All stories by Aleks Sierz on BroadwayStars

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Tim Price’s “Nye” at the National Theatre: A Fun Life of the Creator of the National Health Service by Aleks Sierz

For me, this is the most emotional show on the London stage. Why’s that? Because it’s about Nye Bevan, who as Minister of Health in the postwar socialist Labour government set up the Nat…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 06:11PM
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Lucy Kirkwood’s “The Human Body” at the Donmar Warehouse: Twin Tales of Illicit Love and the Founding of the National Health Service by Aleks Sierz

It’s election year so the gaze of British theatre turns towards the National Health Service. But, no, this month’s plays do not examine the parlous state of doctors and hospitals today, …

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 04:36AM
Monday, March 4, 2024

Marius von Mayenburg’s Nachtland at the Young Vic: Satire on Art and Anti-Semitism Is Both Absurdist and Unsettling by Aleks Sierz

We’ve all heard of the metaphorical madwoman in the attic, but what about the symbolic unexploded bomb under the roof, tucked away among the junk, accumulating dust and lying quietly undis…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 04:12PM
Monday, February 26, 2024

Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People at the Duke of York’s Theatre: Thomas Ostermeier’s West End Debut Has Starry Cast And Punk Aesthetics by Aleks Sierz

It’s a sign of the times that German director Thomas Ostermeier’s West End debut is his production of An Enemy of the People, which has been rep at his Schaubühne theatre for over a dec…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 11:27AM
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Sergio Blanco’s “When You Pass Over My Tomb” at the Arcola Theatre: Exquisite Meta-Theatrical Exploration Of Death and Necrophilia by Aleks Sierz

Nowadays it seems that it’s the fringe and Off-West End venues that are keeping the spirit of international theatre alive in London. Whereas much mainstream big-name theatre feels increasi…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 02:57AM
Sunday, February 11, 2024

Jez Butterworth’s “The Hills of California” at the Harold Pinter Theatre: Warm Evocation of 1950s Pop Culture Is Fun, But Lacks Dramatic Resolut by Aleks Sierz

In West End theatre, the cliché that nothing succeeds like success keeps the wheels of commerce turning merrily. But just because a show is selling lots of tickets, and has generated loads …

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 12:38AM
Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Zoe Cooper’s Northanger Abbey at the Orange Tree Theatre: High Energy and Queer-eyed Adaptation of Jane Austen Classic by Aleks Sierz

Jane Austen is not just a classic novelist — she’s a cultural institution and a national treasure. Since the 1990s there has been an avalanche not only of straight adaptations of her nov…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 07:07AM
Monday, January 1, 2024

Jack Thorne’s “The Motive and the Cue” at the Noël Coward Theatre: Jack Thorne’s History Play About Gielgud And Burton Transfers To The West by Aleks Sierz

This transfer of Jack Thorne’s hit National Theatre play to the West End has been hailed as meta-theatre on steroids. The St Martin’s Lane venue, which was once called the New Theatre, h…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 07:10AM
Thursday, December 7, 2023

Roxy Cook’s A Woman Walks into a Bank at Theatre 503: Sublimely Beguiling Account of Everyday Life in Twenty-First Century Moscow by Aleks Sierz

The recent news that Russia’s Supreme Court has banned the “international LGBT movement”, describing it as an “extremist organisation” and raiding nightclubs frequented by gay peop…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 12:11PM
Tuesday, October 3, 2023

“That Face” at Orange Tree Theatre by Aleks Sierz

Playwright Polly Stenham had a meteoric rise with this play, her award-winning 2007 debut which she wrote aged 19 and whose original Royal Court cast featured Lyndsay Duncan and Matt Smith,…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 07:32AM
Friday, September 22, 2023

Lauren Gunderson’s Anthropology at the Hampstead Theatre: Interesting Digital Thriller Falters On The Edge of Darkness by Aleks Sierz

Androids no longer dream of electric sheep — instead they inhabit our dreams. Whether it is novels such as Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun or Ian McEwan’s Machines Like Me, or films…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 01:19AM
Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Anupama Chandrasekhar’s “The Father And The Assassin” At The National Theatre: Vastly Compelling And Darkly Comic History Play About Indian Inde by Aleks Sierz

Nobodies who kill somebodies: let’s make a list. Okay, there’s Lee Harvey Oswald (JFK), James Earl Ray (MLK) and Mark Chapman (John Lennon). But what about the man who shot Mahatma Gandh…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 03:52AM
Monday, September 11, 2023

Miriam Battye’s Strategic Love Play At The Soho Theatre: Mixture Of Laughter, Pain Ad Insight Into Contemporary Romance by Aleks Sierz

Remember what a first date feels like? Awkward. Exciting. Awkward. Intriguing. Awkward. Difficult. Yes, it’s a mixture of emotions, often between the desire to be liked and the frustration…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 11:15AM
Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Tim Fraser’s Candy At Park Theatre: Moving Account Of Gender Identity And Masculinity by Aleks Sierz

Okay, let’s start with a definition: it is said that sex is what you have between your legs, and gender is what you have between your ears. Certainly, the emotional experience of falling i…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 04:02AM
Monday, August 21, 2023

Lucy Prebble’s “The Effect” At The National Theatre: Non-White Cast Bring A New Energy To This Contemporary Classic by Aleks Sierz

Success always opens doors. Ever since the HBO drama Succession was lauded as a huge international hit, one of its writers and producers, Lucy Prebble, has been a hot property. Although I pe…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 11:54AM
Friday, August 4, 2023

