The Park Theatre’s first musical opened last night with the north London venue handing over to the Charles Court company for a production of Do I Hear a Waltz? It’s a real collector’s piece for musical theatre obsessives, being a one-off collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim that is seldom performed. Rodgers and Sondheim … Continue reading “Do I Hear a Waltz?” at the Park Theatre
If you put three sisters at the heart of your play, as Beth Steel does, then your audience is likely to think of Chekhov. Add a community in some kind of decline (in this case, a former mining town) and a new group on the rise (here, Polish immigrants) and more bells ring. The comparisons … Continue reading “Till The Stars Come Down” at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Nothing written by Lynn Nottage should be missed. Director Lynette Linton’s revival of the playwright’s 2003 piece, last seen at the Park Theatre, is splendid. This story of a seamstress at the turn of the 20th century is well constructed, dramatically engaging, full of poetry and contains great insight. And what a heroine! Esther’s hard … Continue reading “Intimate Apparel” at the Donmar Warehouse
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, which celebrates its centenary this year, has been turned into a big Broadway musical by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, with the help of onstage cars and plenty of fireworks. Still running in New York, the Coliseum is a suitably splendid London home for a production that proves value for … Continue reading “The Great Gatsby” at the London Coliseum
Good old-fashioned story telling is the key to the success of this entertaining one-woman show. Two spooky stories, one ghostly, the other ghastly, make an excellent contribution to the Islington venue’s Grimfest season, running throughout the month and perfect for getting theatregoers ready for Halloween. Having tackled Restoration playwright Aphra Behn in a previous show, … Continue reading “Haunted Shadows” at the Old Red Lion Theatre
Writer and director Andy Burden is open about the lack of dramatic potential in his subject. The man who drew the London Underground map – or rather, diagram – had a “simple” life and didn’t do much. Harry and his wife, Nora, tell us this from the start and, with such charm and modesty, they … Continue reading “The Truth About Harry Beck” at London Transport Museum
This strong new musical from Jon Brittain and Matthew Floyd Jones is quirky and has lots of laughs, with both its originality and humour boosted by excellent performances. Smart and entertaining, it offers something different while maintaining wide appeal. We follow the adventures of schoolfriends Kathy and Stella, whose true crime podcast goes viral when … Continue reading “Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!” at the Ambassadors Theatre
Playwright Sarah Gordon’s new go at literary revisionism is fun. Although hardly obscure, the Brontë in the title here is Anne and the play looks at her life and work. The twist is that our narrator is her more famous sister, Charlotte, and despite her humorous protestations, she wants to be the hero. The result … Continue reading “Underdog: The Other Other Brontë” at the National Theatre
Rosie Day’s play, which is being adapted for TV and has an accompanying book, is an effective summation of current teenage concerns. The piece is hard-hitting and, appropriately, didactic. Under the direction of Georgie Staight, this limited-run production is impressively slick, and the show is a great vehicle for its star, Charithra Chandran. We meet … Continue reading “Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon” at the Garrick Theatre
John Logan knows a lot about the cinema. As well as plays, he’s written scripts for major movies including Skyfall and Gladiator. His new work for the theatre takes two older films, Marnie and Witchfinder General, and is a tricksy, witty, entertaining piece, with plenty going on. The characters are two pairs of directors and … Continue reading “Double Feature” at the Hampstead Theatre
