All stories by Michael Billington on BroadwayStars

Thursday, July 12, 2018

As You Like It review – captures love's exhilarating madness by Michael Billington

Open Air theatre, Regent’s Park, LondonOlivia Vinall and Edward Hogg light up a production whose pleasures outweigh its preachinessMax Webster’s production of Shakespeare’s comedy sets…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM
Wednesday, July 11, 2018

It Happened in Key West review – necrophilia musical leaves you cold by Michael Billington

Charing Cross theatre, LondonThere are jaunty tunes and fine performances but this musical about mummification starts to decompose halfway throughThey seem to have a penchant for musicals ab…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM
Friday, July 6, 2018

The Jungle review – vital drama of hope and despair at the Calais camp by Michael Billington

Playhouse theatre, LondonThis vivid recreation of life in the sprawling refugee camp is a priceless piece of theatre that enlarges our understanding while appealing to our emotionsThis is th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AM
Thursday, July 5, 2018

Foxfinder – review by Michael Billington

Finborough, LondonIn a wan year for new writing, Dawn King's play shines out like a beacon. Winner of the Papatango playwriting competition, it may display the influence of Arthur Miller's T…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM
Wednesday, July 4, 2018

The Lieutenant of Inishmore review – Aidan Turner is terrific in shocking comedy by Michael Billington

Noël Coward theatre, LondonThe Poldark star gives an excellent performance in a first-rate revival of Martin McDonagh’s brutally funny playPoldark fans turning up to see Aidan Turner in M…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:12PM

Posh by Michael Billington

Royal Court, LondonLaura Wade's new play is highly topical: it is about the sense of entitlement to power of a privileged, wealthy, public school and Oxbridge elite. But while I'm glad to se…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:32PM

Miss Littlewood review – the seven ages of a theatrical revolutionary by Michael Billington

The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonClare Burt passes on the trademark cap to six other actors who all share the role of the pioneering director in Sam Kenyon’s engaging musical tributeAs a nomad…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Tuesday, July 3, 2018

The King and I review – spirited revival of a problematic classic by Michael Billington

London PalladiumThe Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical comes to the West End with fine acting, handsome staging and inescapable overtones of western imperialismThis 1951…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24PM
Monday, July 2, 2018

Gillian Lynne: the trailblazer who made British musicals move by Michael Billington

The choreographer brought her classical training, dramatic eye and vitality to bear on hits such as Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Chitty Chitty Bang BangGillian Lynne, who has died aged 92,…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36AM
Sunday, July 1, 2018

The Play About My Dad review – a father in the eye of the storm by Michael Billington

Jermyn Street theatre, London Boo Killebrew cleverly evokes the havoc of Hurricane Katrina through her doctor father’s memories of the disaster and the imperilled characters they recallHow…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM
Friday, June 29, 2018

Genesis Inc. review – scattergun satire on the IVF industry by Michael Billington

Hampstead theatre, LondonA sparkling cast including Harry Enfield star in Jemma Kennedy’s unwieldy play about the commercialisation of conceptionJemma Kennedy’s play about the IVF indust…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM
Thursday, June 28, 2018

Fun Home review – Bechdel memoir takes stage musical in new directions by Michael Billington

Young Vic, LondonThis adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel is a beautifully performed mix of memory-play and strip-cartoonOklahoma! this ain’t. During his tenure at the Young Vic…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Wednesday, June 27, 2018

One for Sorrow review – suspicion hits home in bomb attack drama by Michael Billington

Royal Court, LondonCordelia Lynn probes middle-class morals in a drama about a family who house a stranger following an attack on LondonThe mysterious visitor whose presence provokes a moral…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PM

Theatre review: Jerusalem | Royal Court, London by Michael Billington

Royal Court, LondonJez Butterworth's last play, Parlour Song, transported us to a housing estate on the edge of a dark forest. Now he takes us into the woods for a bucolic frolic depicting t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12AM

Knockouts, nobles and nukes: the 25 best British plays since Jerusalem by Michael Billington

It is the hit that transformed British theatre. As Jez Butterworth’s epochal drama returns, our critic chooses the 25 best plays since Jerusalem – from exploited boxers to warring kingsF…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM
Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Great performances: Mark Rylance in Jerusalem by Michael Billington

As Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron, Rylance transformed himself into a strutting, muscular figure in Jez Butterworth’s haunting study of a changing EnglandBig claims are often made for Mark Ryl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PM

