All stories by Arifa Akbar on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Under the Mask review – at the coalface of the Covid crisis by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Peckham, LondonIn Shaan Sahota’s audio play, which is touring theatres, a junior doctor tries to navigate the early days of the pandemic A junior doctor’s first nervous day at wo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12PM
Thursday, June 10, 2021

‘I rip off my skin and give him the guts’ – Lisa Dwan on her approach to Beckett by Arifa Akbar

The actor had a great lockdown: she learned to cook, took up cello – and fell in love. Now six months pregnant, Dwan’s about to be buried up to her neck in Happy Days. Is she worried? Li…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AM
Sunday, June 6, 2021

The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars review – grief, loss, fury: the legacy of a race hate crime by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal Stratford East, London Kibong Tanji is outstanding as the sister of the victim in Dipo Baruwa-Etti’s play which is dynamic and gripping but lacks tonal variety The Sun, the M…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42AM
Friday, June 4, 2021

The Death of a Black Man review – an inflammatory study of social mobility by Arifa Akbar

Hampstead theatre, LondonDepravity takes hold of a pair of young black entrepreneurs in 1970s London in this revival of Alfred Fagon’s idea-filled play It has taken almost half a century f…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM
Thursday, June 3, 2021

Four Quartets review – Ralph Fiennes triumphs with bold TS Eliot monologue by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal Bath Fiennes imbues Eliot’s last great poem with all the drama of a Shakespearean soliloquy in a magnificent, intimate theatrical experience By the time TS Eliot wrote his l…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM
Saturday, May 29, 2021

Walden review – Gemma Arterton’s sister act reaches for the stars by Arifa Akbar

Harold Pinter theatre, LondonArterton plays a former Nasa employee whose astronaut twin descends on her wilderness retreat in Amy Berryman’s intelligent, soulful drama Twin sisters with a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42PM
Thursday, May 27, 2021

Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me review – big-hearted debut is a keeper by Arifa Akbar

Kiln theatre, LondonStarring in her play about friendship, romance and spina bifida, Amy Trigg is enormously entertaining There are several good reasons to love Amy Trigg’s debut play abou…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06PM
Monday, May 24, 2021

Blis-ta and Cunch reviews – the sound of life on the edge by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineTwo gritty audio dramas, one about homelessness and sex work, the other about county lines drug dealing, find hope in the power of female friendships Blis-ta and Cunch are tw…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54PM

Harm review – savage brilliance and envy in an Instagram blizzard by Arifa Akbar

Bush theatre, LondonPhoebe Eclair-Powell’s intoxicating social media drama, starring Kelly Gough as a lonely estate agent, exceeds even the brilliance of the BBC’s recent version During …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:42AM
Friday, May 21, 2021

A Russian Doll review – a data-disinformation troll keeps us hooked by Arifa Akbar

Barn theatre, CirencesterRachel Redford shines as a student recruited to mess with British heads, in a joint production with the Arcola theatre ‘Who owns your data?” asks Masha, the tort…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18AM
Thursday, May 20, 2021

Flight review – a perilous, powerful trip down the road to freedom by Arifa Akbar

Bridge theatre, LondonStunning visual effects light up this installation about two orphaned Afghan boys who embark on an epic journey Getting into the auditorium for Flight involves a labori…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:03AM

Hanif Kureishi: ‘I’d like to see a British Muslim Sopranos’ by Arifa Akbar

As his new play The Spank opens in Italy, the writer talks about the power of ludicrous ideas, the crisis facing the middle class – and why he can’t get white liberals off his phone Hani…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12AM
Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Two Horsemen review – a duo locked in fearful comic limbo by Arifa Akbar

Jermyn Street theatre, London Biyi Bandele’s daring and surreal play, set against some unspoken outside threat, pitches its characters into a whirl of confusion Two men stew in the confine…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PM

Katy Rudd: the high-flying director who can’t resist a risk by Arifa Akbar

In the last of our series profiling rising theatre talents, the director of The Ocean at the End of the Lane shares her excitement at the return of live performance Everyone wanted to be inv…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54AM
Friday, May 7, 2021

A brief encounter with Muriel, Alan Bennett’s latest talking head by Arifa Akbar

Frances de la Tour plays another of the playwright’s fascinating women in a three-minute sketch for Nottingham Playhouse’s digital series If Covid-secure theatre accidentally sparked a r…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:36PM
Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Eben Figueiredo: electric actor, soul singer and Star Wars mudtrooper by Arifa Akbar

