a forensic examination of the murky territory where the public and private lives of a politician and his wife intersect. It ...

Writer: Michael Morpurgo Adaptor: Nick Stafford Directors: Marianne Elliot and Tom Morris Touring Director: Katie Henry Reviewer: Matt Forrest 12 years on from its premiere at the National Theatre, residencies on the West End, Broadway and numerous national and international tours it would be no exaggeration to say that War Horse has become a theatrical institution, and on the basis ...

Book and Lyrics: Andy Stanton Music:Jim Fortune Director:Amy Hodge Reviewer: Maryam Philpott Schools out for the summer and theatreland has given itself over to feel-good comedies and family-friendly shows designed to entertain young and old alike. The National Theatre’s big summer production for kids is a musical adaptation of Andy Stanton’s book Mr Gum and the Dancing Beargiven surreal but ...

Writer: Ben Weatherill Director: Tim Hoare Reviewer: Scott Matthewman While the Dorfman Theatre is much the smallest of the National’s three stages, it can still be a struggle to make it seem as intimate as some of London’s smaller theatres. For a story of deeply personal relationships as Ben Weatherill’s Jellyfish, it means the cast – and the rest of ...

Writer: David Hare (after Henrik Ibsen) Director: Jonathan Kent Reviewer: Maryam Philpott The search for self may seem like a post-1960s obsession as the rise of individualism dominates society in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, but Ibsen’s 1867 verse-play Peer Gynt was way ahead of the curve, creating a protagonist who wanders the earth living by his own rules. ...

Writer: Githa Sowerby Director: Polly Findlay   Reviewer:  Richard Maguire After being instrumental in the rediscovery of Githa Sowerby in 1994, The National Theatre included her 1912 play Rutherford and Son on its list of the most influential plays of the 20thCentury. These credentials are at first hard to see in this new production directed by Polly Findlay, but a slow ...

Writer: Inua Ellams Director: Bijan Sheibani Designer: Rae Smith Reviewer: Charlotte Broadbent Inua Ellams was inspired to write Barber Shop Chronicles after being handed a flyer in 2010 which detailed a pilot project aiming to teach barbers the rudiments of counselling. He went on to consider the cultural and historical significance of the local barbershop. Whether it be in south ...

Writer: Ella Hickson Director: Natalie Abrahami Reviewer: Scott Matthewman Hollywood versions of East Berlin at the height of the Cold War would suggest that it was a slum city, a crumbling ghetto ruled by jackboot. In Anna, a creation of writer Ella Hickson and sound designers Ben and Max Ringham, we see a very different version of the city. Set ...