Friday, August 29, 2025

Interview review – electric dance of power questions who really wields influence by Anya Ryan

Riverside Studios, LondonA heavyweight political journalist underestimates the influencer he is interviewing in this sharp update of a 2003 film by Theo Van Gogh There’s something fascinat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54AM

‘He’s a real human being with flaws’: the complicated life of Alexander McQueen hits the stage by David Smith In Washington

The victories and tragedies of the famed British fashion designer make the basis of probing off-Broadway play House of McQueen “You have always made the most beautiful things out of absolu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:09AM
Thursday, August 28, 2025

‘Why do I know more about Rosa Parks than our history?”: the musical bringing Britain’s Black history to the stage by JN Benjamin

The story of the state’s targeting of 70s activists has been turned into a musical exploring a fascinating and relatively unknown period. It is a love letter to our elders, says its writer…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:32AM

Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg and Caliban’s take on The Tempest: the best theatre, comedy and dance of autumn 2025 by Arifa Akbar, Brian Logan and Lyndsey Winship

Andrea Riseborough and Sarandon deliver a decade-hopping drama, superstar standups hit the road and Shobana Jeyasingh rewrites Shakespeare • See the rest of our unmissable autumn arts prev…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:18AM
Wednesday, August 27, 2025

The death of the review? Cultural criticism is at risk of erasure by Jesse Hassenger

Recent announcements at major publications have seen critics losing their positions, an ongoing shift that we should all be alarmed by Media layoffs are no longer breaking news; at this poin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06PM

Edinburgh comedy award winner Sam Nicoresti: ‘Actually, this whole show is a monumental failure!’ by Brian Logan

The comic was determined to make a blockbuster standup show that didn’t address trans issues. Then she changed her mind – and scooped comedy’s biggest prize There’s efficiency, then …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06PM

Juniper Blood review – middle-class urbanites up sticks in search for new pastoral idyll by Arifa Akbar

Donmar Warehouse, LondonMike Bartlett’s invigorating play becomes a state-of-the-world drama about whether it is possible to live responsibly in our age of toxic capitalism Mike Bartlett�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AM
Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Glenn Moore: Please Sir, Glenn I Have Some Moore? review – a tale of two jokebooks by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghWith one book of classic gags and another that brings him shame, Moore delivers a show that’s heavy on the laughs if light on the charm Glenn Moore has a devi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM

Straight outta Stirling: the musical giving William Wallace the Hamilton treatment by Mark Fisher

Beats, rhymes and Bannockburn? The creators of Wallace explain why they used hip-hop to tell the story of Scotland’s national hero If you were to come up with a list of the Scottish playwr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM

Emmanuel Sonubi: Life After Near Death review – laughs, gasps and blessings by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe Londoner delves into more personal territory in his new show, including the story of his heart failure while on stage several years ago Emmanuel Sonubi has …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:32AM
Monday, August 25, 2025

Twelfth Night review – Lupita Nyong’o and Peter Dinklage anchor fun, if thin, production by Jesse Hassenger

Delacorte Theater, New York A slick, starry cast, also including Sandra Oh and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, bring a lively yet overly abbreviated outdoor take on the comedy to life New York’s mos…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:06PM

Rodney Black: Who Cares? It’s Working review – a loathsome standup stirs hatred by Mark Fisher

Gilded Balloon Patter House, EdinburghThe onstage ranting of a comedian is interrupted by impassioned accounts of violence against women in Sadie Pearson’s drama Full Frontal Theatre is a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:02AM

Giles Havergal obituary by Michael Coveney

Artistic director of the Glasgow Citizens theatre with a reputation for extravagant productions and a daring repertoire There have been many golden periods in the British postwar regional th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM
Sunday, August 24, 2025

Golden Time (and Other Behavioural Management Strategies) review – a magic hour by Chris Wiegand

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghKate Ireland’s warmly delivered one-woman show considers the pressures of productivity, rules and rewards at school and beyond She has been given 60 minutes out of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM

The Crawl review – madcap swimming comedy performed by synchronised duo by Chris Wiegand

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghAlexander Burnett and Ellie Whittaker dive into multiple roles in a bubbly show with plenty of audience participation This highly physical comedy about two competiti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM

Sam Jay: We the People review – a cool diagnosis of America’s ills by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghJay makes big concepts provocatively funny in an eye-catching set nominated for the Edinburgh comedy award In We the People, Sam Jay talks politics and culture …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM

