The week in theatre: Waiting for Godot; Coriolanus; A Face in the Crowd " review by Susannah Clapp

Theatre Royal Haymarket; Olivier; Young Vic, LondonBen Whishaw and Lucian Msamati add star power to James Macdonald's thoughtful Beckett; David Oyelowo's Coriolanus is dwarfed by epic stagin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:12pm on September 29, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: G; The Spy Who Came in from the Cold; The Real Thing " review by Susannah Clapp

Royal Court Upstairs, London; Minerva, Chichester; Old Vic, LondonReality is up for debate in Tife Kusoro's rapid-fire new drama, David Eldridge's nuanced take on John le Carré, and Tom Sto…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:42am on September 8, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: The History Boys; A Chorus Line " review by Susannah Clapp

Theatre Royal, Bath; Sadler's Wells, LondonFresh talent shines, though nuance could try harder, in a 20th anniversary revival of Alan Bennett's glinting schoolroom comedy, while the Broadway…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:36am on September 1, 2024[SHARE]

Edinburgh festival theatre 2024: The Fifth Step; The Outrun; I Wish You Well; Gwyneth Goes Skiing " review by Susannah Clapp

Royal Lyceum; Church Hill; Underbelly; PleasanceJack Lowden and Sean Gilder compel in David Ireland's crackling new AA drama; Amy Liptrot's wild addiction memoir somehow works on stage; and …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:54am on August 25, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Jennie Lee; Fiddler on the Roof; Antony and Cleopatra " review by Susannah Clapp

Boat Inn, Kidlington; Regent's Open Air theatre; Shakespeare's Globe, LondonGroundbreaking Labour MP Jennie Lee is given her due in Mikron's vibrant new touring show; the 60-year-old musical…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:30am on August 18, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: The Years; Pericles " review by Susannah Clapp

Almeida, London; Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonExtraordinary performances from five actors all playing the writer Annie Ernaux add up to a five-star adaptation of her Nobel prize-winning book. An…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:30am on August 11, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Death of England: The Plays; Grapes of Wrath; Please Right Back " review by Susannah Clapp

@sohoplace; Lyttelton, London; Gulbenkian Arts Centre, CanterburyThomas Coombes and Paapa Essiedu grip in an all too timely revival of Clint Dyer and Roy Williams's state-of-the-nation monol…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:30am on August 4, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Slave Play; Skeleton Crew; Alma Mater " review by Susannah Clapp

Noël Coward; Donmar Warehouse; Almeida, LondonJeremy O Harris's gloves-off Broadway hit is overladen yet thought-provoking; sound design speaks loudest in a wordy Detroit story; and a las…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:32am on July 14, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Mnemonic; The Secret Garden; The Herds " review by Susannah Clapp

Olivier; Regent's Park Open Air theatre, LondonComplicité's extraordinary 1999 play proves a little more forgettable second time round; an al fresco Secret Garden remakes the story in surpr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:36am on July 7, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: The Constituent; Kyoto; Mean Girls " review by Susannah Clapp

Old Vic, London; Swan, Stratford-upon-Avon; Savoy theatre, LondonJames Corden and Anna Maxwell Martin struggle for urgency in Joe Penhall's drama about a threatened female MP; climate crisis…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:42am on June 30, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Much Ado About Nothing; Kiss Me, Kate " review by Susannah Clapp

Shakespeare's Globe; Barbican, London The possibility of pleasure is everywhere in Sean Holmes's summer crowd-pleaser, while Adrian Dunbar tackles his first musical role in Cole Porter's tak…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:18am on June 23, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Viola's Room; A View from the Bridge " review by Susannah Clapp

One Cartridge Place; Theatre Royal Haymarket, LondonPunchdrunk guide us through a gothic tale with ingenious lighting and Helena Bonham Carter's whispers; while Dominic West is terrific as A…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:36am on June 9, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Bluets; People, Places & Things " review by Susannah Clapp

Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court; Trafalgar theatre, London Katie Mitchell directs and Ben Whishaw stars, while David Byrne's new reign at the Royal Court gets off to a cool start. An…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:36am on June 2, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Romeo & Juliet; Richard III; Passing Strange review " no fault in these stars by Susannah Clapp

Duke of York's, Shakespeare's Globe; Young Vic, LondonJamie Lloyd's youthfully intense staging gives us a Juliet for the ages; Michelle Terry's king rises above the disability row; and a Bro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:02am on May 26, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Withnail and I; Spirited Away; Mary Said What She Said; Boys on the Verge of Tears " review by Susannah Clapp

Birmingham Rep; Coliseum; Barbican; Soho theatre, LondonBruce Robinson's new adaptation of his cult film is too theatrical by half; the latest staged Studio Ghibli fantasy is more effects th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:02am on May 19, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: The Cherry Orchard; Minority Report; Laughing Boy " review by Susannah Clapp

Donmar Warehouse; Lyric Hammersmith; Jermyn Street, LondonThe aged servant steals the show in a fast-paced 21st-century Chekhov, Max Webster's dystopian sci-fi dazzles the eye but skips the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:18am on May 12, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: The Buddha of Suburbia; Love's Labour's Lost " review by Susannah Clapp

Swan; Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonA new era at the RSC opens with a potent staging by Emma Rice and Hanif Kureishi of his classic everyman tale and a clever take on Shakesp…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:06am on May 5, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Machinal; Blue Beard; The Cord " review by Susannah Clapp

Old Vic; Battersea Arts Centre; Bush theatre, LondonRichard Jones's supercharged staging of Sophie Treadwell's 1920s masterpiece hits like a fist; Emma Rice subverts a dark fairytale with ci…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:54am on April 28, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: London Tide; The Comeuppance; Gunter " review by Susannah Clapp

Lyttelton; Almeida; Royal Court Upstairs, LondonAll of London life doesn't quite materialise in an epic take on Dickens with music by PJ Harvey; a university reunion digs deep at the Almeida…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:02am on April 21, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Player Kings; Red Pitch; Underdog: The Other Other Brontë " review by Susannah Clapp

Noël Coward; @sohoplace; Dorfman; LondonIan McKellen reigns supreme in Robert Icke's Henry IV mashup; Tyrell Williams's coming-of-age football drama is bang on target; and the Brontë s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:24am on April 14, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Long Day's Journey Into Night; The Lover/The Collection; The Divine Mrs S " review by Susannah Clapp

Wyndham's London; Ustinov, Bath; Hampstead, LondonBrian Cox and, especially, Patricia Clarkson shine as dysfunctional parents in Eugene O'Neill's autobiographical play, David Morrissey bring…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:48am on April 7, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Starter for Ten; Uncle Vanya review " fingers on buzzers, and samovars by Susannah Clapp

Bristol Old Vic; Orange Tree theatre, RichmondBamber goes to Bristol in a buoyant musical of David Nicholls's University Challenge romcom, while Trevor Nunn's impeccably traditional Chekhov …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:02am on March 17, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Nye; The Lonely Londoners; Hadestown " review by Susannah Clapp

Olivier; Jermyn Street; Lyric, LondonLarkiness overtakes Tim Price's hallucinatory new play about the founder of the NHS; Roy Williams's adaptation of Sam Selvon's great Windrush novel pulse…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:32am on March 10, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: Shifters; The Human Body; Nachtland " review by Susannah Clapp

Bush theatre; Donmar Warehouse; Young Vic, LondonBenedict Lombe's new play about two almost-lovers is alive and unpredictable; Keeley Hawes and Jack Davenport have a glimmering brief encount…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:48am on March 3, 2024[SHARE]

The week in theatre: An Enemy of the People; King Lear; Double Feature " review by Susannah Clapp

Duke of York's; Almeida; Hampstead, LondonMatt Smith heads a rousing adaptation of Ibsen for a bruised world; Danny Sapani and co lean into the storm in Yaël Farber's liberating Lear. Plu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:12am on February 25, 2024[SHARE]