“Beneatha’s Place,” Young Vic by Aleks Sierz

Trauma is the source of identity politics. In the case of African-Americans, the experience of brutal slavery, exploitative colonialism and violent racism are defining experiences in their h…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 06:28AM
Thursday, July 6, 2023

Sarah Middleton’s “Shewolves” at the Southwark Playhouse: Energetic Teen Fairy Tale by Aleks Sierz

Climate-change activist Greta Thunberg is great at doing two things: irritating complacent adults and inspiring idealistic teens. In Sarah Middleton’s debut comedy, Shewolves, which was fi…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 02:55PM
Monday, July 3, 2023

James Graham’s “Dear England” At The National Theatre: Joseph Fiennes Plays A Mesmerizing Soccer Manager In This Sport-Of-The-Nation Drama by Aleks Sierz

James Graham’s Dear England at the National Theatre: Joseph Fiennes plays a mesmerizing soccer manager in this sport-of-the-nation drama The full version of the article James Graham’s �…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 06:50AM
Sunday, June 11, 2023

Peter Morgan’s Patriots At The Noël Coward Theatre: Award-Winning Story Of Putin’s Triumph Is Vivid But Unreal by Aleks Sierz

Peter Morgan’s Patriots at the Noël Coward Theatre: award-winning story of Putin’s triumph is vivid but unreal The full version of the article Peter Morgan’s Patriots At The Noël Co…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 04:11PM
Monday, June 5, 2023

Danny Robins’s 2:22 A Ghost Story At The Apollo Theatre: Populist Shocker Is Pretty Chill Free by Aleks Sierz

Can you enjoy a ghost story during summer? Usually the idea of a haunted house suggests images of dark winter nights, thunder and lightning, and howling wolves. These atmospheric factors are…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 05:04AM
Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead, Barbican Theatre by Aleks Sierz

Imagine yourself in a remote place: it could be a mountaintop, or a lost village, or the Amazon. These are the locations that Simon McBurney and his Complicité theater company take us to wi…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 10:06AM
Monday, May 1, 2023

Vinnie Heaven’s “Faun” at Theatre 503: queer show is both joyful and thought-provoking by Aleks Sierz

We are watching history being made: after decades of being in the shadows, queer drama is now singing and dancing into the mainstream. Theatre after theatre is staging stories about queer, t…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 02:10PM
Friday, April 28, 2023

“Sea Creatures,” Hampstead Theatre by Aleks Sierz

Is it possible to successfully challenge naturalism in British theatre today? At a time when audiences crave feelgood dramas, uplifting musicals and classic well-made plays, there is very li…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 05:44PM
Thursday, April 27, 2023

Brian Friel’s “Dancing at Lughnasa” at the National Theatre: Josie Rourke’s Spirited Revival of This 1990 Classic Is More Fun than Subtle by Aleks Sierz

Brian Friel’s classic play about the blending of Paganism and Christianity in 1930s Ireland is more than 30 years old — and I remember seeing the original production from Dublin’s Abbe…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 10:23AM
Friday, April 21, 2023

Miriam Battye’s Little Scratch At The New Diorama Theatre: Restaged Adaptation Of Rebecca Watson’s Novel Is Powerfully Theatrical by Aleks Sierz

The popularity of plays that feature trauma is certainly a trend in British theatre today. But is this a good thing? On the one hand, staging stories of sexual assault might offer consolatio…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 06:06AM
Monday, April 17, 2023

‘It’s uncomfortable, but real’: LITTLE SCRATCH – New Diorama Theatre by Aleks Sierz

little scratch (deliberately styled in lower case) is adapted by Miriam Battye from Rebecca Watson’s 2020 debut novel, and was first staged at the Hampstead Theatre in 2021. It now transfe…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Wednesday, April 12, 2023

‘Neither a straight play nor an absurdist drama’: SEA CREATURES – Hampstead Theatre by Aleks Sierz

The Downstairs studio space of the Hampstead Theatre manages to continue to offer an opportunity to go beyond the usual naturalism of traditional storytelling, and this is exemplified by Cor…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Friday, April 7, 2023

‘Unrelentingly dark & dismal’: A LITTLE LIFE – Harold Pinter Theatre by Aleks Sierz

Wow! James Norton naked! Wow! New play by Ivo van Hove. Wow! It’s four hours long. Wow! Wow! Wow! The much anticipated play of the year, an adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s 700-page best…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Tuesday, March 28, 2023

‘Too messy to fulfil its ambition’: BLACK SUPERHERO – Royal Court Theatre by Aleks Sierz

In Olivier Award-nominated actor and activist Danny Lee Wynter’s Royal Court debut, the attractively titled Black Superhero, the ambitious theme of black queerness is explored through the …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Thursday, March 23, 2023

‘A haunting story told in a magical way’: FURTHER THAN THE FURTHEST THING – Young Vic Theatre by Aleks Sierz

Empathetic revival of Zinnie Harris’s 2000 play about a lost world and small island longings The post Further Than the Furthest Thing, Young Vic appeared first on Aleks Sierz.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Monday, March 13, 2023

‘There are several beautiful moments of tender humanity’: THE JOURNEY TO VENICE – Finborough Theatre by Aleks Sierz

The memory play is a theatrical genre which allows the playwright to locate their characters in the here and now while at the same time travelling back in time. It is the form adopted by Bj�…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM

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