All stories by Tim Bano on BroadwayStars

Thursday, October 3, 2024

A Tupperware of Ashes review: Muddled Alzheimer’s play is well-acted, but a tough slog by Tim Bano

Tanika Gupta’s play follows a mother whose mind is disintegrating as her children rally around

SOURCE: The Independent at 05:32AM
Saturday, September 21, 2024

A Face in the Crowd, review: Elvis Costello’s satirical musical isn’t extreme enough to skewer Trump by Tim Bano

Costello and playwright Sarah Ruhl adapt the 1957 film about the rise of a populist demagogue in this new, uneven Young Vic production

SOURCE: The Independent at 05:12AM
Sunday, July 21, 2024

Edinburgh Fringe 2024: From Hannah Gadsby’s return to two Gwyneth musicals, our ultimate guide to what to see by Tim Bano

With more than 3,500 shows, the world’s biggest arts festival is back at full power. But what’s worth running up and down the Royal Mile for? Tim Bano picks the best theatre and comedy t…

SOURCE: The Independent at 02:06AM
Sunday, June 30, 2024

Starlight Express review: A neon fever dream you’ll watch with your mouth wide open by Tim Bano

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s singing, roller-skating steam trains are back for a night of absolute maximalism. Yes, it’s more spectacle than sense – but your inner child (and actual children)…

SOURCE: The Independent at 06:54PM
Thursday, June 27, 2024

Mean Girls the Musical review: Not a cool musical – just a distinctly average musical adaptation by Tim Bano

Lacking a musical identity and feeling spiritually like a period piece, this stage adaptation of Tina Fey’s Noughties classic feels like an exercise in doing the bare minimum

SOURCE: The Independent at 06:32PM
Wednesday, June 26, 2024

The Constituent review: James Corden proves himself as a truly great actor in flawed political play by Tim Bano

‘Motherland’ star Anna Maxwell Martin and James Corden have to battle with starchy direction and a clunky script in Joe Penhall’s new play about the threats facing MPs

SOURCE: The Independent at 05:42AM
Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Kiss Me, Kate review: A supremely silly evening of summer escapism by Tim Bano

‘Line of Duty’ star Adrian Dunbar teams up with Broadway legend Stephanie J Block for another perfectly pitched Cole Porter revival at the Barbican

SOURCE: The Independent at 05:12PM
Wednesday, June 5, 2024

A View from the Bridge review: Dominic West gently reinvents Arthur Miller’s tragic hero by Tim Bano

‘The Crown’ star is a man in freefall in a Miller revival that works its magic by being that rare thing: a really decent production of a really great play

SOURCE: The Independent at 06:02AM
Thursday, May 30, 2024

Boys from the Blackstuff review: Alan Bleasdale adaptation needs to feel more like a play for today by Tim Bano

Leading political playwright James Graham is burdened by the need to preserve this classic piece of writing about unemployed men in 1980s Liverpool, but the show comes alive when it finds th…

SOURCE: The Independent at 06:18AM
Saturday, May 25, 2024

Bluets review: Ben Whishaw and Emma D’Arcy lead slow, demanding production by Tim Bano

Alienating production of Maggie Nelson’s 2009 philosophical memoir, is not a good showcase for the lead actors’ talents

SOURCE: The Independent at 07:54AM
Thursday, May 23, 2024

Romeo & Juliet review: Tom Holland’s star-cross’d sad boy lover falls flat by Tim Bano

Hot on the heels of his triumphant ‘Sunset Boulevard’ revival, Jamie Lloyd has recruited one of the biggest young stars in Hollywood to take on Shakespeare – but this stripped back pro…

SOURCE: The Independent at 07:36PM
Friday, May 3, 2024

The Cherry Orchard review: Chekhov characters banter and vape while the world burns by Tim Bano

Bafta-winner Adeel Akhtar and ‘Tár’ star Nina Hoss are excellent, but Benedict Andrews’s clever but annoying contemporary Chekhov revival insists on a grating quirkiness

SOURCE: The Independent at 04:32AM
Wednesday, April 17, 2024

London Tide review: The National’s moody Dickens musical is hamstrung by PJ Harvey’s dirge-like songs by Tim Bano

Ben Power’s deft adaptation of Dickens’ sprawling novel emphasises its brilliant characters and eternally relevant themes, but the bleak production and dour music wrestle with one anothe…

SOURCE: The Independent at 07:36PM
Sunday, April 14, 2024

The Comeuppance review: Play about the miseries of millennials promises more than it delivers by Tim Bano

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's production is rich in ideas and beautifully staged, but it’s still two hours of listening to middle-aged millennials feeling sorry for themselves

SOURCE: The Independent at 07:42PM
Friday, April 12, 2024

Player Kings, review: Watching Ian McKellen in this is like seeing your granddad at a rave by Tim Bano

