All stories by Michael Billington on BroadwayStars

Friday, December 3, 2021

Antony Sher: a consummate Shakespearean and a man of staggering versatility by Michael Billington

One of the most gifted actors of his era, Sher – who has died aged 72 – combined psychology and a keen sense of the visual in soul-baring performances Antony Sher, who has died at the ag…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM
Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Sheffield’s Crucible: the revolutionary theatre that was almost snookered by Michael Billington

Half a century ago, Colin George faced down the doom-mongers and campaigners to bring the city a radical alternative to proscenium theatre: the open, thrust stage Entering Sheffield’s Cruc…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48AM
Monday, November 29, 2021

Where to start with Stephen Sondheim: 10 of the best from the maestro by Michael Billington

Discover the musical theatre titan through the life-changing cast album of Company, Imelda Staunton’s phenomenal turn in Gypsy, birthday concerts and his essential book on lyric writing So…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24PM
Friday, November 5, 2021

Lionel Blair: a showbiz phenomenon with all the right moves by Michael Billington

He gained household fame on Give Us a Clue but the all-round entertainer was a world-class hoofer who could hold his own alongside Sammy Davis Jr Lionel Blair, who has died aged 92, was that…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42PM
Thursday, November 4, 2021

‘He understood our national psyche’: Terence Rattigan deserves a proper memorial by Michael Billington

His complex, ambivalent plays are regularly revived – and now a campaign aims to improve the playwright’s resting place in a London cemetery What is the best tribute to a dead playwright…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Saturday, October 9, 2021

Top 10 books about theatre | Michael Billington by Michael Billington

From Anne Enright’s novel about an actor’s daughter to the diaries of former National Theatre director Peter Hall, the theatre critic chooses his favourite titles about the stage Theatre…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM
Monday, October 4, 2021

Age of Antigone: Sophocles’s arresting tale of the debt we owe the dead by Michael Billington

With three new versions on stage this month, the ancient Greek classic – and its reflections on authority and devotion – remains as compelling as ever This October sees a rash of product…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24AM
Friday, September 24, 2021

Roger Michell: a superb director who brought the unexpected out of actors by Michael Billington

The much-loved Michell was renowned for a lack of ego and his understanding of the fine art of collaboration Roger Michell, who has died aged 65, had two great qualities as a theatre directo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AM
Tuesday, July 13, 2021

I’ve been cast as a bitchy theatre critic – it’s a role I couldn’t turn down | Michael Billington by Michael Billington

Starring in a Zoom production of the play Masks and Faces tested my acting skills – not to mention my singing About six weeks ago a small bombshell landed in my inbox. Headed “A Job Offe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:03AM
Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Rodgers and Hammerstein: cosy box-office bankers or radical trailblazers? by Michael Billington

The duo’s shows boast catchy songs but pose problems for directors. As South Pacific and Carousel return this summer, our writer looks back on enchanted evenings with the odd couple’s mu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:12PM
Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Can opera singers act – or do they just wave their arms around like traffic cops? by Michael Billington

A new production of King Lear, drawn from the world of opera, aims to put paid to the notion that great singers make second-rate actors. We speak to its stars I had coffee recently with King…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12PM
Monday, June 14, 2021

Bard day’s work: what I learned from eavesdropping on RSC rehearsals by Michael Billington

The Royal Shakespeare Company is letting the public watch the usually secret processes towards performance – from clapping games to verse sessions The creative process normally takes place…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM
Monday, April 19, 2021

‘Olivier was jealous of me’: TV drama pioneer Derek Granger at 100 by Michael Billington

On his centenary, the veteran producer recalls adding punch to Coronation Street, bringing Brideshead to the screen and his ‘turbulent’ relationship with one of the acting world’s grea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54AM
Friday, March 19, 2021

The RSC at 60: the glorious past and vital future of a theatrical revolution by Michael Billington

The Royal Shakespeare Company survived establishment resistance and economic storms to become a powerhouse. How should it now change? What’s in a name? Quite a lot, as it happens. In 1960 …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PM
Sunday, March 7, 2021

Alan Curtis obituary by Michael Billington

There has always been a strong affinity between acting and cricket, and my friend Alan Curtis, who has died aged 90, was a perfect example of that. He combined a long theatrical career with …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06PM
Friday, February 26, 2021

Ronald Pickup: a theatrical great from a golden generation by Michael Billington

The actor, who has died aged 80, had a thriving screen career but was also a terrific stage star and an essential member of Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre company Ronald Pickup, who h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Monday, February 15, 2021

