All stories by Chris Wiegand on BroadwayStars

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
Thursday, August 14, 2025

Knight, Knight review – spangly chivalry with psychosexual horseplay by Chris Wiegand

Underbelly, George Square, EdinburghMadeleine Rowe’s physical comedy, deft vocal work and twinkle-eyed charisma takes the relationship between man and steed to extremes Academic texts have…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Body Count review – dark laughs in a tale of Bonnie Blue-style sexual extremes by Chris Wiegand

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghIssy Knowles considers the phenomenon of sex as a competitive sport with a portrait of a fictional OnlyFans star and her balaclava-clad followers ‘I would lov…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Thursday, August 7, 2025

Solitude Without Loneliness review – bad dates, frenzied flyering and the spirit of the fringe by Chris Wiegand

Dance Base, EdinburghMalcolm Sutherland’s meta production about isolation and the search for intimacy knowingly ties its themes to the experience of the fringe The dry title belies a show …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM
Friday, August 1, 2025

The best theatre to stream this month: tailoring comedy Alterations gets a fitting tribute by Chris Wiegand

Pin-sharp comedy from the National Theatre’s Black Plays Archive, a 12-hour ‘theatre-rave’ and Rachel Zegler’s balcony performance of Don’t Cry for Me Argentina are among this mont…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54AM
Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Tanz fever: a whirl through the Viennese festival where dance erupts across the city by Chris Wiegand

Austria’s month-long ImPulsTanz celebration goes beyond the norm to turn rope jumping, navel-gazing and masked protest into explosive shows Matteo Haitzmann is a violinist who has tonight …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AM

Edinburgh funniest fringe joke award scrapped for 2025 by Chris Wiegand

TV channel U&Dave has announced its award for best joke at the fringe, launched in 2008, won’t be given this year It’s beyond a joke for pun-lovers. The traditional list of the funni…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM
Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Minnie Driver signs up for lead role as Every Brilliant Thing comes to West End by Chris Wiegand

The actor will follow stars including Lenny Henry and Sue Perkins, leading the hit show in which a performer enlists the audience’s help to tell ‘funny, sad and unique’ story Minnie Dr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:06AM
Tuesday, July 1, 2025

The Constant Wife review – Rose Leslie and Laura Wade let fresh light into Maugham’s drawing room by Chris Wiegand

Swan theatre, Stratford upon Avon A sharp new version of Somerset Maugham’s 1926 tale of adultery is led by the Game of Thrones star and includes a jazz score by Jamie Cullum Anyone awaiti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PM

The best theatre to stream this month: Stereophonic’s suite of addictive songs by Chris Wiegand

A sensational Broadway recording, an electrifying Liza Minnelli documentary and King and ‘Queen’ Lear It’s billed as a play not a musical but Stereophonic, the US hit now in London, ha…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:42AM
Friday, June 6, 2025

‘I must have done something right!’: dance master Jiří Kylián on his festival, fierce critics and the Ministry of Silly Walks by Chris Wiegand

At 78, the great choreographer is enjoying a career-spanning celebration in Oslo. He reflects on his leap from dance to visual art and why he feels snubbed by Britain A gang of young dancers…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:12AM
Thursday, June 5, 2025

Dominic Cooke appointed as the Almeida theatre’s artistic director by Chris Wiegand

Cooke, who ran the Royal Court for several years, will succeed Rupert Goold at the illustrious London venue in 2026 Dominic Cooke has been appointed as the new artistic director of the Almei…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12AM
Sunday, June 1, 2025

The best theatre to stream this month: George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck goes live by Chris Wiegand

Clooney’s Broadway hit, Disney musical Frozen and a taster for a new romcom at Stratford East are among this month’s highlights Here is that rarest of opportunities: a live stream for a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:32AM
Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Shucked review – terrific songs add zest to undercooked corn country musical by Chris Wiegand

Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, London Thin tale of neighbourly spirit is loaded with groansome gags but the hoedowns and show tunes are full of flavour Aw, shucks. There’s plenty to lov…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Actor and writer Gawn Grainger dies aged 87 by Chris Wiegand

