All stories by Michael Billington on BroadwayStars

Monday, August 5, 2019

How Not to Drown review " an adolescent adventure story of a Kosovan refugee by Michael Billington

Traverse, EdinburghDritan Kastrati's journey as an 11-year-old to the UK with people smugglers is a survival story that speaks to what it is like to be caught between two cultures Dritan Kas…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AM[SHARE]

The Secret River review " pinpointing a crucial moment in Australian history by Michael Billington

King's theatre, EdinburghAndrew Bovell's adaptation of Kate Grenville's novel about the collision between settlers and Indigenous Australians combines masterly storytelling with metaphorical…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 4, 2019

Enough review " the unstoppable force of women by Michael Billington

Traverse, EdinburghStef Smith's latest production depicts the two female leads rejecting male classification and raising themselves up Stef Smith wrote a fascinating dystopian drama in Human…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:32PM[SHARE]

La Reprise: Histoire(s) du Theatre (I) review " compassion and curiosity in recreation of a murder by Michael Billington

Royal Lyceum, EdinburghDirector Milo Rau asks disturbing political questions while attempting to honour the real-life victim of a senseless homophobic crime This is exactly the kind of show …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Bridges of Madison County review " sober musical take on tale of late-flowering love by Michael Billington

Menier Chocolate Factory, London With two excellent lead performances at its heart, Trevor Nunn's production of the musical version of the bestselling love story is focused and honest First …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM[SHARE]
Sunday, July 21, 2019

The Actor's Nightmare review " it's just a stage they're going through by Michael Billington

Park theatre, London Christopher Durang's breezy sextet of plays takes the cast from pique to panic as he explores the insecurities of performing life To complement its main-house productio…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 18, 2019

Vienna 1934-Munich 1938 review " Vanessa Redgrave's portrait of antifascism by Michael Billington

Ustinov Studio, BathThe star mines her family history in this passionate but haphazard ride through socialist resistance to the Nazis This is a show unlike any other. Subtitled "A Family Alb…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Whodunnit (Unrehearsed) review " secret celeb shines in murder mystery by Michael Billington

Park theatre, LondonA quick-witted Gyles Brandreth, one of 22 stars in action during the run, sleuthed stylishly in this fundraising spoof This is all very jolly. Jez Bond and Mark Cameron h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 16, 2019

The Night of the Iguana review " Clive Owen joins menagerie of lost souls by Michael Billington

Noël Coward theatre, LondonOwen is a disgraced priest, Anna Gunn a widowed hotel keeper in Tennessee William's languorous hymn to human endurance 'Nothing human disgusts me unless it's un…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 12, 2019

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat review " stunning debutant steals a starry show by Michael Billington

London PalladiumSheridan Smith and Jason Donovan bring charisma to a jubilant revival " but neither can match the young dreamer at its centre I first saw this show in 1972 when it was a mode…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:33AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 11, 2019

The Fountainhead review " Ivo van Hove hypnotises with Ayn Rand's nonsense by Michael Billington

The Lowry, SalfordInternationaal Theater Amsterdam present a constantly inventive, four-hour staging of the overheated 1943 polemic Ivo van Hove is the most ubiquitous of modern directors. B…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Peter Gynt review " David Hare brings modern madness to Ibsen's epic by Michael Billington

Olivier, LondonHare updates Ibsen's 1867 dramatic poem with wit and ingenuity, resulting in a sharp satire on contemporary mores This play is credited as "by David Hare after Henrik Ibsen".…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:54AM[SHARE]
Sunday, July 7, 2019

Measure for Measure review " the best RSC show of the summer by Michael Billington

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonGregory Doran's assured production offers a perfectly judged portrait of public hypocrisy and seething sexuality Gregory Doran is not the first …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 5, 2019

Tree review " Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah dance with identity by Michael Billington

Family and politics collide as a British man sets out to unearth his South African roots " and get the audience off their seats This show has the aura of a big event. It helps kickstart the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 4, 2019

The End of History ... review " Jack Thorne surveys the death of radical England by Michael Billington

Royal Court, LondonBeautifully staged by John Tiffany, Thorne's new drama explores the pitfalls of socialist parenting How does one cope with being reared by radical parents? It's a theme th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Noises Off review " Frayn's chaotic farce as thrilling as ever by Michael Billington