Claire Bloom at 90: a phenomenal actor with poise, spirit and steel by Michael Billington

The star’s long career, from her stage debut at 15 to her film, TV and literary success, reveals a shrewd talent who has risen to many a challenge Acting must be the best rejuvenation pill…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18AM
Monday, February 1, 2021

Oh what a lovely archive: British Library gets Joan Littlewood treasure trove by Michael Billington

Theatre Royal Stratford East’s colourful history is documented in more than 100 boxes of material collected by actor Murray Melvin It is cheering to learn that the Murray Melvin Archive, d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03PM
Thursday, January 7, 2021

Robot wars: 100 years on, it's time to reboot Karel Čapek's RUR by Michael Billington

The play Rossum’s Universal Robots clearly belongs to the 1920s but its satirical take on the meeting of humans and machines is all too relevant today Not many plays introduce a new word t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12AM
Monday, December 28, 2020

Beyond the silk pyjamas: the style of Noël Coward by Michael Billington

A new exhibition is devoted to the visual flair of a debonair playwright whose tastes are almost impossible to define Noël Coward was the epitome of style. Fittingly that is the subject of …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54AM
Friday, December 11, 2020

Barbara Windsor: a priceless and mischievous stage sensation by Michael Billington

The late actor took on Brecht, Falstaff and panto and will be remembered for her collaborations with Joan Littlewood Peter Bradshaw on her film career Fame is a funny thing. Barbara Windsor …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03PM
Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Ronald Harwood's The Dresser: an actor's life in all its grot and glory by Michael Billington

Harwood’s witty tribute to actors’ endurance, with its echoes of King Lear, is likely to be his permanent claim on posterity I last saw Ronald Harwood, who has died aged 85, at Harold Pi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:03PM
Monday, September 7, 2020

Joy, radicalism and bare bottoms: the Young Vic turns 50 by Michael Billington

The giant street party has been cancelled. But there are still plans to celebrate the theatre that wowed young crowds, championed black playwrights and conjured finales from Italian cuisine …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:32PM
Sunday, August 16, 2020

Forgotten Plays: No 12 – Votes for Women (1907) by Elizabeth Robins by Michael Billington

Our series ends with a passionate play about gender politics and women’s rights that still rings true When Elizabeth Robins’s play was first produced in 1907, it was billed as “A Drama…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06PM
Monday, August 10, 2020

Forgotten Plays: No 11 – The High Bid (1908) by Henry James by Michael Billington

James’s rich dialogue and clashing-cultures theme make his country-house play worthy of a renewed offer Henry James had a love-hate relationship with the theatre. He had boyhood dreams of …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24AM
Sunday, August 2, 2020

Forgotten plays: No 10 – Mary Rose (1920) by JM Barrie by Michael Billington

The Peter Pan author caught Hitchcock’s eye with a Hebridean ghost story about the intensity of mother-son relationships Read the rest of our Forgotten plays series I have neglected Scotla…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PM
Monday, July 27, 2020

Forgotten Plays: No 9 – The Words Upon the Window-Pane and Purgatory by WB Yeats by Michael Billington

A drama in which the spirit of Jonathan Swift haunts a seance and an astonishingly brief update of the Oresteia confirm the poet’s remarkable skills as a playwright Few plays are more forg…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:03AM
Friday, July 24, 2020

You name it, she's played it: the sublime classical actor Barbara Jefford by Michael Billington

She has given unforgettable performances in Shakespeare, Chekhov and Shaw over her extraordinary 70-year career. Where’s this great actor’s damehood? The concept of the classical actor i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54AM
Thursday, July 23, 2020

Helen Mirren at 75: wild costumes, blazing performances – and a spell as a rock banshee by Michael Billington

She has played cops, rockers, monarchs and murderers. As Helen Mirren turns 75, we celebrate her astonishing career – and remember her letter to the Guardian that led to questions in parli…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12AM
Monday, July 20, 2020

Forgotten plays: No 8 – Saint’s Day (1951) by John Whiting by Michael Billington

The critics howled derisively but this challenging story of the violence lurking beneath society’s surface was a game-changer Where does it all begin? Is there a moment that marks a radica…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:42AM
Sunday, July 12, 2020

Forgotten plays: No 7 – Skyvers (1963) by Barry Reckord by Michael Billington

Reckord’s unflinchingly honest social document pinned down the flaws in a UK education system that consigned an underclass to a dead-end future Why are there so few good plays about school…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36PM

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