All stories by Chris Wiegand on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 2, 2022

Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cinderella to close in the West End by Chris Wiegand

Announcement that the show will end at London’s Gillian Lynne theatre in June comes as a shock, with those who had been due to join the production expressing heartache The curtain is to co…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24AM
Sunday, May 1, 2022

The best theatre to stream this month: Red Pitch, Constellations and more by Chris Wiegand

Our roundup of plays to watch at home in May includes The Tempest with Jessie Buckley, Robert Icke’s The Doctor staged in Amsterdam and Amanda Wilkin’s superb solo show Shedding a Skin T…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:33AM
Friday, April 29, 2022

Mark Rylance calls out Tory arts cuts in new Jerusalem programme by Chris Wiegand

The actor, who is reprising his role in Jez Butterworth’s celebrated play, points out that leading politicians’ school Eton has extensive theatre facilities It is the part of the theatre…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM
Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Phoebe Frances Brown, ‘frank and funny’ actor and writer, dies aged 29 by Chris Wiegand

The Nottingham-born playwright wrote and starred in The Glad Game, a one-woman show about her diagnosis with incurable cancer The actor and writer Phoebe Frances Brown, who created an acclai…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AM
Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Play about ‘great escape’ from German prison camp to be staged at Alexandra Palace by Chris Wiegand

The story of the real-life escape from Stalag Luft III in 1944 is to be told at the London venue used as an internment camp for ‘enemy aliens’ during the first world war The story behind…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33PM
Friday, April 15, 2022

Pina Bausch: Orpheus and Eurydice review – piercing sadness by Chris Wiegand

Opera House, WuppertalDancers and singers share the lead roles in Tanztheater Wuppertal’s lucid version of the myth, set to Gluck’s score Rancorous couples who can’t stand the sight of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Monday, April 11, 2022

Benedict Lombe wins theatre prize for play ‘celebrating Blackness in its fullness’ by Chris Wiegand

British Congolese playwright receives Susan Smith Blackburn prize for her debut play, Lava, staged in 2021 at the Bush in London Benedict Lombe has won this year’s Susan Smith Blackburn pr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:33PM
Sunday, April 10, 2022

‘My worst nightmare and my biggest dream!’ The Olivier awards’ best quotes by Chris Wiegand

Host Jason Manford, Cabaret stars Jessie Buckley and Eddie Redmayne, and a host of other presenters and winners gave some candid speeches at the ceremony Full list of winners Host Jason Manf…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42PM
Friday, April 1, 2022

The best theatre to stream this month: Bad Roads, Love, Much Ado and more by Chris Wiegand

Our roundup of plays to watch at home in April includes a Ukrainian account of war, a blistering exploration of social media and a brass-band audio drama Restrictions in most of the UK have …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54AM
Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Room review – chaos reigns as circus superstar James Thierrée climbs the walls by Chris Wiegand

Massy Opera, FranceThierrée plays an architect whose building won’t behave and a director whose performers don’t listen in a playful if disjointed production Who lives in a house like t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54PM

Ian McKellen to play Hamlet at the Edinburgh fringe by Chris Wiegand

The actor will share the role with Danish dancer Johan Christensen in a new production this summer Sir Ian McKellen is to play Hamlet for the third time in his career in a production this su…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54PM
Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Hamlet review – an emotional rollercoaster for young audiences by Chris Wiegand

Dorfman, LondonJude Christian’s funny and suspenseful adaptation for children draws them into the heart of Shakespeare’s story Who hasn’t occasionally wished Hamlet was a bit shorter? …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:48AM
Friday, March 25, 2022

Royal Court theatre to present plays in solidarity with Ukraine by Chris Wiegand

London venue to stage a reading of Natal’ya Vorozhbit’s drama Bad Roads, which will also be livestreamed on the Guardian website The Royal Court theatre in London is to present a day of …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM
Thursday, March 24, 2022

Merseyside’s new Shakespeare theatre opens by celebrating builders and footballers by Chris Wiegand

Local heroes including screenwriter Jimmy McGovern and comedian Johnny Vegas will take stage at Shakespeare North Playhouse this summer A new Shakespearean theatre is to open in Merseyside t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:33AM
Thursday, March 17, 2022

David Harbour and Bill Pullman bring ‘blistering’ comedy Mad House to West End by Chris Wiegand

Premiere of Theresa Rebeck’s play will reunite the film and theatre stars who appeared in The Equalizer The American blockbuster stars David Harbour and Bill Pullman are to share the stage…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:06AM
Wednesday, March 16, 2022

‘A line has been drawn’: Olga Smirnova quits Bolshoi Ballet over Ukraine war by Chris Wiegand

