“I can see they’re acting, but I’m not sure why.” This was the initial reaction to Ballyturk of one of my theatregoing companions, but it essentially sums up most of the reviews I’ve read of Enda Walsh’s play recently staged at the National, having debuted at the Galway International Arts Festival earlier this year. I […]
Ok, I almost need to draw you a diagram for this one. You know Shakespeare, right? Macbeth, with the witches etc? Well Verdi wrote an opera of it in 1847. And then it was staged by a South African company at the Barbican. But they staged it as if they were a group of Congolese […]
There is always a danger in reviving a play about youth in which the setting plays such an important role that it will lose its relevance, but this does not seem to have happened at all to Kenneth Lonergan’s play, which premiered in 1996. Granted, its 1982 setting was already over a decade old when […]
What is with all the romantic comedies about abortion at the moment? I really came away from this plat with the same feeling I would about a film rom com: the complicated female character who has some things to deal with, the slightly flatter characterisation of the male character, who is supportive and nice and […]
Having read through a few reviews of the play, I don’t think I was the only one who disliked the 1970s setting of this staging of Richard III, currently on at Trafalgar Studios with Martin Freeman in the title role. In fact, not having purchased a programme on this occasion, I didn’t really understand the […]
Wow. Having been to see the Crucible last weekend at the Old Vic, I can safely say that time sometimes flies when you’re being emotionally wrung out. The intensity and power of this staging of Arthur Miller’s play are incredible, and are a credit to the actors, director and production team. The running time of […]
For those of you who, like me, have never seen a Cheek by Jowl production, or an Albert Jarry play for that matter, Ubu Roi is a shock to the system. The original play opened and closed on the 10th of December 1896, following an opening night riot which led to it being outlawed […]
It seemed odd to me at the outset to revive a play about former lovers, with Bill Nighy in the same role he played in the initial West End transfer 18 years ago, and Carey Mulligan playing opposite him, but I was utterly convinced by the end of the evening. The star power of the […]
I was lucky enough to get tickets to see this play just before the end of the very short run. Critics have been fairly united in using the word ‘barnstorming’ when describing Kevin Spacey in this one-man show, and I would tend to agree: the dynamism of his physical presence and engagement with the audience […]