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonMichael Frayn's witty parody of backstage antics endures in an entertaining production that hit a real-life on-stage glitch What irony! Just as Michael Frayn's famou…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Xanadu review " psychedelic circus evokes summer of love by Michael Billington

Chiswick House, LondonCal McCrystal brings a woozy vibe to Giffords Circus, though these hippies are versatile performers and formidable athletes We expect a display of random skills. But th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:42AM[SHARE]
Sunday, June 30, 2019

The Deep Blue Sea review " Rattigan's furious tide of doomed passion by Michael Billington

Minerva, Chichester Nancy Carroll is magnificent as a woman shamed by a failed affair with a younger man, in a play that seethes with postwar English anger Two critics, a Young Turk and an O…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM[SHARE]
Friday, June 28, 2019

Europe review " refugees shelter in train station as a continent frays by Michael Billington

Donmar Warehouse, London David Greig's 1994 play about yearning for a united Europe as fascists gather strength is deeply resonant Refugees desperately seek shelter, neo-fascist thugs roam …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:24AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 27, 2019

The Hunt review " false accusation unleashes small-town savagery by Michael Billington

Almeida, LondonRupert Goold directs a taut adaptation of Thomas Vinterberg's film about an innocent man falling prey to clannish locals Back in 2004 the Almeida had a big hit with a stage ve…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:03PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Present Laughter review " Andrew Scott dazzles in Coward's enduring classic comedy by Michael Billington

Old Vic, London Scott is richly funny as a peacocking Peter Pan whose theatrical bohemia is threatened by outsiders Andrew Scott gives a virtuosic performance in Noël Coward's imperishabl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM[SHARE]
Sunday, June 23, 2019

After Dark review " a deliciously dank vision of Victorian London by Michael Billington

Finborough, LondonDion Boucicault's convoluted melodrama is elevated by the earnestness and imagination of Phil Willmott's canny revival "Spare me the theatricals," pleads a character in Dio…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:33AM[SHARE]
Friday, June 21, 2019

Three Sisters review " stunning Russian staging of Chekhov classic by Michael Billington

Vaudeville theatre, LondonLev Dodin's masterly production allows the actors to truly inhabit their roles and presents a familiar play afresh We live in an age of director's theatre. But the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 20, 2019

The Damned review " Ivo van Hove's Third Reich thriller is riveting by Michael Billington

Barbican, LondonThis adaptation of Luchino Visconti's 1969 film, performed by the Comédie-Française, is full of startling set pieces When Luchino Visconti's movie, The Damned, opened in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Bitter Wheat review " Malkovich and Mamet's monstrous misfire by Michael Billington

Garrick theatre, LondonJohn Malkovich works overtime to squeeze depth into David Mamet's predatory Hollywood tycoon Barney Fein David Mamet's new play, we are assured, is fiction and any res…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Strange Fruit review " Caryl Phillips' immigrant family feel the heat by Michael Billington

Bush theatre, LondonNancy Medina directs a slow-burning story of a family caught between two cultures in 80s Britain As part of its policy of reviving neglected plays by writers of colour, t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AM[SHARE]
Monday, June 17, 2019

While the Sun Shines review " fresh-as-paint Rattigan revival by Michael Billington

Orange Tree, RichmondSuperb performances power the ingeniously plotted story of a young earl's marriage to the daughter of an impoverished duke The whirligig of time, as Shakespeare observed…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12AM[SHARE]
Friday, June 14, 2019

Plenty review " David Hare's epic of despair has a Brexit echo by Michael Billington

Chichester Festival theatreRachael Stirling is excellent in Kate Hewitt's invigorating production of a play about individual and national unease There seems a cunning plan to Chichester's pr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 13, 2019

The Pope review " Anton Lesser and Nicholas Woodeson's papal powerplay by Michael Billington

Royal and Derngate, NorthamptonRivalry and shared guilt combine as Pope Benedict XVI meets his successor, Pope Francis, in Anthony McCarten's drama Having written films about Winston Church…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike review " Chekhovian comic curio by Michael Billington

Ustinov, BathStrong performances buoy up a lightweight story about characters fated to fulfil the destinies of their fictional namesakes I find it mildly astonishing that this piece won the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 11, 2019

A Midsummer Night's Dream review " join the fiesta with Gwendoline Christie by Michael Billington

Bridge theatre, London Festive fun, ear-nibbling and high-wire antics infuse Nicholas Hytner's startling role-reversal production A promenade Julius Caesar was one of the Bridge's biggest hi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:18PM[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