All stories by Arifa Akbar on BroadwayStars

Sunday, July 3, 2022

The Card review " cheeky chappy comes up trumps in a twisty tale of social mobility by Arifa Akbar

Fenton Town Hall, Stoke-on-TrentWily upstart Denry Machin is played with picaresque charm in a witty adaptation of Arnold Bennett's novel, empowered by the big, vivid sound of a brass band D…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM[SHARE]
Friday, July 1, 2022

Richard III review " Shakespeare's supervillain breezes through the bloodbath by Arifa Akbar

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonArthur Hughes is the scheming sociopath in a production of magisterial stagecraft that builds to a powerful climax Arthur Hughes is the first di…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 30, 2022

Favour review " a moving addiction drama with occasional lapses by Arifa Akbar

Bush theatre, LondonThree generations of a working-class Muslim family clash in Ambreen Razia's meditation on the complexities of motherhood This lean multi-generational family drama explore…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Evelyn review " identity drama spoiled by a Punch and Judy cameo by Arifa Akbar

Southwark Playhouse, LondonThe use of puppets to portray mob justice is not the only bad call in a play that rarely achieves enough dramatic tension A stranger arrives at a seaside town wit…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18AM[SHARE]

'Why can't we do it?': the Ringham brothers' daring sound designs by Arifa Akbar

Having settled the 'sound wars' of their childhood, Ben and Max Ringham reveal how they went from drum'n'bass maestros to prolific theatrical duo Max and Ben Ringham had wildly clashing musi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:07AM[SHARE]
Monday, June 27, 2022

Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World review " superhero sisters by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal Stratford East, LondonRousing children's musical provides a zippy guide to the great women of history that sets toes tapping and young minds alight "What's a suffragette?" asks…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:18AM[SHARE]
Sunday, June 26, 2022

Mad House review " David Harbour and Bill Pullman spar in dark family psychodrama by Arifa Akbar

Ambassadors, LondonTheresa Rebeck's play follows the relationship between a terminally ill father and a mentally unstable son Theresa Rebeck's play opens as a dysfunctional father-son drama …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 23, 2022

'I wish she could have seen the change happening right now': trailblazing theatre star Pearl Prescod by Arifa Akbar

The actor and campaigner came to Britain from Trinidad and Tobago in 1954 and rose to join Laurence Olivier's National Theatre company. Clint Dyer and others explain why we should remember h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AM[SHARE]
Monday, June 13, 2022

The Royal Court's Vicky Featherstone: 'Britain thinks it isn't antisemitic because it defeated Hitler' by Arifa Akbar

A group of queer, black friends, the Jewish experience, how a British Iraqi saw the Gulf War … as she unveils her radical programme, the artistic director talks about learning from the row…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:07PM[SHARE]
Friday, June 10, 2022

The Still Room review " a hideously misguided workplace sex comedy by Arifa Akbar

Park theatre, LondonAny earnest intentions in this 80s-set coming-of-age tale are ruined by odious vulgarity and lazy, Benny Hill-esque humour This coming-of-age story, set in the kitchen of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:37PM[SHARE]

The Gunpowder Plot review " hit-and-miss history in subterranean London by Arifa Akbar

Tower Vaults, LondonA thrilling live adventure is marred by moments of bewildering VR in this immersive voyage back to 1605 It may set Harry Potter fans' hearts aflutter to know that Tom Fel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 9, 2022

Cancelling Socrates review " Howard Brenton interrogates democracy in a rich play of ideas by Arifa Akbar

Jermyn Street theatre, LondonFine acting and lively dialogue save this philosophical play from feeling static as it applies Athenian ideals to modern dilemmas Howard Brenton's play about th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:03PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Rainer review " a feverish rollercoaster ride around London by Arifa Akbar

Arcola Outside, LondonSorcha Kennedy gives an astonishing performance as a cycle delivery rider with grand literary dreams Firstly the venue: what a delight this covered wood and corrugated …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM[SHARE]

Edinburgh fringe 2022: 20 theatre, comedy and dance shows you shouldn't miss by Brian Logan, Catherine Love, Mark Fisher, Anya Ryan, Rachael Healy, Kate Wyver, Claire Armitstead, Arifa Akbar and Lyndsey Winship

In the first of our festival previews, we round up some of the best offerings we've already reviewed " including Tim Key, Liz Kingsman, La Clique and Hungry This searing, sweaty disco is a h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48AM[SHARE]
Sunday, June 5, 2022

Bleak Expectations review " Radio 4's Dickens parody bursts on to the stage by Arifa Akbar