Black Blues Brothers: Let’s Twist Again! review – circus pals rock, roll, jump and jive by Chris Wiegand

McEwan Hall, EdinburghThe sharply dressed quintet perform acrobatics that often complement the 50s chart hits on the jukebox For their fifth season at the fringe, this quintet of Kenyan acro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
Saturday, August 23, 2025

Tim Key: ‘I imagine Alan Partridge smells lightly of Brut aftershave’ by Rich Pelley

The comedian, actor and poet behind The Ballad of Wallis Island on stalking an England cricket captain, being evicted in Edinburgh and his love for fig rolls Your new film The Ballad Of Wall…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24PM

Sam Nicoresti’s Baby Doomer wins best comedy show award at Edinburgh fringe 2025 by Brian Logan

Playful set about Nicoresti’s life as a trans woman wins main award, with Ayoade Bamgboye named best newcomer The Edinburgh comedy award, the annual “Oscar of comedy” given to the best…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM

Fuselage review – drama about the losses of Lockerbie sidelines the politics by Mark Fisher

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghAnnie Lareau lost 35 of her fellow students on the downed Pan Am flight, but her focus on the personal in this three-hander leaves a gaping hole At the start of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AM

Katie Norris: Go West, Old Maid review – unhinged comedy from the ‘cool governess’ to gen Z by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghOddball songs, surreal asides and a glorious persona combine in a show that reflects on the standup’s late father Since childhood, Katie Norris has been calle…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:54AM
Friday, August 22, 2025

Ed Night: Your Old Mucker review – a laconic, sharply observed stroll around south London by Brian Logan

Monkey Barrel, the Hive, EdinburghThe Edinburgh comedy award nominee ambles through tales of debt, chicken shops and his eccentric grandad in a show that’s loose but brimming with intellig…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12PM

Lost Paws review – furry fun as two felines expose their owners’ foibles by Chris Wiegand

theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, EdinburghThis playful performance explores loneliness, liberty and life in early adulthood through two adventurous cats and their demanding humans Ellie Rose Ami…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12PM

As You Like It review – Ralph Fiennes’ sombre, stately directorial stage debut by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal BathThe actor’s minimal staging of the Shakespeare comedy favours stillness and feeling over comic fizz, with moving performances from Gloria Obianyo and Amber James Ralph Fi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AM

Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Friends: Kool Story Bro review – eccentric improv antics by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghFrom a nude life-drawing class to a Colombian kidnapping, with help from his Ghosts co-star Lolly Adefope, Smith-Bynoe uses audience members’ stories to comic…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM

Faustus in Africa! review – William Kentridge’s devilishly clever twist on damnation by Mark Fisher

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghFaustus is not damned alone in a parable about western hubris leading to war, colonialism and environmental exploitation As told by Goethe and Marlowe, the story of Fa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AM

Hamlet by New York Circus Project review – a flashy, dreamy spin on Shakespeare by Chris Wiegand

Assembly Roxy, EdinburghThere’s a hint of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet in the cocksure, poppy aesthetic of this charismatic display of acrobatics, tumbling and clowning It wouldn’t be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AM
Thursday, August 21, 2025

Dan Tiernan: All In review – crude comedy with a big payoff is standup’s best yet by Brian Logan

Monkey Barrel, EdinburghThe Mancunian manchild shows wild commitment in a show about dyspraxia, drug use and internalised homophobia We say we want men to talk about their mental health, Dan…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12PM

Fat Ham review – Hamlet becomes a booty-shaking barbecue in glittery Pulitzer winner by David Jays

Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonJames Ijames swaps swords for shots in a riff on Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy that’s as playful as it is poignant If you’ve ever felt Hamlet needs les…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM

As You Like It: A Radical Retelling review – an unbridled howl of rage and resistance by Brian Logan

Church Hill theatre, EdinburghA furious and unsettling Shakespeare reboot exposes colonial violence and demands accountability for crimes against Indigenous people ‘Aren’t you sorry you …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM

Elouise Eftos: Australia’s First Attractive Comedian review – fabulously provocative jokes by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghA wickedly amusing fringe debut considers the relationship between comedy, feminism and sexiness Can you be funny and good-looking? You’d think the question b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:54AM

All that Chat