All stories by Michael Billington on BroadwayStars

Thursday, May 17, 2012

The Sunshine Boys " review by Michael Billington

Savoy, LondonAmerica's Danny DeVito and Britain's Richard Griffiths join forces in this joyous revival of Neil Simon's 1972 comedy about a pair of superannuated vaudevillians. But what makes…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:02PM[SHARE]

What the Butler Saw " review by Michael Billington

Vaudeville, LondonJoe Orton's final play, unrevised at the time of his death in 1967, is a hard one to get right, since it combines manic farce with non-stop social commentary. That doesn't …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:01AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Detroit " review by Michael Billington

Cottesloe, LondonThere's room for more than one play about American suburbia. But, after the brilliance of Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park at the Royal Court, which dealt with the intersection…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Chair " review by Michael Billington

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonI am normally wary of futuristic fables, since they brook no disagreement: we can't challenge the writer's experience with our own. But Edward Bond's piece, set…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:45AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Top Hat - review by Michael Billington

Aldwych, LondonThe nostalgia market gets a further boost with the arrival of this amiable stage version of the celebrated Astaire-Rogers 1935 RKO musical. The evening can be quickly summed u…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:37PM[SHARE]

Three Kingdoms " review by Michael Billington

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonPlaywright Simon Stephens has long registered his horror at the heartless world of commodified sex we now inhabit. Given the current headlines, you could s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:10PM[SHARE]

Macbeth " review by Michael Billington

Shakespeare's Globe, LondonThis is the third Polish Macbeth London has seen in recent years, and there is yet another to come at the Edinburgh international festival. But, while this version…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:43AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 8, 2012

All Good Men/Thermidor " review by Michael Billington

Finborough, LondonOriginally seen as a BBC Play for Today in 1974, watching Trevor Griffiths's All Good Men makes one painfully nostalgic for a time when TV was unafraid to show serious poli…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:42PM[SHARE]

V is for verbatim theatre by Michael Billington

Theatre that incorporates the words of real people has never been more popular " and has proved itself infinitely flexibleVerbatim theatre, as Will Hammond and Dan Steward point out in their…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:50AM[SHARE]

V is for verbatim theatre by Michael Billington

Theatre that incorporates the words of real people has never been more popular " and has proved itself infinitely flexible Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:50AM[SHARE]
Monday, May 7, 2012

The Rest Is Silence " review by Michael Billington

Shoreham, SussexThe hottest ticket at the Brighton festival is this 90-minute "meditation on Hamlet" staged by the experimental company dreamthinkspeak. Two years ago they caused a stir with…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00PM[SHARE]
Friday, May 4, 2012

Love, Love, Love " review by Michael Billington

Royal Court, LondonMike Bartlett, as we know from plays such as 13 and Cock, can write big or small. In this piece, originally produced by Paines Plough and the Drum Plymouth in 2010, he com…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00PM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 3, 2012

Belong " review by Michael Billington

Royal Court, LondonBola Agbaje has made a name for herself with plays such as Gone Too Far! and Off the Endz, which showed her to be a sharp, witty observer of London life. Now she extends h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:15PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 1, 2012

U is for university theatre by Michael Billington

British drama's secret weapon is university-trained talent " from the venerable theatre societies of Oxbridge to world-beating modern drama departmentsI don't know how it is in other Europea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Measure for Measure " review by Michael Billington

Shakespeare's Globe, LondonWarning: contains spoilers about the productionI know it's a cliche but it's true: foreign-language Shakespeare, necessarily an adaptation, often has a liberating …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:25AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Making Noise Quietly " review by Michael Billington

Donmar Warehouse, LondonOn the way to the theatre I happened to pick up, at a second-hand bookstall, a copy of a volume that contains a story by the artist-writer Denton Welch about an eccen…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:09PM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 22, 2012

Wild Swans " review by Michael Billington

As someone who hasn't read Jung Chang's memoir, I came to this stage version with an open mind. I was bowled over by Sacha Wares's production, jointly presented by the Young Vic, American Re…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:09PM[SHARE]
Friday, April 20, 2012

King John " review by Michael Billington

The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonWith its blend of party hats, pop music, pomp and circumstance and latex balloons, Maria Aberg's production of this unloved play is certainly never dull. But whi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:42PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 19, 2012

The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning " review by Michael Billington

Cardiff High School, WalesBradley Manning, as most people know, is a 24-year-old US soldier accused of releasing 250,000 secret cables and logs about the Iraq and Afghan wars to WikiLeaks. W…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:01PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Richard III " review by Michael Billington

Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonYou can present Richard III either as the climax of a Shakespeare history cycle or as a star vehicle. But Roxana Silbert's new RSC production, while perfectly credit…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:11PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 16, 2012

Why the Olivier awards show up the West End's weak spots by Michael Billington

Only a handful of Oliviers were awarded for work stemming from the commercial sector " proving that the West End is merely showcasing exciting productions, not creating themAt least I got on…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:02AM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 15, 2012

Big and Small " review by Michael Billington

Barbican, LondonHow times change! When Botho Strauss's play was first seen in Britain in 1983 it was greeted with boos and mass walkouts on its pre-West End tour. Now it arrives in a crisp n…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:16AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 13, 2012

Chalet Lines " review by Michael Billington

Bush, LondonIt takes chutzpah for a man to write an all-woman play. But Lee Mattinson pulls off a tricky feat with panache in this initially raucous comedy about recurring family get-togethe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Vanessa Redgrave: 'I want to give people the jolliest time' by Michael Billington

As the director of 2012's Brighton festival, Vanessa Redgrave hopes to save the Earth, fix the economy and uncover the real origins of the Arab spring. So why does Michael Billington th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:30PM[SHARE]

Vanessa Redgrave: 'I want to give people the jolliest time' by Michael Billington

As the director of 2012's Brighton festival, Vanessa Redgrave hopes to save the Earth, fix the economy and uncover the real origins of the Arab spring. So why does Michael Billington th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:30PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Long Day's Journey Into Night " review by Michael Billington

Apollo, LondonWhy, however often we see it, do we continue to find Eugene O'Neill's family drama so moving? Partly because the play draws so closely on the author's own experience. Watching …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:00PM[SHARE]

R is for regional theatre by Michael Billington

Some say that England's rep theatres need a revolution if they're to have a future. Perhaps instead they could learn from the pastSome argue that the days of the civic repertory theatre and …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:47AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 5, 2012

Wonderful Town " review by Michael Billington

Lowry, SalfordFifties Broadway musicals are back in vogue. First it was Gypsy in Leicester. Now two celebrated Mancunian institutions, the Halle Orchestra and the Royal Exchange, join forces…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:15PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Father " review by Michael Billington

Belgrade, CoventryLaurie Slade, who has come up with a new version of Strindberg's 1887 play, says it would be superficial to view it as a misogynistic rant. Indeed it would. But it would al…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:29PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 3, 2012

The Grand Duke " review by Michael Billington

Finborough, London"I never want to see the ugly, misshapen little brat again," said WS Gilbert after the 1896 premiere of his final collaboration with Arthur Sullivan. His wish was granted, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:00PM[SHARE]

Q is for queer theatre by Michael Billington

The gay and lesbian theatre movement has changed radically since the oppressive days of the 1950s, but could more writers rise to the challenge of contemporary issues?Queer theatre is the ac…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:09AM[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