Watermill theatre, NewburyThis fast-paced comedy mashup of the great Victorian novelist sends up Britishness with oodles of silliness Some may already know this ticklish literary comedy from…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM[SHARE]
Friday, June 3, 2022

Grenfell on stage: can a harrowing new play help the drive for justice? by Arifa Akbar

Dictating to the Estate uses documentary evidence to tell a story of everyday heroism and scandalous political neglect While the nation commences its parties for the Queen's Jubilee this wee…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:37PM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 2, 2022

Britannicus review " political drama is deadly serious but full of sass by Arifa Akbar

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonTimberlake Wertenbaker's take on Racine's version of ancient Rome is replete with power-crazed emperors, deadly poison and juicy family politics Rome might have teem…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 1, 2022

The Glass Menagerie review " Amy Adams's West End debut fails to find its heart by Arifa Akbar

Duke of York's theatre, LondonTennessee Williams's story of yearning, passion and despair never puts us under its spell in Jeremy Herrin's production Tennessee Williams's narrator begins by …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Dance of Death review " lethally dull Strindberg staging by Arifa Akbar

Ustinov Studio, BathA strong creative team featuring Lindsay Duncan and Hilton McRae cannot bring this dreary revival to life August Strindberg's 1900 drama of marital drudgery and torment h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42PM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 29, 2022

Henry VIII review " even gold phalluses can't bring little-seen Shakespeare to life by Arifa Akbar

The Globe, LondonThe sexy makeover with dildos and inflatable testicles doesn't work and the text additions only highlight the disjointedness It is rare to see this history play get an out…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 26, 2022

Girl on an Altar review " cool and deadly vision of the impact of male power by Arifa Akbar

Kiln theatre, LondonFamily dynamics and toxic masculinity are explored in Marina Carr's riveting version of the story of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra The story of Clytemnestra is not quite as …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Legally Blonde review " joyously camp revamp is in the pink by Arifa Akbar

Regent's Park Open Air theatre, LondonAn overhaul of the original's gender politics, plenty of Gen-Z touchpoints and a big dollop of kitsch make this musical an irresistible cocktail Here c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 24, 2022

We Started to Sing review " Barney Norris's fragmented family ode by Arifa Akbar

Arcola, LondonA tender series of vignettes explore family dynamics in Norris's personal play, but it needs some grit in the oyster Barney Norris has written a personal play about family life…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM[SHARE]
Monday, May 23, 2022

'None of it has felt insurmountable': Amanda Abbington on Sherlock, divorce and her fiancé's nightmare fall by Arifa Akbar

After her show-stealing turn in the Steven Moffat drama, the actor is returning to comedy with his play The Unfriend. She talks about why funny women intimidate men, her daredevil partner " …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:37AM[SHARE]

Two Palestinians Go Dogging review " devastatingly human portrait of conflict sears itself on the mind by Arifa Akbar

Royal Court, LondonSet two decades into the future, in Palestinian territories that are still occupied, Sami Ibrahim's play is a startlingly bold tragicomedy and a furious call to action Don…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:37AM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 22, 2022

Lotus Beauty review " salon-set social issues drama only goes skin deep by Arifa Akbar

Hampstead theatre, LondonSatinder Kaur Chohan's all-female play raises serious issues affecting women in London's south Asian community, but the confused, sitcomy tone is frustratingly like …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:07PM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 19, 2022

Antigone review " an explosive hour of fireworks by Arifa Akbar

Available onlineThe music and visual effects dazzle in this 2018 update of Sophocles' tragedy from the Classical Theatre of Harlem It is ironic that this production reconceptualises Sophocle…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 18, 2022

My Fair Lady review " perfectly elegant, ever so sedate by Arifa Akbar

Coliseum, LondonEliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins are back in a time capsule of nice frocks, great tunes and comic bickering " but it's solid not spectacular This garlanded production of Ala…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48PM[SHARE]

The House of Shades review " Anne-Marie Duff gives a toxic tour de force by Arifa Akbar

Almeida, LondonBeth Steel's ambitious new play follows the Webster family over decades, with Duff as a thwarted singer This is an intergenerational family drama, inspired by Greek myth, with…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:33AM[SHARE]
Friday, May 13, 2022

The Breach review " a shocking and perplexing tale of abuse and power by Arifa Akbar

Hampstead theatre, LondonQuestions of consent, violation and trauma go unanswered in this stolid staging of Naomi Wallace's oblique drama The Breach is packed full of shocks. A story of dou…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Unchain Me review " Dostoevsky inspires secret mission on the streets of Brighton by Arifa Akbar

Brighton festivaldreamthinkspeak's timely new production on inequality and abuse of political power offers its audience a choice: complicity or compliance? We are instructed to meet at a se…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24PM[SHARE]

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