Tag Archives: Rachel Kavanaugh

Writer: Tom Stoppard Director: Rachel Kavanaugh Reviewer: Dave Smith It is entirely possible that somewhere deep within Rough Crossing there’s actually a work of genius still just waiting to be unearthed by the right director and the right cast. This can’t be entirely ruled out as a theory because Tom Stoppard has, of course, written some of the finest British plays ...

Writer: Tom Stoppard Director: Rachel Kavanaugh Reviewer: Lu Greer Loosely based on Ferenc Molnár’s Play at the Castle, Rough Crossing is set on a transatlantic liner in the 30s and tells the story of two writers trying to finish their new play set to open on Broadway; but with no middle, very little beginning, temperamental actors and bizarre composers the ...

Writer: Tom Stoppard Director: Rachel Kavanaugh Reviewer: Steve Turner Set on a transatlantic liner during the 1930s, Rough Crossing is the story of the attempt by two playwrights to get their new work ready for Broadway. Given that it’s a four-day crossing and they don’t have a satisfactory ending, the beginning still needs knocking into shape and they haven’t got ...

Writer: Terence Rattigan Director: Rachel Kavanaugh Reviewer: Stephen Bates Like British theatre’s equivalent of a hardy perennial, Terence Rattigan’s 1946 play The Winslow Boy is never long away from our stages. This sturdy touring revival shows again why the story of a 13-year-old boy who is accused falsely of stealing a five shilling postal order continues to intrigue us. It ...

Writer: Terence Rattigan Director: Rachel Kavanaugh Reviewer: Simon Topping A sumptuous Edwardian living room decked out with rich blue walls and plush contrasting furniture, beautifully designed by Michael Taylor, draws the Brighton audience into the theatre. The lights go down and a boy in naval uniform takes the spotlight.  This is the start of Birmingham repertory theatre’s excellent adaption of Terence ...

Writer: Terence Rattigan Director: Rachel Kavanaugh Reviewer: Selwyn Knight Ostensibly based on a true story about a naval cadet accused of stealing a postal order from a friend, The Winslow Boy also looks at the changing world just over a hundred years ago: Britain was living under the threat of a splintering Europe, women were fighting for equality with men, ...

Writer: David Edgar, from the book by Charles Dickens Director: Rachel Kavanaugh Reviewer: James Garrington When Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, he lived in a country full of great poverty. The Poor Laws allowed people to be sent to the Workhouse to claim relief, debtors were imprisoned – including, for a period, his own father – and even ...

Writer: Julian Fellowes Composer: George Styles Lyricist: Anthony Drewe Director: Rachel Kavanaugh Reviewer: Tom Finch Based on the classic novel by Kenneth Grahame, a new musical adaptation of The Wind in the Willows has opened in the West End for a Summer run. Sticking faithfully to the original source material the show follows Ratty, Moley and Badger as they attempt ...