All stories by Arifa Akbar on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Guys and Dolls review " Nicholas Hytner's gamble pays off by Arifa Akbar

Bridge theatre, LondonThis immersive production of the New York musical has a bold design, superb singing and chemistry between its stars Frank Loesser's 1950 musical comedy about sin and ro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:01PM[SHARE]

Snobbery about audience behaviour stifles theatre " it's a collective experience | Arifa Akbar by Arifa Akbar

Distracting behaviour, from eating noisily to using mobile phones, is a vexed issue. But the chorus of disapproval often suggests elitism and overlooks theatre's history The recent debate ov…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 10, 2023

Good Day review " love, death and robots in sleek sci-fi romcom by Arifa Akbar

Vault festival, Network theatre, LondonA depressed 500-year-old wants to remove her immortality implant in this entertaining and kooky dark comedy which lands just short of saying something …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:52AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 9, 2023

After the Act review " Thatcher's section 28 stirs a fiery protest musical by Arifa Akbar

New Diorama, LondonEllice Stevens and Billy Barrett's fizzing production traces the story of the Tories' anti-gay legislation If section 28 holds no meaning for you, you were probably not pa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM[SHARE]

Kites review " story of girls' friendship doesn't quite fly by Arifa Akbar

The Vaults, LondonLovely portrayals of childhood friends in postwar Ireland can't really make up for a muddled production This coming-of-age story begins in postwar Ireland and follows a fri…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Remythed review " a joyful evocation of queer mythology by Arifa Akbar

The Vaults, LondonRoann Hassani McCloskey and Joel Samuels' show at the Vault festival reimagines and reclaims mythical characters Remythed dramatises several mythic tales but not as we know…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:01AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Under the Black Rock review " nail-biting Belfast thriller by Arifa Akbar

Arcola theatre, LondonTim Edge's harrowing and darkly funny play starring Evanna Lynch has razor-sharp dialogue and swerving plot twists Northern Ireland's Troubles are channelled through on…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:07AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 6, 2023

'It's very hard to make any kind of reasonable living': the risky business of theatre by Arifa Akbar

As their Edinburgh fringe hit Sap heads on a UK tour, playwright Rafaella Marcus and producer Ellie Keel discuss the future of new writing, the rise of 'safe' programming and the need for be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:00AM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 5, 2023

Five Years With the White Man review " a journey into the 'heart of whiteness' by Arifa Akbar

Vault festival, LondonEloka Obi and Saul Boyer re-examine the forgotten story of 19th-century Sierra Leonean barrister August Boyle Chamberlayne Merriman-Labor, who wrote a delicious spoof o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AM[SHARE]

Pauline review " sweet solo show about three generations of women by Arifa Akbar

Vault festival, The Cage, LondonSophie Bentinck tells the stories of herself, her mother and her grandmother, tracing the latter's descent into depression, dependency and suicide Sophie Bent…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:59AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 3, 2023

How to Break Out of a Detention Centre review " daring staging of migrants' stories by Arifa Akbar

Riverside Studios, LondonThe desperate extremity of women's experiences trapped in the UK immigration system gets an intense multimedia treatment This production startles not only with its s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:26AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 2, 2023

The Merchant of Venice 1936 review " Shylock takes on Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts by Arifa Akbar

Watford Palace theatreA striking, slick adaptation of Shakespeare's problematic play sees Tracy-Ann Oberman play a Jewish matriarch up against the fascists of 1930s London In Tracy-Ann Ober…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:00PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Shirley Valentine review " Sheridan Smith disarms and dazzles with heart and soul by Arifa Akbar

Duke of York's theatre, LondonWilly Russell's 1986 monologue about a neglected woman's midlife liberation is given new life in this perceptive production Willy Russell's 1986 monologue was a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:01PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Flies review " the effects of the male gaze on adolescent girls by Arifa Akbar

Shoreditch Town Hall, LondonThe new work by Charlie Josephine gives us teenagers' thoughts about objectification, shame, body image and sex Last year Charlie Josephine presented Joan of Arc …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:39AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 23, 2023

Women, Beware the Devil review " bizarre comedy horror is like Bridgerton on acid by Arifa Akbar

Almeida, LondonLulu Raczka's new play, directed by Rupert Goold, is beautifully designed but the plot " and the point " is puzzling. Maybe the joke's on us? This confounding play is nothing …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:04AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Romeo and Julie review " a sweet spin on Shakespeare by Arifa Akbar