The rising star’s rich career is built on a determination to widen diversity in theatre – and bring a true voice to his roles Eben Figueiredo remembers a voice lesson at drama school in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Alfred Fagon: a brilliant playwright whose work must not be forgotten by Arifa Akbar

As The Death of a Black Man returns to Hampstead theatre, it’s time to remember and revive Fagon’s other confounding and ambitious dramas Alfred Fagon was many things before becoming a p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24PM
Monday, May 3, 2021

Rocky Road review – a riveting cat-and-mouse thriller by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineTyger Drew-Honey and Kirsten Foster star in Shaun McKenna’s noirish tale of crime and punishment Apartment blocks can make convenient backdrops for noirish thrillers with d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12PM
Friday, April 30, 2021

Tennis Elbow review – rambunctious ride through an awful artist’s life by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineIn a twist on John Byrne’s debut Writer’s Cramp, this is a fast-paced spoof hagiography of pulpy romance author Pamela Crichton Capers In 1977, John Byrne staged his deb…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06PM
Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Love in the Lockdown review – a virtual romance drawn with emotional subtlety by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineThis moreish serial drama finds new terrain with excellent performances from Rachael Stirling and Alec Newman “You’re on mute,” says Emilia to Giovanni, minutes into th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54PM
Sunday, April 25, 2021

The Winter’s Tale review – RSC and BBC film is a purist version of theatre on screen by Arifa Akbar

BBC iPlayer Covid-postponed production moves the play to the 1950s but lacks the inventiveness of the National’s recent Romeo and Juliet This RSC production opens in a 20th-century Sicilia…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:36PM
Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Whispers to thunderstorms: the world of sound designer Max Pappenheim by Arifa Akbar

After embarking accidentally on his career, Pappenheim has created innovative soundscapes for theatre, opera and radio Max Pappenheim’s journey into sound design comprises a series of happ…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54AM
Monday, April 19, 2021

The Motherhood Project review – difficult choices, disparate voices by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineThis set of 15 monologues – from writers including Lemn Sissay, Jodi Gray and Juno Dawson – is heartfelt but feels underpowered In one of the 15 monologues here, Juno Daw…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:48PM
Thursday, April 15, 2021

Graham Greene’s showdown with Soviet spy Kim Philby: A Splinter of Ice review by Arifa Akbar

Available online A meeting between the writer and the double agent, once colleagues at MI6, is strong on friendship and betrayal – but takes us no closer to the heart of either man In Febr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18PM
Tuesday, April 13, 2021

‘The heat is on’: top theatres act to root out ‘system failure’ of racism by Arifa Akbar

The Young Vic and Royal Court are rethinking their work practices to unpick centuries of ingrained attitudes – and achieve ‘the miracle of equality’ The Young Vic and Royal Court theat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06PM
Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Drama about Flint water crisis takes major theatre award by Arifa Akbar

US activist and dramatist Erika Dickerson-Despenza wins Susan Smith Blackburn prize with the play cullud wattah A “bold and urgent” play about the Flint water crisis, seen through the ey…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:42PM
Sunday, April 4, 2021

Romeo and Juliet review – National Theatre's first film is an ingenious triumph by Arifa Akbar

Sky ArtsJosh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley captivate as the star-crossed lovers in a pacy, painterly and emotionally raw production The National Theatre’s first foray into film-making is a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42PM
Thursday, April 1, 2021

'We had a three-hour window to get intimate!' Romeo and Juliet at the National by Arifa Akbar

After the pandemic nixed a stage run of Shakespeare’s tragedy, the theatre launched an ambitious film version starring Jessie Buckley and Josh O’Connor Just over a year ago, Simon Godwin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:32AM
Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Jessica Hung Han Yun: a designer tripping the light fantastic by Arifa Akbar

The bright mind who lit up Blindness at the Donmar and the National Theatre’s panto approaches each job like a mystery After Jessica Hung Han Yun’s first professional gig as a lighting d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24AM
Friday, March 26, 2021

Inside review – trio of anxious lockdown studies by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineDeborah Bruce’s grief-stricken monologue Guidesky and I is the pick of the Orange Tree theatre’s introspective bunch Inside comprises three short studies of what it means…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM

Talawa theatre company: 'It's time to double down on Black Lives Matter pledges' by Arifa Akbar

The minds behind Britain’s oldest black theatre group discuss pulling out of Birmingham Rep when it became a Nightingale court – and their plans to conquer the West End Britain’s oldes…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre