Tag: National Theatre

  • Nine Night at the National Theatre review *****

    Nine Night National Theatre Dorfman, 3rd May 2018 You never quite know what you are going to get at the National Theatre. Mind you the Dorfman has turned into a pretty safe bet. After a painful 90 minutes, (it seemed much longer), sitting through the first half of Absolute Hell…

  • Macbeth at the National Theatre review ***

    Macbeth National Theatre Olivier, 14th April 2018 Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more This was frustrating. No way of hiding it. It promised so much. A Macbeth. With Rory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff,…

  • The Great Wave at the National Theatre review ****

    The Great Wave National Theatre, 24th Mar 2018 Now theatre can do a lot of things. Delve deep into the psychology of characters and shed light on the human condition. Convey a passionate and heartfelt message. Put poetry into the mouths of actors. Dispense shock and awe through sound, light…

  • A (flawed) guide to London theatres

    When I was a young teenager I took to making up some very odd games. I wasn’t lonely, with a handful of very good friends as I remember, and my very earliest encounters with the ladies were amongst my most successful, since my true nature, an awkward mix of the…

  • Network at the National Theatre review *****

    Network National Theatre Lyttleton, 9th March 2018 Right then. Finally got to see Network. Booked early but this was the first date that BUD, KCK and the Blonde Bombshells could collectively make. A bit nervous because the last time we wheeled the Bombshells out to an Ivo van Hove entertainment…

  • John at the National Theatre review *****

    John National Theatre (Dorfman), 6th February 2018 I would be very wary of playwright Annie Baker if I were you. She will bewitch you. Magical powers. That is the only way to explain John. Nothing really dramatic happens, the setting doesn’t change and the words, initially at least, seem quite…

  • My pick of London theatre – on now and booking ahead

    Right let me cut to the chase. Here is my latest attempt to distil the best of what is on now and what is coming up in the world of London theatre. There is a bunch of new stuff notably at the National Theatre, the Barbican, the Donmar Warehouse, the…

  • Follies at the National Theatre review *****

    Follies National Theatre, 2nd November 2017 I now think I might be mistaken in my general aversion to musical theatre. I think the problem may be that I just haven’t seen enough Sondheim. You can see from all the proper reviews and audience feedback just how well this production has…

  • Oslo at the National Theatre review *****

    Oslo National Theatre, 19th September 2017 Well I’ll be damned. I didn’t book Oslo at the earliest opportunity, as is my wont for most of the NT output, and only took a swing at it because of the NYC reviews. And even then I wasn’t sure. I mean how could…

  • Mosquitoes at the National Theatre review ****

    Mosquitoes National Theatre, 18th September 2017 Two sisters. Some sad stuff happens to them. Sciencey backdrop. There you go. That’s Mosquitoes. Except that is isn’t. Lucy Kirkwood is not the type of playwright to let us off the hook that easily. She chucks a lot into this pot, brings it…

  • Angels in America at the National Theatre review *****

    Angels in America: Part One Millennium Approaches and Part Two Perestroika National Theatre, 29th July 2017 That Tony Kushner is an ambitious playwright. This will comes as no surprise to you experienced theatre lovers but, having seen this and The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to…

  • Some forthcoming London theatre ideas

    So we have had a few new season announcements over the past few weeks so here is a wrap up of what I think looks interesting in terms of stuff coming up on various London stages. To spare you crawling through all this guff here is my top ten, including…