Dorfman theatre, LondonGary Owen's tale of star-crossed, working-class lovers in modern Cardiff offers existential questions and awkward encounters Writer-director team Gary Owen and Rachel …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Trouble in Butetown review " humanity and heroism in wartime Cardiff by Arifa Akbar

Donmar Warehouse, LondonWhile Diana Nneka Atuona's deft script could do with a final polish, its heart, humour and spirit sing in the hands of a luminous cast The Donmar's last production, W…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:57AM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 19, 2023

Unexpected Twist review " Oliver gets a phone in beatboxing version of Dickens's classic by Arifa Akbar

Royal and Derngate theatre, NorthamptonMichael Rosen's update of Oliver Twist gets the musical treatment in this high-energy show about a schoolgirl ensnared by a street gang Charles Dickens…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:21AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 17, 2023

Medea review " Sophie Okonedo is magnificent as ancient Greece's preeminent rebel woman by Arifa Akbar

@sohoplace, LondonMedea is as much victim as villain in Dominic Cooke's psychologically subtle and subversive production, and Ben Daniels is superb playing all the puffed up men in her life…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:01PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 16, 2023

Graceland review " anatomy of a toxic relationship by Arifa Akbar

Royal Court theatre, LondonAva Wong Davies's monologue takes us through the small, slow steps that lead her central character into peril This slow but searing monologue begins as a girl-meet…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:17AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Sylvia review " storming show sets suffragettes to soul, funk and hip-hop by Arifa Akbar

Old Vic, LondonHistorical characters bust contemporary dance moves while the troubled relationship between Sylvia Pankhurst and her mother Emmeline is laid bare So many shows seem to want to…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:45AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Standing at the Sky's Edge review " Richard Hawley pulls on the heartstrings in his Sheffield opus by Arifa Akbar

National Theatre, LondonThis new musical traces the intersecting lives of three families on the Park Hill estate in this spine-tingling and sentimental love song to the steel city This music…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 13, 2023

Tiny Fragments of Beautiful Light review " fizzy, funny neurodiverse story by Arifa Akbar

Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne and onlineImmersive, interactive and online, this story of Allison Davies' schooldays, early romances and autism diagnosis, is heartfelt Elsa has an …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:00AM[SHARE]

Babygrows are such sweet sorrow: Romeo and Juliet get a gritty romcom reboot by Arifa Akbar

Romeo, an out-of-work single dad, falls for Julie, a top student who dreams of being an astrophysicist. We go behind the scenes at a Shakespeare update that swaps fair Verona for Splott in C…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 10, 2023

Phaedra review " Simon Stone's reimagining flitters from tragedy to comedy by Arifa Akbar

Lyttelton theatre, LondonJanet McTeer plays a politician who falls for her dead lover's son, but even her strong performance cannot save a tonally unsure play The ancient Greek tragedy of a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:55AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 9, 2023

The Lehman Trilogy review " Sam Mendes' banking saga returns with dividends by Arifa Akbar

Gillian Lynne theatre, LondonHadley Fraser, Nigel Lindsay and Michael Balogun are astonishing as the 18th-century bankers who helped to define the American dream The Lehman Trilogy premiered…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:43AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 8, 2023

One Who Wants to Cross review " nail-biting dread in a story of desperate migrants by Arifa Akbar

Finborough theatre, LondonThis two-hander, translated from the French, has a hypnotic narrative power as it considers the refugees' dangerous journey Two men stand at opposite ends of the st…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00PM[SHARE]
Friday, February 3, 2023

How Not to Drown review " a child asylum seeker's brutal true story by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal Stratford East, LondonKosovan refugee Dritan Kastrati looks back at the struggles of his arduous journey and his troubling experiences in London 'In my country" is an often rep…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:53AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 2, 2023

2:22: A Ghost Story review " Cheryl's West End debut is a thunderous fright night by Arifa Akbar

Lyric theatre, LondonThe singer is convincing in the role (first played by Lily Allen) of a mother who hears spooky noises at night in Danny Robins' well-oiled, blackly comic chiller Since i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:22AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons review " Aidan Turner and Jenna Coleman star in sharp drama by Arifa Akbar

Harold Pinter theatre, LondonJosie Rourke's West End revival of Sam Steiner's fringe hit really lifts when the show's starry duo drop their romcom routine Does a revival of Sam Steiner's 201…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:14AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Welcome Home review " madcap sci-fi adventure spins out of control by Arifa Akbar

Soho theatre, LondonThis intergalactic show about sexuality and religious homophobia boasts a charismatic star in Willy Hudson but tips into chaos Willy Hudson's "queer sci-fi epic" has an i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:40AM[SHARE]

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