The veteran actor stars in a long uneven new production fusing both parts of Shakespeare’s ‘Henry IV’ at London’s Noël Coward Theatre

SOURCE: The Independent at 05:32AM
Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Long Day’s Journey Into Night review: Brian Cox’s tyrannical Tyrone is a masterclass in impotent rage by Tim Bano

The ‘Succession’ star returns to his stage stomping ground, and it’s where he stomps best. Alongside an extraordinary Patricia Clarkson, he owns the stage in Jeremy Herrin’s spare, b…

SOURCE: The Independent at 04:24AM
Thursday, February 15, 2024

Dear Octopus review: Dodie Smith’s slow burning pre-war family saga will suck you in by Tim Bano

Why is the National Theatre staging this frightfully old fashioned play from the 1930s? A superb performance from Lindsay Duncan and a production tinged with foreboding are reason enough

SOURCE: The Independent at 05:42AM
Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Blithe Spirit review at Duke of York’s Theatre, London – ‘Jennifer Saunders delights as a dotty medium’ by Tim Bano

After multiple manifestations at Theatre Royal Bath and a southern UK tour, Noel Coward’s deathless comedy hits the West End in a

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:00PM
Friday, March 6, 2020

Stages – A Video Game Musical review at Vault Festival, London – ‘bold new musical’ by Tim Bano

Christian Czornyj’s video game-inspired musical is the first by Adam Lenson’s exciting new production company, which gives voice and space to artist-led

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 12:46PM
Thursday, March 5, 2020

The Last Five Years review at Southwark Playhouse, London – ‘Jason Robert Brown’s song cycle revitalised’ by Tim Bano

It’s one of those shows that has almost become too familiar. In the last two decades every number of Jason Robert Brown’s

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 04:37AM
Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Prince of Egypt review at the Dominion Theatre, London – ‘epic new musical that’s lacking in magic’ by Tim Bano

What is it about the Bible and musical theatre? While the UK has the gospel according to Andrew Lloyd Webber – Joseph

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:00PM
Monday, February 17, 2020

The Upstart Crow review at Gielgud Theatre, London – ‘a fantastic comedy cast’ by Tim Bano

Even if Ben Elton’s successful sitcom about William Shakespeare had been given a fourth series, it seems only natural that they would

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:58PM
Friday, February 14, 2020

The Visit review at National Theatre, London – ‘Lesley Manville is resplendent’ by Tim Bano

There’s a fierce relevance in the story of a woman failed by a patriarchal justice system and seeking justice her own way.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:18AM
Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Leopoldstadt review at Wyndham’s Theatre, London – ‘Tom Stoppard’s supremely moving new play’ by Tim Bano

Tom Stoppard has spent a career searching for the key to the human condition through metaphor: quantum mechanics, gymnastics, Latin love poetry,

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:00PM
Friday, February 7, 2020

Death of England review at the Dorfman, National Theatre – ‘blazing Rafe Spall delivers powerful state-of-the-nation monologue’ by Tim Bano

Brexit gets only a couple of mentions in this roar of a monologue by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams. But the play

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 04:28AM
Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Endgame and Rough for Theatre II review at the Old Vic, London – ‘wonderful comic performances from Alan Cumming and Daniel Radcliffe’ by Tim Bano

Maybe it’s a little histrionic to stage a play about existence and extinction right now. Maybe not. If director Richard Jones does

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:38PM
Thursday, January 30, 2020

Carmen review at the Coliseum, London – ‘underpowered revival of a bold production’ by Tim Bano

As soldiers piss in phone boxes, smash things up, generally kick and punch objects both animate and not, it becomes clear that

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:43AM
Wednesday, January 29, 2020

The Sugar Syndrome review at Orange Tree Theatre, London – ‘strong revival of Lucy Prebble’s debut play’ by Tim Bano

Lucy Prebble’s debut play, The Sugar Syndrome, about two people who meet in an online chat room, premiered at London’s Royal Court

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:30AM
Monday, January 27, 2020

Sara Bareilles: ‘Theatre people work harder for less money than anybody else’ by Tim Bano

The Waitress composer and singer-songwriter, fresh from winning her first Grammy, is taking to the West End stage to star in the

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 03:00PM
Wednesday, January 22, 2020

The Sunset Limited review at Boulevard Theatre, London – ‘great performances enliven Cormac McCarthy’s tedious play’ by Tim Bano

Although Cormac McCarthy is best known as a novelist, winning the Pulitzer for The Road in 2006, he has also written two

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:08AM

Remaking a West End landmark – how Cameron Mackintosh transformed the Queen’s into the Sondheim Theatre by Tim Bano

After a six-month closure, the home of Les Misérables is back with a new name and lavish decor. Owner Cameron Mackintosh tells

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 04:48AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime