All stories by Michael Billington on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

People, Places and Things review " a vivid tale of acting and addiction by Michael Billington

Dorfman, LondonDenise Gough is superlative as an actor who breaks down mid-show and is forced into recovery, in a vibrant play that draws parallels between theatre and rehabDuncan Macmillan …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:55AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 1, 2015

My Eyes Went Dark review " unleashing the power of vengeance by Michael Billington

Finborough, London Matthew Wilkinson's play about the rage of a grieving man is given acute expression by Cal MacAninch and Thusitha JayasunderaWritten and directed by Matthew Wilkinson, thi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:30AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 28, 2015

You Won't Survive on Broadway If You Don't Have Any Jews review " the golden age turns to bronze by Michael Billington

St James's, London An anthology highlighting Jewish songwriters' contributions to the American musical, from the 1930s to the present, is at its most delightful in the first halfThe title de…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 27, 2015

Our Country's Good review " dramatic redemption from Australian hell by Michael Billington

Olivier, LondonThe National production of Timberlake Wertenbaker's historical play shows convicts and captors alike escaping their colonial chains in shared expressionSince it is only two ye…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:30AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Mrs Henderson Presents review " a shot in the arm for the British musical by Michael Billington

Theatre Royal, BathTerry Johnson's adaptation of the 2005 film is a defiantly patriotic piece with a delightful score, rousing ensemble and first-rate performancesIt's a cliche that, ever si…

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

Choosing my 101 greatest plays " and why I left out King Lear by Michael Billington

How do you even begin to pick the world's 101 greatest plays? The Guardian's theatre critic explains how he approached this controversial task for his new book " and admits he is already hav…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:34PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Hamlet review " Benedict Cumberbatch is imprisoned by a dismal production by Michael Billington

Barbican, LondonCumberbatch has a gift for suggesting Hamlet's essential decency, but visual conceits take the place of textual investigation in this frustrating stagingAfter all the hype an…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:55PM[SHARE]
Friday, August 7, 2015

For Services Rendered five-star review " no help for heroes in Maugham's war by Michael Billington

Minerva theatre, ChichesterDirector Howard Davies's production is meticulous in its emotional detail and the cast match him in charting the aftermath of warThis is Chichester at its best: re…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:34AM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 6, 2015

Grand Hotel review " roaring 20s musical, staged with glittering panache by Michael Billington

Southwark Playhouse, LondonPerfectly drilled dance, stunning vocals and stylish direction fuel this cross-section of luxury hotel life in 20s Berlin This musical, based on Vicki Baum's portm…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:58AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Splendour review " Abi Morgan puts four women in the firing line by Michael Billington

Donmar Warehouse, London In her tense and riveting early work, Morgan highlights the fragility of power as a group of women gather in a presidential palace with revolution brewing outsideAbi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AM[SHARE]

No actor can fail as Hamlet: a profoundly mysterious hero by Michael Billington

At London's Barbican, Benedict Cumberbatch will be taking over a role that defies age, transcends gender and allows actors to play to their strengthsOn Wednesday night, Benedict Cumberbatch …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:21AM[SHARE]

The Book of Mormon " review by Michael Billington

Prince of Wales, LondonStrip away all the hype surrounding this hit Broadway import and what do you find? A mildly amusing musical, with some knowingly parodic songs, that takes a few pot sh…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:13AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Dear Lupin review " James and Jack Fox chomp through the upper crust by Michael Billington

Apollo, LondonMichael Simkins' adaptation of Roger Mortimer's correspondence with his son is performed with style by a real-life father and sonA collection of letters by racing correspondent…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:51AM[SHARE]
Monday, August 3, 2015

Operation Crucible review " war history evoked with horror and humanity by Michael Billington

Finborough, LondonFirst-time playwright Kieran Knowles captures the terror of the Sheffield blitz in the experiences of four trapped steelworkersOn 12 December 1940, more than 600 people die…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:25AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 30, 2015

Bakkhai review " Ben Whishaw enchants but play draws admiration, not zeal by Michael Billington

Almeida, LondonJames Macdonald's production at the Almeida offers clarity and imaginative acting, yet falls short of the rage and frenzy that Euripides' masterpiece demandsHaving started wit…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:10PM[SHARE]

Impossible review " macho magic show bisects and belittles its female stars by Michael Billington

Noël Coward theatre, LondonA major gender imbalance undermines the slick and intriguing acts in this Vegas-style fiesta of illusion Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:04PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Three Days in the Country review " Marber ups the comedy and plays down the psychology by Michael Billington

Lyttelton, LondonJohn Simm and Mark Gatiss star in Patrick Marber's version of Turgenev's play that turns its subtle chemistry into a satire on a group of social parasitesTurgenev's A Month …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:34AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Archive theatre review: Krishna comes to the city of the popes by Michael Billington

Michael Billington reports from a quarry near Avignon on Peter Brook's dawn-to-dusk staging of the great Sanskrit epic, the MahabharataWe assembled around seven o'clock on Saturday evening i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:01PM[SHARE]
Sunday, July 26, 2015

Natasha Parry obituary by Michael Billington

Elegant stage and screen actor who gave memorable performances in many of the productions of her husband, the director Peter BrookNatasha Parry, who has died aged 84, was an actor of excepti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:33PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 24, 2015

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers review " mountain men become balletic bravehearts by Michael Billington

Regent's Park Open Air theatre, LondonThis production of the 1954 musical about farmboys who kidnap their brides steers clear of chauvinism and lets the choreography take centre stageFrankly…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:19AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 23, 2015

Richard II review " laughs and rage at Shakespeare's manchild king by Michael Billington

Shakespeare's Globe, LondonCharles Edwards impresses with his whimsically indifferent ruler, in an interpretation that confirms Simon Godwin as one of our best classical directorsSimon Godwi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:05AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Mack & Mabel review " a flawed show, flawlessly done by Michael Billington

Chichester Festival theatreThe first half dazzles, and Michael Ball is magisterial, but the vibrancy and inventive parts cannot make Jerry Herman's musical a dramatic whole Ever since its Br…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM[SHARE]
Friday, July 17, 2015

The Gathered Leaves review " riveting portrait of a monstrous patriarch by Michael Billington

Park theatre, LondonAndrew Keatley's upper-class family drama, starring Jane Asher and her daughter Katie Scarfe, is a compelling record of emotional tensions at the dawn of New LabourA star…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:07AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 16, 2015

Theatre critics beware " there's a price for bad reviews | Michael Billington by Michael Billington

Douglas Gordon's axe-attack on the Home arts centre seems extreme. But from death threats to abusive postcards, critics have paid a heavy price for dismissing thespiansHow do people react to…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:41AM[SHARE]

What's It All About? review " a clever, passionate reappraisal of Burt Bacharach by Michael Billington

Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonFar from being another jukebox musical, this show gives a slew of Bacharach-David hits an exuberant makeover that invites fresh appreciationIt was touching to…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Noonday Demons review " rival hermits declare holy war in caustic comedy by Michael Billington

King's Head, LondonClad in loincloths and festooned with chains, two penitents duke it out over a patch of desert in this sharply satirical, weirdly fascinating Peter Barnes revivalI sometim…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:31AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Lesere review " thriller is more half-cock than Hitchcock by Michael Billington

Jermyn Street, LondonA couple's rustic idyll is shattered when a stranger arrives to drag their secrets into the light " with a bluntness that stretches psychological credulityLured by the p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:08AM[SHARE]
Monday, July 13, 2015

The Mentalists review " Stephen Merchant's West End debut is a strange affair by Michael Billington

Wyndham's theatre, LondonRichard Bean's 2002 play about two oddball friends in a hotel room has been inflated to make a pricey West End star vehicleThe presence of Stephen Merchant, standup …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 10, 2015

Volpone review " Henry Goodman creates a magnetic monster by Michael Billington

The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonYou can't take your eyes off the deplorably greedy villain in Trevor Nunn's mesmerising new production of the 400-year-old Ben Jonson satireBen Jonson's satire o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:20AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 9, 2015

The Invisible review " passionate legal-aid drama needs cross-examination by Michael Billington

Bush, LondonRebecca Lenkiewicz's entertaining play about the cruel impact of cuts to the legal-aid budget would be stronger if it interrogated its material rather more Related: Rebecca Lenki…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:40AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 8, 2015

In recording the art of theatre, Tristram Kenton creates another with his camera by Michael Billington

From Peter O'Toole as Jeffrey Bernard to Mark Rylance as 'Rooster' Byron, Tristram Kenton has captured the essence of countless performancesTheatre photography is a changing art. Look at the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:02AM[SHARE]

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