All stories by Mert Dilek on BroadwayStars

Thursday, February 22, 2024

King Lear, Almeida Theatre review - Danny Sapani dazzles in this spartan tragedy by Mert Dilek

Yaël Farber presents Shakespeare’s blistering play with bravura Less than three years after her magnificent Macbeth, Yaël Farber returns to the Almeida with another Shakespeare tragedy. …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 06:48AM

Hadestown, Lyric Theatre review - soul-stirring musical gloriously revamps classical myths by Mert Dilek

Tony-winning production lands in the West End with an astounding cast Doom and gloom, we are told, may have abounded in the classical underworld, but Hadestown suggests otherwise. Returning …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 05:42AM
Monday, February 19, 2024

Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” at the Theatre Royal Haymarket by Mert Dilek

A solo performance in theatre may often trap us inside a single dramatic character, taking us deep into their interiority. Or it may zigzag feverishly between an astounding range of figures …

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 01:39AM
Sunday, February 4, 2024

Sam Holcroft’s “A Mirror” at the Trafalgar Theatre by Mert Dilek

“This play is a lie,” boldly declares the poster of Sam Holcroft’s new play A Mirror, now playing at London’s Trafalgar Theatre after its initial run at the Almeida Theatre last summ…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 11:02AM
Wednesday, December 20, 2023

“Macbeth” at the Donmar Warehouse by Mert Dilek

How to render Macbeth anew—and how to do it well? It’s a question that has undoubtedly preoccupied countless directors, actors, and designers over the centuries. And it’s a question th…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 12:28AM
Sunday, December 17, 2023

David Ireland’s “Ulster American” at the Riverside Studios by Mert Dilek

An American actor, an English director, and a Northern Irish playwright walk into a house in London to start working on a new production. This is not so much the opener of a joke as the tant…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 12:21AM
Friday, December 15, 2023

Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Phoenix Theatre review - formidable stagecraft unlocks new depths to the popular series by Mert Dilek

The Netflix hit broadens its beguiling story with this thrilling, high-powered stage production Stranger Things has shown us over four seasons that the alternate dimension known as the Upsid…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:02PM
Tuesday, October 31, 2023

King Lear, Wyndham's Theatre review – Kenneth Branagh helms a pared-down tragedy by Mert Dilek

Shakespeare meets Game of Thrones in an efficient but emotionally stilted production Few would have imagined that Kenneth Branagh’s return to the West End would see him garbed in fur-lined…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:13PM
Friday, October 13, 2023

Sunset Boulevard, Savoy Theatre review - Nicole Scherzinger stuns in an exceptional production by Mert Dilek

Director Jamie Lloyd is at the height of his powers in this stark, sublime reinterpretation of a modern classic Jamie Lloyd has the gift that keeps on giving. Hot on the heels of recent prod…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 05:07AM
Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Stephen Brown And Mark Rylance’s “Dr Semmelweis” At The Harold Pinter Theatre by Mert Dilek

Today’s obvious was most likely yesterday’s incredible. This is the conceit at the heart of Dr Semmelweis, a new play written by Stephen Brown with Mark Rylance, which has transferred to…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 11:07AM
Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Martin McDonagh’s “The Pillowman” at the Duke of York’s Theatre by Mert Dilek

Martin McDonagh is perhaps better known today globally for his recent accomplishments on screen as a writer and director, but he cut his teeth through his prodigious work as a playwright. Fi…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 09:05PM
Friday, May 19, 2023

Brokeback Mountain, @sohoplace review - emotionally inert take on acclaimed tale of queer love by Mert Dilek

Mike Faist and Lucas Hedges star in an underpowered adaptation of Annie Proulx's short story For a masterclass in expansive adaptation, one could do worse than turn to Ang Lee’s Oscar-winn…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 10:42AM
Sunday, April 9, 2023

Ryan Calais Cameron’s “For Black Boys…” at the Apollo Theatre by Mert Dilek

Contemporary Black British theatre is admirably adamant about pushing its own boundaries and expanding its audience. A recent case in point is Ryan Calais Cameron’s bracing play For Black …

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 03:17PM
Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Medea, @sohoplace review - Sophie Okonedo is commanding in a dated version of the Greek tragedy by Mert Dilek

Dominic Cooke's otherwise uneven production boasts formidable performances What is one to do with Greek tragedy on the contemporary stage? For Simon Stone, whose Phaedra is currently playing…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 12:19AM
Friday, December 9, 2022

Mandela, Young Vic review - baffling bio-musical by Mert Dilek

This new musical about the early life of Nelson Mandela is a mawkish misfire As bio-musicals continue to have their heyday, it makes sense for the Young Vic to throw its hat in the ring and …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 06:06AM
Thursday, December 8, 2022

