Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Taboo-busting musical The Book of Mormon isn't anti-Mormon: it also has Jews, Starbucks, gay people and Africans in its sights. As the show debuts in London, Mark Lawson asks its American st…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:30PMFriday, March 8, 2013
A Chorus Line – being revived in London – is one of several successful shows that put the focus on theatre itselfReaders and critics are traditionally sniffy about novels about novelists…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:30AMFriday, March 1, 2013
No matter how good the understudy, the withdrawal of a leading name is almost inevitably bad news for a stage productionNormally the question star-seeking theatregoers ask is "Who's in it?" …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:39PMNo matter how good the understudy, the withdrawal of a leading name is almost inevitably bad news for a stage production Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:39PMThursday, February 21, 2013
Stage actors – with minimal scope for makeup or prosthetics between scenes – tend to find it easier to age down than upThere are various ways of measuring a play: the number of character…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03PMMonday, February 11, 2013
With Hymn and Cocktail Sticks, Alan Bennett joins a tradition – including Dario Fo and David Hare – of writers putting versions of themselves into the frayAn American TV viewer once wrot…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:09AMMonday, January 28, 2013
From Simon Gray to Alan Ayckbourn, many playwrights have kept their most interesting roles out of sight – but very much in mindRowan Atkinson dominates the posters for a West End productio…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:57AMMonday, January 21, 2013
Are rich patrons easier to entertain? And are those in the cheap seats more discerning?Coughing, texting, talking and rustling sweets are all ways in which audiences can affect a performance…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:38AMFriday, January 11, 2013
From John Osborne to Howard Brenton, many fine playwrights have suffered periods of neglect – but, as Peter Nichols's resurgence shows, dramatic fortunes can rise as well as fallIt's notor…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:05AMTuesday, January 1, 2013
As Merrily We Roll Along extends its run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Stephen Sondheim offers rare proof that it's possible to create a show that sinks before it swimsStephen Sondheim's …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:44AMAs Merrily We Roll Along extends its run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Stephen Sondheim offers rare proof that it's possible to create a show that sinks before it swims Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:44AMWednesday, December 19, 2012
Rarely have theatre critics doled out so many ill-starred reviews, from the Donmar's Julius Caesar to the Spice Girls' Viva Forever!. Strangely, sometimes producers rely on themAlthough it's…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54AMWednesday, December 12, 2012
New West End shows The Bodyguard and Viva Forever! feature plenty of female whooping at male nudity. Would it be acceptable the other way around?Is it all right for theatregoers to be sexual…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:04PMTuesday, December 4, 2012
Saying all-female productions are inauthentic misses the point – Shakespeare's plays have always been gender-bendingThe acting editions published by Samuel French have traditionally specif…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:57AMWednesday, November 28, 2012
The Evening Standards' honouring of individual stars such as Simon Russell Beale and Lolita Chakrabarti belies the fact that their productions were ensemble effortsJames Corden began Sunday …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:28AMMonday, November 19, 2012
Anya Reiss's new version modernises The Seagull and transplants it to the Isle of Wight. Does the language suffer – and how respectful should adaptations be?Just before seeing a new versio…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:11AMTuesday, November 13, 2012
Theatres can't keep asking us to hang about in the dark while actors move house. We may as well go to the cinemaAll performers hope for applause – but the new London West End production of…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AMMonday, November 5, 2012
It's the done thing on Broadway to shower star names with applause the moment they enter. I can't be the only one to find this tradition ridiculousOn a recent trip to New York, I was depress…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:38AMTuesday, October 30, 2012
Like many a printed companion to a play, this column contains spoilers – namely, how dramatists sometimes use programmes to keep audiences in the darkFirst, a warning that this column cont…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:17AMTuesday, October 23, 2012
The idea of white actors making themselves up as black is shocking to most of us – and yet a theatre in Germany has seen fit to continue the tradition. Why?Most news stories – government…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:27AMThe idea of white actors making themselves up as black is shocking to most of us – and yet a theatre in Germany has seen fit to continue the tradition. Why? Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:27AMSunday, October 21, 2012
He writes for Doctor Who and Sherlock – now Mark Gatiss is starring as Charles I on stage. He talks to Mark Lawson about overreaching royals, bad auditions and why he's the man to play Jer…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:59PMTuesday, October 16, 2012
Radio is a great place to push the boundaries of drama, for playwrights and audiences alike – as recent productions testifyFor a long time, many London West End openings – think Ghost: T…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:05AMWednesday, October 3, 2012
Her plays arrive fully formed – and she refuses to talk about what they mean. Mark Lawson talks to actors, directors and her publisher about what really makes Churchill tickSince the death…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:44PMCasting well-known names from TV or film has become a sure-fire way of generating ticket sales. But it blinds us to the true depth and breadth of British theatreAlthough theatre reviewing ha…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:36AMCasting well-known names from TV or film has become a sure-fire way of generating ticket sales. But it blinds us to the true depth and breadth of British theatre Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:36AMThursday, September 20, 2012
I'd always been sceptical of site-specific and non-text-based theatre, but Robert Wilson's astonishing Walking won me overAs readers rapidly come to suspect, critics tend to have their preju…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:20AMWednesday, September 12, 2012
Some dramatists, such as Caryl Churchill and Debbie Tucker Green, refuse point blank to talk about their work. Is this vow of silence defensible – or detrimental?Before the opening of a ne…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:21AMTuesday, September 4, 2012
It's a paradox that the more successful a show or theatre, the more difficult it is to get a ticket. Has Josie Rourke found a cure?Is it possible for a theatre to become too successful? Over…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:39AMThursday, August 30, 2012
From Madness frontman Graham McPherson to Falklands veteran Ken Lukowiak, solo shows are all the rage right now. But what makes this the moment of the monologue?It's often been said that eve…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:25AMWednesday, August 22, 2012
In search of theatrical immortality? You could get your play on the school syllabus, like Tom Stoppard, mention the US elections or Christmas, like Gore Vidal and Alan Ayckbourn – or just …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:27AM 
