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West End Review: Kenneth Branagh in ‘The Entertainer’
“The Entertainer” is not a great play, but it is a historical one. Not only did John Osborne’s portrait of clapped-out vaudevillian Archie Rice encapsulate the England of its time, it occasioned a...
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London Theater Review: ‘Good Canary,’ Directed by John Malkovich
“Good Canary” is a very good film. Trouble is, it’s on stage. Directed for the third time by John Malkovich, after productions in French and Spanish, Zach Helm’s boulevard tragicomedy is a firm...
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West End Theater Review: ‘The Libertine,’ With ‘Preacher’ Star Dominic Cooper
John Wilmot, the Second Earl of Rochester, is a familiar figure. He’s the real-life equivalent of George Etherege’s “Man of Mode” and Aphra Behn’s “Rover” — a licentious anti-hero of the Restoration...
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Broadway Review: Complicite’s ‘The Encounter’
The Complicite production of “The Encounter” opened on Broadway Sept. 29, following well-received productions at the Edinburgh International Festival and then in London. Matt Trueman’s review of the...
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London Theater Review: ‘Oil’ at the Almeida Theater
Oil seems to us a fact of life: Having never known a world without it, we take it as a given and we take it for granted. Ella Hickson’s audacious stage epic, “Oil,” tilts time on its axis to serve an...
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London Theater Review: ‘The Red Barn’ With Mark Strong, Hope Davis
A retro genre piece, crisply adapted by David Hare, “The Red Barn” at London’s National Theater watches as a man comes unstuck. Provincial lawyer Donald Dood (Mark Strong) hits mid-life only to realize...
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U.K. Theater Review: ‘The Wind in the Willows,’ the Musical
If ever a show caught the national mood, it’s this — “Little England: The Musical” by another name. Adapted by Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”) with a score by Georges Stiles and Anthony Drewe (who...
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Will London Theater Audiences Join the ‘Hamilton’ Revolution?
The countdown has begun: “Hamilton” will touch down at the Victoria Palace Theatre in the West End in November 2017. The question is, will Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash succeed in Britain — its first...
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London Theater Review: Glenda Jackson as ‘King Lear’
Returning to the stage after 25 years away, Glenda Jackson makes an extraordinary Lear: an elderly woman standing in for an old king. Her performance centers on a contradiction, her slight frame at...
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London Theater Review: Phyllida Lloyd’s All-Female ‘The Tempest’
How far we’ve come. Phyllida Lloyd’s all-female Shakespeares were dismissed as “gimmicky” (and worse) four years ago. Today, gender-blind casting is not the norm, but normalized: “King Lear,” “Henry...
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U.K. Theater Review: Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Strictly Ballroom’
“Strictly Ballroom” started out on stage: Baz Luhrmann’s cult movie about competitive dancing was originally a student play. His own musical adaptation, revised since its Australian premiere two years...
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London Theater Review: Ivo Van Hove’s ‘Hedda Gabler’ With Ruth Wilson
Hedda Gabler is at home. Again. Always. Ivo van Hove’s stark and self-conscious staging of Ibsen’s drama “Hedda Gabler,” a National Theater remount of the production that played New York back in 2004,...
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West End Review: ‘Dreamgirls’ Starring Amber Riley
Critic Frank Rich called the original Broadway production of “Dreamgirls” a “seismic emotional jolt that sends the audience, as one, right out of its wits.” It’s taken 35 years for the shockwave to...
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London Theater Review: ‘Mary Stuart’ at the Almeida Theater
A nation divided with history hanging in the balance: Robert Icke’s new version of Frederich Schiller’s “Mary Stuart” reflects this runaway year. With a coin toss each night determining which roles...
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London Theater Review: ‘Saint Joan’ With Gemma Arterton
George Bernard Shaw was adamant that “there are no villains” in his play “Saint Joan.” Those who wrongly convicted Joan of Arc on heresy charges did so in good faith, he contended. But director Josie...
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West End Review: ‘The Kite Runner’
Khaled Hosseini’s debut novel “The Kite Runner” remains a literary sensation. A tender, personal narrative that weaves through 25 years of Afghanistan’s history, it has sold more than 30 million copies...
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London Theater Review: ‘Wish List’ at the Royal Court
In an age of austerity, Britain’s dramatists are putting poverty onstage — with mixed results. Like Ken Loach’s film “I, Daniel Blake,” the stories often center on those that fall through the cracks of...
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London Theater Review: Timely Satire ‘Winter Solstice’
Fascism doesn’t kick the door down on arrival. It waits for an invite, then makes itself at home. A response to the rise of the far-right in Europe – or, more accurately, its re-rise – but equally...
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London Theater Review: ‘The Kid Stays in the Picture’
Movie mogul Robert Evans, the legendary film producer behind “The Godfather” and “Love Story,” forged his fortune spotting great stories. His autobiography, “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” holds a...
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West End Review: David Tennant in ‘Don Juan in Soho’
As a former Doctor Who, David Tennant has done his fair share of regenerating. In Patrick Marber’s contemporary spin on the Don Juan legend, “Don Juan in Soho,” it’s as if the age-old lothario has...
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