James Graham’s “Best of Enemies” at the Noël Coward Theatre by Mert Dilek

TV is a strange medium, but James Graham is no stranger to its toxic charm. London audiences have recently witnessed the British playwright’s musical adaptation of the life of Tammy Faye, …

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 03:57AM
Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Orlando, Garrick Theatre review - Emma Corrin is incandescent in an underwhelming adaptation by Mert Dilek

Charming performances in this watered-down version of Virginia Woolf’s novel Identity is thorny business. This was the parting thought of Anna X, the play that marked Emma Corrin’s West …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 03:32AM
Friday, September 30, 2022

The Crucible, National Theatre review - visually stunning revival of Miller's classic drama by Mert Dilek

Lyndsey Turner paints this seminal drama with disturbing colours How can this beauty arise from such ugliness? The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s 1953 drama about the Salem witch trials of 1692…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:43AM
Friday, September 9, 2022

Who Killed My Father, Young Vic review - Hans Kesting excels in this solo show by Mert Dilek

Édouard Louis’s book is brought to life in a fierce performance A bare interior with tarnished walls, a single bed, and an oxygen tube. The stage seems to have been set for a Beckett play…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:07AM
Saturday, May 21, 2022

My Fair Lady, London Coliseum review - tasteful revival powered by stirring performances by Mert Dilek

Bartlett Sher's Broadway production comes to London with aplomb First staged in 2018, Bartlett Sher’s Lincoln Center Theater production of My Fair Lady is London’s latest import from B…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 05:33AM
Saturday, April 30, 2022

Jerusalem, Apollo Theatre review - Mark Rylance blazes in this astonishing revival by Mert Dilek

Jez Butterworth's 2009 play is evergreen in its excellence At long last, the giant has come back. Over a decade after its critical apotheosis on both sides of the Atlantic, Jez Butterworth�…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 04:33PM
Thursday, April 28, 2022

Prima Facie, Harold Pinter Theatre review - Jodie Comer sears the stage by Mert Dilek

'Killing Eve' star's stage debut is a triumph National statistics tell us that, in the year ending September 2021, 41% of rape victims in England and Wales eventually withdrew their support …

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 08:48AM
Monday, April 25, 2022

Jackie Sibblies Drury’s “Marys Seacole” at the Donmar Warehouse by Mert Dilek

Jackie Sibblies Drury is one of the most exciting voices working in American theatre today. The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Fairview and We Are Proud to Present a Presentation… has a …

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 04:29AM
Monday, November 8, 2021

The Sugar House, Finborough Theatre review - appealing but uneven family drama by Mert Dilek

Alana Valentine's play about crime and poverty in Australia receives a spirited production The complex history of capital punishment in Australia may not be familiar to many Londoners, but t…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 09:03AM
Wednesday, October 27, 2021

albatross., Playground Theatre review - interconnected intimacies by Mert Dilek

An adroit cast does justice to Isley Lynn's complexly woven narrative "You need to get better at communicating", says one character to another in Isley Lynn’s albatross. Indeed, the same…

SOURCE: theartsdesk.com at 06:06AM
Tuesday, October 26, 2021

“The Tragedy of Macbeth” at the Almeida Theatre by Mert Dilek

What does it take to stretch Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy to a runtime of over three hours? Not, as it turns out, a tedious crawl through the play. Rather, an electrifying but patient jo…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 01:26AM
Friday, March 13, 2020

E.V. Crowe’s “Shoe Lady” at the Royal Court by Mert Dilek

“Would you rather have one shoe or no shoes?” Viv is here to show us that missing only one shoe is not necessarily the better option. Having lost one of her shoes on the way to work, she…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 12:44AM
Monday, March 9, 2020

Corpse! review at Park Theatre, London – ‘farcical revelations and reversals’ by Mert Dilek

Evelyn Farrant, the scheming actor at the centre of Gerald Moon’s 1983 play Corpse!, would like to believe that he is the

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 01:30PM
Wednesday, March 4, 2020

The Apologists review at Omnibus Theatre, London – ‘brilliantly performed trio of monologues’ by Mert Dilek

What goes into an apology, and what comes out of it? The three plays assembled in The Apologists approach these questions from

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:52AM
Friday, February 28, 2020

Look Back in Anger review at White Bear Theatre, London – ‘intimate revival of a landmark play’ by Mert Dilek

John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger is often remembered for its association with kitchen sink realism. Marking the play’s return to London

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:46AM
Saturday, February 22, 2020

Antoinette Nwandu’s “Pass Over” at the Kiln Theatre by Mert Dilek

Antoinette Nwandu’s play Pass Over is a palimpsest. Its outer surface looks familiar: haunted by the ever-present threat of a murderous police force, two black men are paralyzed into inact…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 03:25PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards