All stories by Michael Billington on BroadwayStars

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]
Friday, June 7, 2019

Garry review " murder and sexual torment trigger stellar pub theatre by Michael Billington

White Bear, LondonSophie Treadwell's long-lost tale of Freudian fear gets its first outing with a cast who foster high tension in an intimate venue Sophie Treadwell is best known for her exp…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 6, 2019

The Knight of the Burning Pestle review " dimwit swordsman skewers theatre snobs by Michael Billington

Barbican, LondonA pair of Lion King fans blunder into a highbrow drama in Declan Donnellan's gallant update of the class-collision comedy In Francis Beaumont's 1607 burlesque, a grocer and h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Wife review " rousing look at 60 years of sexual identity by Michael Billington

Kiln, LondonSamuel Adamson's stimulating family saga revolves around A Doll's House and is inventively staged by Indhu Rubasingham The slam of the door at the end of A Doll's House was, said…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:33AM[SHARE]
Friday, May 31, 2019

Venice Preserved review " thrills, S&M sex and Restoration politics by Michael Billington

The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonPrasanna Puwanarajah's edge-of-the-seat revival of Thomas Otway's 1682 tragedy looks like Blade Runner but deals in age-old themes of hypocrisy, corruption and e…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 30, 2019

Flinch review " Gen Z couple's fears, fights and restless ecstasy by Michael Billington

Old Red Lion, LondonEmma Hemingford's promising debut gets under the skin of a troubled relationship and refuses to take sides Emma Hemingford has written and co-stars in this promising debu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 29, 2019

The Starry Messenger review " Broderick and McGovern face up to cosmic failures by Michael Billington

Wyndhams, LondonKenneth Lonergan's tale of astronomy and midlife misery makes fine use of an A-list cast but never truly explodes into life With Matthew Broderick and Elizabeth McGovern head…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06PM[SHARE]

Rutherford and Son review " Roger Allam is magnificent in Edwardian classic by Michael Billington

Lyttelton, LondonAllam shines as the tyrannical capitalist patriarch at the heart of Githa Sowerby's powerful story of a society in transition It has been exactly 25 years since a National T…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Coral Browne: This F***ing Lady! review " wit and glamour of a stylish star by Michael Billington

King's Head theatre, LondonKnown for her sharp tongue and love affairs, the eccentric Australian actor is celebrated in this entertaining one-woman show If the title is outrageous, so was th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:12AM[SHARE]
Friday, May 24, 2019

King Hedley II review " Lenny Henry and Aaron Pierre make a dynamic duo by Michael Billington

Theatre Royal Stratford East, LondonAugust Wilson's overheated story of an ex-con attempting to rebuild his life is buoyed by an energetic cast with meaty roles The parts are sometimes bigge…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 23, 2019

Our Town review " Ellen McDougall's Wilder revival hits home with force by Michael Billington

Regent's Park Open Air theatre, LondonThe classic snapshot of a community is given fresh life by a youthful production that stresses the story's harsher moments Thornton Wilder's 1938 hymn t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Anna review " lies and surveillance in communist East Berlin by Michael Billington

Dorfman theatre, LondonElla Hickson's inventive thriller turns the audience into spies behind a glass wall, with fascinating but flawed results Created by Ella Hickson and sound designers Be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 21, 2019

The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil review " buoyant revival of a Scottish classic by Michael Billington

Eden Court, InvernessJohn McGrath's 1973 play uses ceilidhs and hoedowns to tell the shocking tale of the exploitation of Scotland's natural resources John McGrath's 1973 play is a legend in…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03PM[SHARE]
Friday, May 17, 2019

White Pearl review " a racist ad, and a bracingly funny corporate satire by Michael Billington

Royal Court, LondonAnchuli Felicia King's Singapore-set drama brilliantly unpicks hypocrisy and the base values of the beauty business White Pearl is a little gem. It is the work of Anchuli …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 16, 2019

Orpheus Descending review " Tennessee Williams' melodrama back from the dead by Michael Billington

Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonHattie Morahan and Seth Numrich help breathe new life into Williams' strange and clumsy southern gothic How best to describe Tennessee Williams' strange play?…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 14, 2019

