All stories by Chris Wiegand on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Star Trek’s Chris Pine to make London theatre debut in Ivanov next summer by Chris Wiegand

The Hollywood actor will star in a new version of the Chekhov classic by writer-director Simon Stone at the Bridge theatre from July Star Trek’s Chris Pine will boldly go to the Bridge nex…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Friday, October 17, 2025

Don’t Look Now review – Du Maurier’s Venetian chiller has its dread shredded by Chris Wiegand

New Wolsey theatre, IpswichA couple mourn the loss of their daughter in an adaptation that is far better at conveying sadness than suspense Daphne du Maurier’s 1971 story Don’t Look Now …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM
Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Lifers review – an inside look at the ageing prison population by Chris Wiegand

Southwark Playhouse Borough, LondonA young officer becomes the de facto carer of a vulnerable inmate in Evan Placey’s well-observed play about a stretched Prison Service A decade ago, play…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM
Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Bog Witch review – Bryony Kimmings is back with a haunting and hilarious climate reckoning by Chris Wiegand

Soho Theatre Walthamstow, LondonThe performance artist’s first solo show in five years considers the plight of our planet, with a compelling mix of standup, songs and folk horror It may co…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PM
Monday, October 13, 2025

Get Down Tonight review – KC and the Sunshine Band’s story dimmed in drearily meta musical by Chris Wiegand

Charing Cross theatre, LondonFeaturing 20 of the band’s disco-funk songs, this jukebox musical has sparkle but comes with an infuriating concept and little depth of characterisation Fifty …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Thursday, October 9, 2025

Mischa Barton to make UK stage debut in Double Indemnity by Chris Wiegand

The OC star will take the role made famous by Barbara Stanwyck in James M Cain’s classic noir tale of murder and deceit, touring the UK in early 2026 Mischa Barton is to make her UK stage …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54AM
Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Lost Atoms review – Frantic Assembly scale the highs and lows of a very modern romance by Chris Wiegand

Curve theatre, LeicesterIn a moving memory play, Anna Jordan charts the course of a relationship which begins with the sharing of a mobile hotspot Most of us simply dig up memories but the c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:48AM
Monday, September 29, 2025

‘Trippy’: the Pina Bausch classic being revived by its original cast – dancing with their younger selves by Chris Wiegand

Kontakthof is a 1978 show full of tenderness, violence and horror. Now, in a spectacular production, its first performers are bringing it back. But would Bausch have approved? Theatres are h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PM

Tony Harrison’s poem V to be performed in the Leeds cemetery that inspired it by Chris Wiegand

Performance of the once controversial poem was planned for its 40th anniversary but will now double as a tribute to writer who died last week Tony Harrison’s state-of-the-nation poem V is …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PM
Friday, September 26, 2025

50 First Dates: The Musical review – sunny ensemble serve up breezy romcom by Chris Wiegand

The Other Palace, LondonGeorgina Castle and Josh St Clair make a likable couple who endlessly replay their first meeting but this adaptation needs more emotional punch Perhaps it’s unfair …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:02AM
Thursday, September 25, 2025

The Lodger review – ingenious penny dreadful take on Hitchcock’s foggy mystery by Chris Wiegand

Old Red Lion theatre, LondonPuppetry and silent cinema techniques are used to retell Marie Belloc Lowndes’ novel and its film version in a show played for laughs rather than thrills Rep th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:32AM
Wednesday, September 24, 2025

The Harder They Come review – electrifying reggae musical is sweet, dandy and catchy as hell by Chris Wiegand

Theatre Royal Stratford East, LondonMatthew Xia directs a consummate adaptation of the 1972 Jamaican thriller, whose irresistible soundtrack is bolstered by new songs Scene-setting doesn’t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM
Sunday, September 21, 2025

Romeo and Juliet review – turbocharged tragedy has a dream duo at its heart by Chris Wiegand

Everyman theatre, LiverpoolEllie Hurt directs a dynamic production that boasts sensational lead performances by Zoe West and Alicia Forde Romeo and Juliet is a play that lives or dies by the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:06AM
Friday, September 19, 2025

The Weir review – a riveting return for Conor McPherson’s lonesome barflies by Chris Wiegand

Harold Pinter theatre, LondonAlmost 30 years on, the Irish playwright’s intimate drama brims with painful memories and comedy – brought to dazzling effect by a flawless cast Conor McPher…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48PM
Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Dracula review – Mina Harker bites back but drama is deadened by tricksy retelling by Chris Wiegand

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonA fixation on how to frame Bram Stoker’s story disrupts the flow of this feminist reboot, killing the fear factor Drac is back. Earlier this year, the caped bloods…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06PM
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Hamlet review – Giles Terera dives deep into the prince of Denmark’s torment by Chris Wiegand