The first Russian to leave the company over her country’s invasion of its neighbour will join the Dutch National Ballet Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates The prima ballerina Olga Smirnova…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54PM
Friday, March 11, 2022

Wonder Boy review – a school play with soul-stirring super powers by Chris Wiegand

Bristol Old VicWith brilliant performances, eye-popping visuals and a gloriously profane script by Ross Willis, this is an unforgettable tale of adolescence Here is an audaciously inventive,…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54AM
Thursday, March 10, 2022

Women’s prize for playwriting won by 90th birthday drama in ‘house full of ghosts’ by Chris Wiegand

Winner Karis Kelly, writer of Consumed, had previously been considering a ‘complete career change’ as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic A playwright who was considering a “complete car…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54PM

Blackmail review – play that brought Hitchcock a hit is retooled for today by Chris Wiegand

Mercury theatre, ColchesterHandsomely staged, Mark Ravenhill’s version of Charles Bennett’s 1920s thriller includes pertinent concerns about policing and the abuse of power An artist is …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AM
Monday, March 7, 2022

Taron Egerton to return ‘with a vengeance’ after fainting during West End debut by Chris Wiegand

The actor who passed out on stage said he had ‘a bruised ego but I’m fine’ and would be back to perform on Monday night The actor Taron Egerton has said he will return to the stage “…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AM
Thursday, March 3, 2022

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical review – hits, heartache and rollerskates by Chris Wiegand

Curve, LeicesterMolly-Grace Cutler is in fine voice in this jukebox musical but the story shortchanges the singer-songwriter’s achievements Like her 2012 memoir, A Natural Woman, this juke…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42PM
Tuesday, March 1, 2022

The best theatre to stream this month: Mum, Hamlet, Oliver Twist and more by Chris Wiegand

In a new monthly roundup, we pick 10 of the best shows to enjoy from home – including Shakespeare filmed in a church, a lavish musical and Gabriel Byrne’s return to Dublin With three new…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:03AM
Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Murder for Two review – daffy musical with a double act to die for by Chris Wiegand

Barn theatre, CirencesterLee O’Reilly and Sam Denia prove deft and daft in a mystery spoof that is crammed with ideas The question in this nimble murder-mystery spoof is not so much whodun…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:18PM
Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Walking With Ghosts review – Gabriel Byrne’s trip down Dublin’s memory lanes by Chris Wiegand

Gaiety theatre, DublinThe actor adapts his impressionistic memoir for the stage, giving life to the characters he observed as a boy in the ‘theatre of the street’ Gabriel Byrne’s 2020 …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AM
Monday, January 31, 2022

Kae Tempest’s Paradise among finalists for Susan Smith Blackburn prize by Chris Wiegand

Tempest’s National Theatre play, Amanda Wilkin’s Shedding a Skin and Benedict Lombe’s Lava all shortlisted for major playwriting award A reworking of Sophocles’s tragedy Philoctetes …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AM
Sunday, January 30, 2022

‘Brothers and sisters getting their groove on’: Melvin Van Peebles’ house-party musical by Chris Wiegand

Known for his pioneering blaxploitation cinema, the late film director also created Don’t Play Us Cheap, a goofy but soul-stirring Broadway hit that should not be forgotten When Melvin Van…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54PM
Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Alan Cumming to play Robert Burns in solo dance-theatre show by Chris Wiegand

Actor aims to tell the Scottish poet’s story ‘using my whole body’ in a production at the 75th Edinburgh international festival in August Alan Cumming will play Scotland’s national b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12PM

Ian McKellen keen to star in a stage musical: ‘I’m available but incompetent’ by Chris Wiegand

The actor, who is taking on a one-off role as a detective, is ready for an all-singing, all-dancing production next He has played a wizard, a supervillain and the great Shakespearean leads �…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:03AM
Friday, January 21, 2022

Songs of glaze: Great British Bake Off musical to hit the stage this summer by Chris Wiegand

Show scored by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary is set to become summer’s hot ticket and will premiere in Cheltenham in July After all those weekly showstopper challenges, it was perhaps inev…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AM
Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Jack and the Beanstalk review – panto season’s not yet behind you! by Chris Wiegand

Available onlineStephen Joseph theatre’s filmed seasonal offering is a proper winter warmer with some off-the-wall touches Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph theatre had to cancel almost half …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42PM
Monday, January 17, 2022

Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby stage show to open in Birmingham by Chris Wiegand

Rambert dance company and writer Steven Knight team up for an ‘inspiring and uplifting’ touring production The upcoming sixth series of blockbuster BBC drama Peaky Blinders will be the l…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM

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