The Turn of the Screw review – Britten's opera chills the spine as darkness falls by Michael Billington

Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, LondonThis superb production creeps into every corner of the outdoor space, as the battle for children’s souls intensifies Britten in the park? A ghost st…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM
Saturday, June 23, 2018

Theatre review: Dancing at Lughnasa / Old Vic, London by Michael Billington

Old Vic, LondonFor the second time in a week we are confronted by a play set in the summer of 1936 dealing with domestic and social upheaval. Like Peter Flannery's Burnt By The Sun, Brian Fr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:04PM
Friday, June 15, 2018

Pressure review – David Haig takes us into the eye of the D-day storm by Michael Billington

Ambassadors theatre, LondonThe actor-playwright finds rich drama in the interaction of war and weather in a show with a powerful contemporary resonance“How can the weather ever be boring?�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM
Thursday, June 14, 2018

The Country Wife review – a Restoration romp around Soho by Michael Billington

Minerva, ChichesterWilliam Wycherley’s 1675 comedy of manners and morals gets a modern-day update starring Susannah FieldingIs it always necessary to update Restoration comedy? Two months …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM
Wednesday, June 13, 2018

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie review – words are weapons in smart take on Spark by Michael Billington

Donmar Warehouse, LondonLia Williams is superb in David Harrower’s adaptation of the novel, directed by Polly FindlayI can think of more urgent requirements for the British theatre than ye…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:04AM
Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Machinal review – hellish vision of America as an assembly line by Michael Billington

Almeida, LondonNatalie Abrahami directs Sophie Treadwell’s unforgettable portrait of a young woman suffocating at home and workNow is obviously a good time to revive Sophie Treadwell’s 1…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AM
Monday, June 11, 2018

Monogamy review – celebrity chef cooks up an apocalyptic stew by Michael Billington

Park theatre, LondonTorben Betts’s social satire about a beleaguered kitchen goddess builds to a bewildering climax of panic and violenceTorben Betts clearly sees cooking as a source of dr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54PM
Sunday, June 10, 2018

Five theatre flops that deserve a revival by Michael Billington

Whether too avant garde, too shocking or simply unlucky, sometimes a great play doesn't find favour with the public. I'd like to see these given another run – how about you?CE Montague, a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36PM

Isabelle Huppert Reads Marquis de Sade review – philosophical pain, actorly pleasure by Michael Billington

Queen Elizabeth Hall, LondonWatching Huppert’s expert differentiation of the Marquis de Sade’s Justine and Juliette in solo recital makes you wish she would bring a conventional play to …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM
Friday, June 8, 2018

Julie review – Polly Stenham's modern take on Strindberg misses the mark by Michael Billington

Lyttelton, LondonThe Crown’s Vanessa Kirby impresses but this updated version of the class-conscious tragedy is overblownPolly Stenham is not the first dramatist to update Strindberg’s M…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Thursday, June 7, 2018

Donmar Warehouse names Michael Longhurst as new artistic director by Chris Wiegand and Michael Billington

Josie Rourke describes her successor at London theatre as ‘one of the most gifted, original and impressive directors in the country’Michael Longhurst has been appointed as the new artist…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:04AM

My Name Is Lucy Barton review – Laura Linney triumphs as a writer confronting her past by Michael Billington

Bridge theatre, LondonElizabeth Strout’s novel works outstandingly on stage, thanks to sole performer Linney’s nuanced command of the narrativeNovels, depending on the stream of time, ra…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:04AM
Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Utility review – slow-burning drama about a mother under pressure by Michael Billington

Orange Tree, RichmondEmily Schwend’s play about a mum with two jobs, three kids and a feckless husband pays homage to female enduranceWatching Emily Schwend’s prize-winning play about th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54AM
Tuesday, June 5, 2018

The Biograph Girl review – vivacious tribute to silent screen legends by Michael Billington

Finborough, LondonDavid Heneker and Warner Brown’s musical captures the heady excitement of the burgeoning movie businessPre-talkies Hollywood constantly seduces musical-makers. This forgo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:36PM

Theatre review: August: Osage County / Lyttelton theatre, London by Michael Billington

Lyttelton theatre, LondonExposing the myth of the happy nuclear family has long been a staple of American drama. If Tracy Letts's play, in a magnificent Chicago Steppenwolf production by Ann…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:04AM

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