Minerva theatre, Chichester Justin Audibert’s lucid production is classically considered, with a fine cast making full unsettling use of the intimate space By the t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18PM
Monday, September 15, 2025

High Noon heads for the West End as Billy Crudup takes on Gary Cooper role by Chris Wiegand

The Tony award-winning actor will play the marshal in a London stage adaptation of the 1952 western that won Cooper an Oscar Billy Crudup is to take on the role that won Gary Cooper an Oscar…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM
Friday, September 12, 2025

Self Esteem to star as raging rock star in revival of David Hare’s Teeth ’n’ Smiles by Chris Wiegand

Rebecca Lucy Taylor will play Maggie, a role originated by Helen Mirren, in a ‘landmark’ 50th anniversary production in London in March Fifty years after Helen Mirren originated the role…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:36PM
Thursday, September 11, 2025

Cow | Deer review – extraordinary sound journey into the lives of animals by Chris Wiegand

Royal Court theatre, London Katie Mitchell, Nina Segal and Melanie Wilson’s ‘experiment in performance’ uses expressive performance and inventive sonic effects to bring a wordless worl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:02AM
Monday, September 1, 2025

The best theatre to stream this month: Basil’s back as Fawlty Towers reopens for business by Chris Wiegand

John Cleese’s stage version of his beloved sitcom, a cast recording of Cornish musical The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Robert Wilson’s production of Handel’s Messiah are among …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54AM
Sunday, August 24, 2025

Golden Time (and Other Behavioural Management Strategies) review – a magic hour by Chris Wiegand

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghKate Ireland’s warmly delivered one-woman show considers the pressures of productivity, rules and rewards at school and beyond She has been given 60 minutes out of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM

The Crawl review – madcap swimming comedy performed by synchronised duo by Chris Wiegand

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghAlexander Burnett and Ellie Whittaker dive into multiple roles in a bubbly show with plenty of audience participation This highly physical comedy about two competiti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM

Black Blues Brothers: Let’s Twist Again! review – circus pals rock, roll, jump and jive by Chris Wiegand

McEwan Hall, EdinburghThe sharply dressed quintet perform acrobatics that often complement the 50s chart hits on the jukebox For their fifth season at the fringe, this quintet of Kenyan acro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
Friday, August 22, 2025

Lost Paws review – furry fun as two felines expose their owners’ foibles by Chris Wiegand

theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, EdinburghThis playful performance explores loneliness, liberty and life in early adulthood through two adventurous cats and their demanding humans Ellie Rose Ami…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12PM

Hamlet by New York Circus Project review – a flashy, dreamy spin on Shakespeare by Chris Wiegand

Assembly Roxy, EdinburghThere’s a hint of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet in the cocksure, poppy aesthetic of this charismatic display of acrobatics, tumbling and clowning It wouldn’t be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AM
Tuesday, August 19, 2025

House Party review – home truths about gentrification in east London by Chris Wiegand

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghChakira Alin’s buoyant show is shot through with bitterness as she gives a lucid account of Hackney’s transformation In her solo show about the aftermath of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24PM

The Butterfly Who Flew Into the Rave review – mesmerising trio tear up the dancefloor by Chris Wiegand

Summerhall, EdinburghOli Mathiesen, Lucy Lynch and Sharvon Mortimer bring absolute focus to a shatteringly powerful show of street dance choreo and techno beats This could be the definition …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM
Monday, August 18, 2025

Scott Turnbull presents … Surreally Good review – that’s edutainment! by Chris Wiegand

Summerhall, EdinburghThe theatre-maker’s childlike passion for stories and illustrations makes facts a hoot in this faux seminar You can’t argue with the title: here is a weird, wonderfu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06AM
Sunday, August 17, 2025

Bury the Hatchet review – choppy musical account of Lizzie Borden’s shocking story by Chris Wiegand

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghCombining folk song, true crime, macabre comedy and more makes it hard to keep up with the already complicated 1892 case How do you stage the life and trial of Lizzi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM

Brainsluts review – clinical drug trial comedy could cause severe laughter by Chris Wiegand

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghAn anti-work activist and a nepo volunteer join the group for a research study in Dan Bishop’s polished play When plays get under way we wait for something to happ…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AM
Saturday, August 16, 2025

Furniture Boys review – grab a seat for clever comedy that turns exes into beds and chairs by Chris Wiegand

Underbelly, George Square, EdinburghA locked drawer that never opens, a rug that everyone walks all over … Emily Weitzman’s metaphors for boyfriends are ridiculous and revelatory It’s …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:03AM

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