The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson review " satire fails to skewer by Michael Billington

Park theatre, LondonChurchill, Blair and Thatcher drop in on Jonathan Maitland's vacillating hero, but the jokes fall flat in this topical comedy The problem with creating a play about Boris…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM[SHARE]
Monday, May 13, 2019

The Provoked Wife review " when wedlock turns to deadlock by Michael Billington

The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonSome of the humour in John Vanbrugh's 1697 sharp comedy about a tortured marriage doesn't endure, but there's much to admire in this important play Phillip Breen…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06AM[SHARE]
Friday, May 10, 2019

Death of a Salesman review " Miller's masterwork is given urgent new life by Michael Billington

Young Vic, LondonRacial tensions simmer alongside those of class and family as Wendell Pierce and Sharon D Clarke's American dream unravels There are two distinct impulses behind this remark…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 9, 2019

Ian McKellen review " heartfelt hilarity from a crusader of the stage by Michael Billington

Everyman, CheltenhamShakespeare, wizards and panto dames all play their part in an evening of autobiography that is a love letter to theatre Scratch a great actor and you often find a born c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 8, 2019

The Memory of Water review " bickering sisters stir up family ghosts by Michael Billington

Nottingham PlayhouseShelagh Stephenson's Olivier-winning play about siblings reuniting in Yorkshire for a funeral mixes comedy and tragedy With Alex Kingston scheduled to play Dr Stockmann i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:42AM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 5, 2019

Jude review " Hardy's hero becomes a Syrian refugee in Howard Brenton's reworking by Michael Billington

Hampstead theatre, LondonBrenton's ambitious but muddled new drama follows a gifted young Syrian woman who attracts the attentions of an Oxford classicist, Euripides and MI5 Edward Hall ends…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM[SHARE]
Friday, May 3, 2019

Rosmersholm review " Atwell and Burke are breathtaking in Ibsen masterpiece by Michael Billington

Duke of York's, LondonDuncan Macmillan's deft but daring tweaks underline the majesty of this sexually charged study of faith and heartbreak This has been dubbed Ibsen's darkest and most com…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 2, 2019

Small Island review " Levy's Windrush epic makes momentous theatre by Michael Billington

Olivier, LondonAndrea Levy's story of first-generation Jamaican immigrants in postwar Britain has been skilfully adapted and staged with hurtling energy This feels like a landmark in the Nat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Man of La Mancha review " Kelsey Grammer quixotically cast in starry misfire by Michael Billington

Coliseum, LondonEven Danielle de Niese's fine voice can't save ENO's out-of-sync commercial collaboration " no matter how many times they play The Impossible Dream Previous collaborations be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 29, 2019

Hell Yes I'm Tough Enough review " the far too thick of it by Michael Billington

Park theatre, LondonBen Alderton's bilious satire about the 2015 British general election is spasmodically entertaining but unsubtle We desperately need political satire, yet now seems an od…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00AM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 28, 2019

Gang fights, Ophelia up close, and Mark Rylance. Happy birthday, Shakespeare by Michael Billington

Shakespeare's Globe filled Westminster Abbey with a free-range assortment of famous " and dangerous " characters for this moving celebration A brawl broke out in the nave of Westminster Abbe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 26, 2019

Jane Clegg review " suffrage-era gem shines again by Michael Billington

Finborough, LondonWritten during the votes for women campaign, St John Ervine's play receives its first London revival in 75 years 'The half-witted heroine has held the stage too long," said…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:03PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 25, 2019

Ghosts review " spirits of the dead haunt Ibsen's gripping classic by Michael Billington

Royal and Derngate, Northampton Mike Poulton's new version lends fresh wit to the tragedy without diminishing its emotional intensity A great Manchester Guardian critic, CE Montague, once wr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:30AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 23, 2019

All My Sons review " Sally Field and Bill Pullman deliver a Miller for our times by Michael Billington

Old Vic, LondonIn an era of fake news and moral uncertainty, this fine production of Arthur Miller's play rings as true as ever Why the spate of Arthur Miller revivals? And why now? