The Two Gentlemen of Verona review " less smut, more mutt in RSC's delightful dog day afternoon by Mark Lawson

The Other Place, Stratford-upon-AvonLossi the lurcher is the only cast member not playing an instrument in this show aimed at younger audiences In the movie Shakespeare in Love, the theatre …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:32pm on August 13, 2025[SHARE]

Good Night, Oscar review " Sean Hayes brings panache to tense talkshow encounter by Mark Lawson

Barbican, London Will & Grace star reprises his Tony award-winning role as Oscar Levant in Doug Wright's play about a ratings-crucial TV interview There is a small set of stage plays in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 4:12am on August 8, 2025[SHARE]

The Merry Wives of Windsor review " Shakespeare's script is the weakest bit of this joyous revel by Mark Lawson

Shakespeare's Globe, London Falstaff's corpulent roisterings are energetically played in Sean Holmes' summery staging but the homely comedy comes laden with innuendo and xeno…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:06am on July 10, 2025[SHARE]

Jesus Christ Superstar review " innovative, emotional revival is divinely inspired by Mark Lawson

Watermill theatre, NewburyTim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1971 Biblical rock musical seems strikingly topical in this powerful staging, which has a large cast of actor-musicians and a Get…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12am on July 6, 2025[SHARE]

Grace Pervades review " Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Raison exceptional as Victorian stage stars by Mark Lawson

Theatre Royal BathIn 25 scenes spanning 1878-1966, David Hare's wry and elegant love letter to theatre focuses on the working and romantic relationship between Ellen Terry and Henry Irving W…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:48am on July 4, 2025[SHARE]

Don't cry for me, all you boozers! The trouble with shifting Evita's big balcony number from stage to street by Mark Lawson

In the new Evita at the London Palladium, Rachel Zegler sings from the theatre's actual balcony " meaning the big-paying audience doesn't experience what passersby get for free. Could this g…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42am on June 18, 2025[SHARE]

Theatrical hitmaker Justin Martin on Prima Facie's follow-up: 'It wrestles with how to bring up boys' by Mark Lawson

The director of Jodie Comer's tour de force is now staging Inter Alia, another legal drama by Suzie Miller. He talks about steering Stranger Things: The First Shadow, resisting the classics …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:36am on June 17, 2025[SHARE]

The Reckoning review " shattering stories of invasion in Ukraine by Mark Lawson

Arcola theatre, LondonThe horrific reality of Russia's invasion is recounted during the preparation of a Ukrainian salad in Anastasiia Kosidii and Josephine Burton's play During the violent …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 1:54am on June 6, 2025[SHARE]

Two Pints review " Roddy Doyle's boozy banter is a masterclass in comedy by Mark Lawson

Belgrade theatre, CoventryThe writer's gift for gags is on full display in this adaptation starring two men offering up laddish chat along with questions of life and death in an Irish pub Wh…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42pm on May 9, 2025[SHARE]

The Gang of Three review " inside an old boys' club of Labour intrigue by Mark Lawson

King's Head theatre, LondonRoy Jenkins, Denis Healey and Anthony Crosland debate among themselves in Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky's look at the big beasts of 70s Westminster Denis Healey, Ro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:48pm on May 7, 2025[SHARE]

The Government Inspector review " Tom Rosenthal stirs up Gogol's political satire by Mark Lawson

Chichester Festival theatreThe standup brings his easy stage command to the role of a penniless nincompoop who tricks his way into authority in Gregory Doran's production A satire by a Ukrai…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:36am on May 2, 2025[SHARE]

'You have to be taken inside Poirot's brain': Ken Ludwig on the secret to adapting Agatha Christie by Mark Lawson

The US playwright and anglophile behind much-revived comedies has a flair for crime and is following a crowd-pleasing Murder on the Orient Express with Death on the Nile If you ever face a q…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 2:12am on April 29, 2025[SHARE]

Much Ado About Nothing review " RSC boots the action to elite Italian football in a play of two halves by Mark Lawson

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonBenedick is a midfielder for Serie A team FC Messina in a show with top-form performances and a clever visual metaphor, albeit some pacing probl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 1:54pm on April 23, 2025[SHARE]

Ghosts review " gasps and laughter greet this modern revamp of Ibsen's shocker by Mark Lawson

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonGary Owen's update changes the names and themes from the original, but retains the toxic power as a stellar cast negotiate the myriad secrets and suspicions When Hen…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:06am on April 17, 2025[SHARE]

Dear England review " footballing reboot adds extra time for Gareth Southgate's exit by Mark Lawson

Olivier theatre, LondonJames Graham has rewritten parts of his hit play to reflect the 2024 Euros, and the gaffer emerges as a progressive, gentle, alternative national leader It's unusual f…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24pm on March 18, 2025[SHARE]

The Mosinee Project review " cold war hoax drama has fun with communist cosplay by Mark Lawson

New Diorama theatre, LondonWisconsin's 'red scare' of 1950 was a deliberate fake " but this entertaining show by Counterfactual speculates about possible truths behind the pretence Twelve y…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:18pm on March 16, 2025[SHARE]

Athol Fugard, South African political dissident playwright, dies aged 92 by Mark Lawson

A giant of political drama, Fugard captured the injustices of apartheid in works such as Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island The South African playwright and director Athol Fugard, whose work…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 2:36pm on March 9, 2025[SHARE]

'They now put trigger warnings on Hi-de-Hi!' Jeffrey Holland on starring in British comedy classics by Mark Lawson

He was Spike the gormless comic in the holiday camp hit and also bagged roles in You Rang M'Lord? and Dad's Army. As he publishes a memoir, Holland talks about frisky stallions, today's 'ove…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 4:32pm on February 24, 2025[SHARE]

Hamlet review " RSC's bold seaborne concept really pushes the boat out by Mark Lawson

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonThe court of Elsinore becomes a ship of state " or a ship of fools " in Rupert Goold's production Thematic merchandise is common at Shakespeare …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06am on February 19, 2025[SHARE]

The Autobiography of a Cad review " Ian Hislop and Nick Newman retell a rotter's political progress by Mark Lawson

Watermill theatre, NewburyThe Private Eye duo adapt AG Macdonell's satire showing how a privileged chancer in English public life gets away with it It's a bad week of theatre for Boris Johns…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:12pm on February 13, 2025[SHARE]

Churchill in Moscow review " the British bulldog's gripping meeting with Stalin by Mark Lawson

Orange Tree theatre, LondonThere are laugh-aloud gags and spiky dialogue as Roger Allam and Peter Forbes star in Howard Brenton's play about the 1942 encounter In the 1970s, Howard Brenton w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:32am on February 12, 2025[SHARE]

Vanya Is Alive review " dark Russian satire turns language upside down by Mark Lawson

Omnibus theatre, London Natalia Lizorkina's play traces a mother's anguish when she is told her son 'has not been captured' in a dystopia where words mean their opposite Alya, a Russian moth…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:06am on February 6, 2025[SHARE]

As Long As We Are Breathing review " unblocking the horrors of the Holocaust by Mark Lawson

Arcola theatre, LondonThis innovative and timely play uses yoga, meditation and mindfulness to explore the experiences of Holocaust survivor Miriam Freedman The term "multimedia" often means…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06am on January 31, 2025[SHARE]

Twelfth Night review " Samuel West achieves greatness as Malvolio by Mark Lawson

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon As the petty tyrant cruelly duped by his household West leads a superb, tinsel-inflected take on Shakespeare's melancholy comedy The title Twel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:32am on December 16, 2024[SHARE]

The Housetrap review " Agatha Christie meets Lady Fanny Button in immersive mystery by Mark Lawson

West Horsley Place, SurreyStaged in Ghosts' Button House, this interactive whodunnit has a lot of fun with detective-story tropes, quick-change characters and a clever solution The writer of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:48am on December 11, 2024[SHARE]