All stories by Gary Naylor on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

An Actor Convalescing in Devon, Hampstead Theatre review - old school actor tells old school stories in warm bath of nostalgia by Gary Naylor

★★★★ AN ACTOR CONVALESCING IN DEVON, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Paul Jesson finds considerable poignancy in Richard Nelson's bespoke play Fact lightly repackaged as fiction…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 12:54PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Cassie and the Lights, Southwark Playhouse review - powerful, affecting, beautifully acted tale of three sisters in care by Gary Naylor

★★★★ CASSIE AND THE LIGHTS, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Warm, funny and moving ensemble play about three sisters finding a way to live Heart-rending chronicle of difficult, d…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:18PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Foam, Finborough Theatre review - fascism and f*cking in a Gentlemen's Lavatory that proves short of gentlemen by Gary Naylor

★★★★ FOAM, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Skinhead finds his feet (in a pair of DMs) then leads double life as street thug and gay cruiser Infamous neo-Nazi brought to life in co…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:18PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 29, 2024

Cruel Intentions, The Other Palace review - Uneasy vibes, but hit tunes and sparkling staging makes a super show by Gary Naylor

★★★ CRUEL INTENTIONS, THE OTHER PALACE Bad people do bad things, but bangers from Britney and co save the day  Jukebox musical gets toes tapping, even if the thrill of t…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:12PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Nachtland, Young Vic review - German black comedy brings uneasy humour and discomfiting relevance by Gary Naylor

★★★ NACHTLAND, YOUNG VIC Patrick Marber directs flawed but fascinating disquisition on the past's relevance to the present in art, politics and morality Something to laugh …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:02PM[SHARE]
Friday, February 23, 2024

The Big Life, Stratford East review - big-hearted musical brings the joy and honours the past by Gary Naylor

Revived 20 years on, this Windrush musical lands differently, but is still wonderfully entertaining Is there a healthier sound than that of laughter ringing round a theatre?  There are p…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:02PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 22, 2024

Samuel Takes a Break... in Male Dungeon No. 5 after a long but generally successful day of tours, The Yard Theatre review - funny and thought-provokin by Gary Naylor

'We don't use the word slave round here' - 21st century tourism skewered You do not need to be Einstein to feel it. If the only dimension missing is time, 75% of a place's being can invade …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:03PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Just For One Day, The Old Vic - Live Aid musical interpolates clunky scenes and self-conscious exposition between great songs by Gary Naylor

★★★ JUST FOR ONE DAY, THE OLD VIC Nostalgia fest becomes a little uncomfortable when addressing a 21st century audience Saint Bob, Mrs T and a whole lot of feelgood. Oh,…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:24PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 8, 2024

Othello, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - 21st century interpretation delivers food for thought by Gary Naylor

★★★★ OTHELLO, SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE Ola Ince makes compromises but gains much in return with her terrifyingly relevant production An Othello for our times, our c…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 01:36AM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 4, 2024

Bronco Billy, Charing Cross Theatre - schmaltzy musical brings the feelgood factor just when it's needed by Gary Naylor

★★★★ BRONCO BILLY THE MUSICAL, CHARING CROSS THEATRE Accept the show's unambitious intentions and you'll have a wonderful ride With additional musical numbers, the…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:24PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 29, 2024

The Most Precious of Goods, Marylebone Theatre review - old-fashioned storytelling of an all-too relevant tale by Gary Naylor

★★★★ THE MOST PRECIOUS OF GOODS, MARYLEBONE THEATRE A story of love's triumph in an ocean of hate An account of one family's near-destruction in the Holocaust give…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:12PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Kin, National Theatre review - heartfelt show makes its demands, but yields its rewards by Gary Naylor

★★★★ KIN, NATIONAL THEATRE The power of physical theatre to tell the story of migration Unconventional and thrilling, this Gecko Theatre project will live long in …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:12AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 12, 2024

The Good John Proctor, Jermyn Street Theatre review - Salem-set drama loses some of its power in London by Gary Naylor

★★★ THE GOOD JOHN PROCTOR, JERMYN STREET THEATRE Witch Hunt play fails to fly An overdue response to 'The Crucible', but very much rooted in its place, if not its time I…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:42PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 5, 2024

1979, Finborough Theatre review - niche subject matter finds a strong resonance by Gary Naylor

★★★★ 1979, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Comedy-drama set in 1970s Canadian politics proves much more interesting than it sounds! There's fun and profundity in the thick of Otta…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:18PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 13, 2023

A Woman Walks into a Bank, Theatre 503 review - prize-winning play delivers on its promise by Gary Naylor

★★★★ A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK, THEATRE503 Russian tale resonates far beyond Moscow Roxy Cook's dramedy has echoes of Chekhov in its melding of comedy and tragedy We'…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:48PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Pandemonium, Soho Theatre review - satire needs a shot of Pfizer's finest to revive tired storylines by Gary Naylor