A prolific performer with the National Theatre, the actor and playwright – who was married to Zoë Wanamaker – was also a regular on TV, starring in Doctor Who The actor and writer Gawn …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24PM

The Fifth Step review – Jack Lowden and Martin Freeman go head to head by Chris Wiegand

@sohoplace, London A new arrival at Alcoholics Anonymous meets with his apparently composed sponsor in David Ireland’s knotty, often hilarious two-hander Jack Lowden wasn’t away from the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24AM
Friday, May 16, 2025

Charles Strouse, Tony award-winning composer of Annie, dies aged 96 by Chris Wiegand

Over the course of an illustrious career, Strouse composed music for Broadway shows such as Bye Bye Birdie and Applause but was best known for Annie’s evergreen songs The composer Charles …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM
Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Oedipus at Colonus/Electra review – a double shot of Sophocles in Sicily by Chris Wiegand

Greek theatre, Syracuse Two searing new productions, performed in a hallowed space by intense ensembles, bring strikingly fresh energy to the ancient dramas Concurrent London productions rec…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12AM
Thursday, May 8, 2025

Three Hens in a Boat review – Jerome K Jerome inspires funny voyage of family reflection by Chris Wiegand

Reading Rep theatreThree generations of soon-to-be-weds unload their emotional baggage into the Thames in Camille Ucan’s comedy Jerome K Jerome was not kind about Reading in Three Men in a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Shedinburgh festival returns with new 100-seat venue at Edinburgh fringe by Chris Wiegand

Francesca Moody and Gary McNair’s innovative DIY solution to Covid restrictions will be revamped for a series of in-person, one-off shows When the 2020 Edinburgh fringe was cancelled due t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM
Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Jamie Cullum to compose music for RSC’s The Constant Wife starring Rose Leslie by Chris Wiegand

The musician is to debut as a theatre composer for W Somerset Maugham’s 1926 comedy adapted by Laura Wade and directed by Tamara Harvey Jamie Cullum is to make his debut as a theatre compo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:32AM
Thursday, May 1, 2025

Holy Krapp! Gary Oldman and Stephen Rea unspool Beckett’s masterpiece about memory by Chris Wiegand

Krapp’s Last Tape, in which an old man rummages through recordings of his younger self, is back for two star-powered revivals. This haunting play invites actors and audiences to reconnect …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32PM

The best theatre to stream this month: how Stranger Things shook the stage by Chris Wiegand

Behind-the-scenes look at the TV juggernaut’s transformation into a theatrical spectacular, interactive acrobatics with Cirque du Soleil and a spellbinding tribute to Kneehigh are among th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54AM
Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Sunny Side review – teen spirit spirals in yearning dance drama by Chris Wiegand

The Place, London Arresting show from Northern Rascals charts the growing distance between two young men This bedroom looks like it has been ripped out of a building. Its walls are edged wit…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Beegu review – Alexis Deacon’s mellow yellow alien adventure hits the stage by Chris Wiegand

Unicorn theatre, LondonRejected by adults, the far-from-home heroine is embraced by cheering children in Debbie Hannan’s comical show If you took one of Tove Jansson’s Moomins, sprayed t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06AM
Tuesday, April 1, 2025

The best theatre to stream this month: Macbeth, Life of Pi, Playhouse Creatures and more by Chris Wiegand

David Tennant and Cush Jumbo in Shakespeare’s tragedy, a puppet-powered transformation for Yann Martel’s novel and Anna Chancellor in a Restoration-era comedy are among this month’s hi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:12AM

Scraps review – posh frocks and meal deals in a class comedy by Chris Wiegand

Wardrobe theatre, BristolDaisy Kennedy and Mia Macleod tussle with capitalism, class cliches and the cost of living in this smart two-hander Meet Daisy and Mia. One is working class, the oth…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:12AM
Monday, March 31, 2025

Apex Predator review – supernatural psychodrama bites off more than it can chew by Chris Wiegand

Hampstead theatre, LondonSophie Melville and Laura Whitmore star in an ambitious yet flawed play about the pressures of parenthood John Donnelly’s new play is perceptive about early parent…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32PM