Writer: JM Barrie Director: Sally Cookson Reviewer: Stephen Bates Say it quietly but London theatre seems to be booming. 2019 has seen a string of brand new venues announced, which include two Troubadours - this one at White City houses separate 1,200-seat and 800-seat spaces, while a sister theatre at Wembley Park is a single 2,000-seater. These are ambitious projects, ...
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Book and Lyrics: Carl Grose Director: Tom Morris Reviewer: Richard Maguire Smiling all the way from Bristol’s Old Vic, where it received rave reviews, new British musical The Grinning Man now bares his teeth at London’s Trafalgar Studios. If only his bite was sharper. The Grinning Man, or Grinpayne as he’s known to his friends, is facially disfigured with a ...
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Writer: Dennis Kelly Director: John Tiffany Reviewer: Richard Maguire The National’s Christmas show Pinocchio is a hybrid affair with The Fox and The Coachman played as old-fashioned pantomime villains while slickly choreographed numbers are straight out of a West End musical. But despite the cast’s best efforts, it’s the wooden actors who steal the show here. The puppet creations designed ...
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Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Gregory Doran Reviewer: John Kennedy You are the apotheosis of male perfection – Adonis (the clue's in the name). The Goddess of Love, Venus (ditto) is desperate to get you in the sack and at your sacs in a leafy glade down among the blue-veined violets – best not to dwell on that image. But, Lydian ...
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Writer: Michael Morpugo Adaptor: Samuel Adamson Director: Timothy Sheader and Dale Rooks Reviewer: Andrea Allen For most people, a trip to Indonesia would be the holiday of a lifetime, but for Lilly it’s so much more, it’s the chance to start a clean slate, to discover the place her Mum used to call home and to meet so many more ...
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Choreographer:David Bintley Reviewer: Laura Jayne Bateman Over 30 years in the making, Birmingham Royal Ballet premieres a new version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest400 years after his death. Choreographed by company director David Bintley and with an entirely original score by Sally Beamish, the production offers visual spectacle and superb dancing within a largely faithful adaptation of Shakespeare’s final play. Alonso, ...
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Writer: Miguel de Cervantes Adaptor: James Fenton Director: Angus Jackson Reviewer: Fergus Morgan In taking Miguel de Cervantes’ rambling 900-page novel, fully titled The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote Of La Mancha, and turning it into a workable stage play only three hours long, James Fenton has achieved something quite remarkable. Don Quixote is no longer an intimidating brick of ...
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Writer: Charles Dickens adapted byBryony Lavery Directors: Dale Rooks and Jake Smith Reviewer: Jo Payne It is rare to see such a stunning piece of theatre among professional productions nowadays; let alone from an entirely youthful cast. From the first view of the exquisite set and the hauntingly sharp opening, right through to the delightfully heart-warming close, it is clear ...
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