★★★ PANDEMONIUM, SOHO THEATRE Armando Iannucci finds some laughs but nothing fresh If you're ready for more gags about Boris Johnson's House of Horrors administration, t…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:36AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 3, 2023

£1 Thursdays, Finborough Theatre review - dazzling new play is as funny and smart as its two heroines by Gary Naylor

★★★★★ £1 THURSDAYS, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Beautifully delivered by two sensational leads  Seldom does one see a writer's vision so perfectly realised on stag…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:42PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 1, 2023

Macbeth, The Depot, Liverpool review - Ralph Fiennes leads a conventional production in an unconventional space by Gary Naylor

★★★★ MACBETH, THE DEPOT War in a warehouse scores on its beautiful line readings and spectacle Touring show lands first in Liverpool with a terrifying relevance Next …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:18AM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 26, 2023

Oh What A Lovely War, Southwark Playhouse review - 60 years on, the old warhorse can still bare its teeth by Gary Naylor

★★★ OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Joan Littlewood invents devised theatre with satirical wit and righteous anger centre stage Blackeyed Theatre's touring produc…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:48PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 21, 2023

The Mongol Khan, London Coliseum review - unique operatic spectacle utterly overwhelms flaws in pacing and story by Gary Naylor

★★★★★ THE MONGOL KHAN, LONDON COLISEUM Cirque du Soleil meets Game of Thrones Take its limitations on trust and this Mongolian epic proves the best value in tow…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:36PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius, BBC Two review - the Bard's soul bared in hybrid drama-documentary by Gary Naylor

  Speculation and facts woven into a compelling portrait of a singular man Four centuries on from the publication of the First Folio, is there anything new to be said about William Shake…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:32PM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 12, 2023

The Time Traveller's Wife review - blockbuster 2003 novel does not quite land as blockbuster 2023 musical by Gary Naylor

★★★ THE TIME TRAVELLER'S WIFE, APOLLO THEATRE If Doctor Who did musical romcoms... Powerhouse performances and visual effects let down by unambitious book and lacklustre so…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:12PM[SHARE]
Friday, November 10, 2023

Nineteen Gardens, Hampstead Theatre Downstairs review - Intriguing, beautifully observed two-hander tilts power this way and that by Gary Naylor

★★★★★ NINETEEN GARDENS, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE DOWNSTAIRS Black comedy about transgressive love gone sour proves an accomplished English language debut for prize-win…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:42PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 31, 2023

1984, Hackney Town Hall review - Room 101 shapeshifts into 2023, but remains as terrifyingly plausible as ever by Gary Naylor

The immersive experience makes us both victims of, and perpetrators in, an all too familiar perversion of truth The day after I saw the show, as went about the mundanities of domestic life,…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:25AM[SHARE]
Monday, October 30, 2023

Trueman and the Arsonists, Roundhouse Studio review - new version of old play finds new warnings in old lessons by Gary Naylor

Simon Stephens' take on Max Frisch's classic play can hit and miss, but when it hits, it hits hard A dystopian present. Sirens ring out across the city. Firefighters rush to the wrong locat…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 04:33PM[SHARE]
Friday, October 27, 2023

Manic Street Creature, Southwark Playhouse review - songs in the key of a traumatised life by Gary Naylor

★★★ MANIC STREET CREATURE, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Songs in the key of a traumatised life Maimuna Memon sings of the pain mental illness brings, and not just to the person it a…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:07AM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 19, 2023

The Flea, The Yard Theatre review - biting satire fails to sting by Gary Naylor

★★★ THE FLEA, THE YARD THEATRE Hotchpotch of influences and tones derails production that exposes hypocrisy in high places  Victorian scandal meets Ziggy Stardust with a…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:04AM[SHARE]
Saturday, October 14, 2023

Dead Dad Dog, Finborough Theatre review - Scottish two-hander plays differently 35 years on, but still entertains by Gary Naylor

★★★★ DEAD DAD DOG, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Nostalgia rather than political satire drives charming revival  A play that will speak to any middle-aged Londoner with roots…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:33AM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 12, 2023

The Changeling, Southwark Playhouse review - wild ride proves too bumpy to land all its points by Gary Naylor

★★★ THE CHANGELING, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Wild ride proves too bumpy to land all its points An excess of gimmicks and uneven tone unbalance an innovative take on a Jacobean e…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:04AM[SHARE]
Monday, October 9, 2023

Othello, Riverside Studios review - three Iagos pitch Shakespeare's villain into the 21st century by Gary Naylor

A compelling character gets re-invented in Sinéad Rushe's fascinating production Shakespeare gives Iago over 1000 lines to implant the jealous rage in Othello, so there's plenty to of raw m…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:43AM[SHARE]
Saturday, October 7, 2023

A Voyage Round My Father, Theatre Royal Bath review - Rupert Everett excels in a play showing its age by Gary Naylor

John Mortimer creates a dazzling vehicle for a star, alongside one-dimensional supporting characters Like theatre itself, the law finds its voice in stories, performance and spectacle. Any …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:37AM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off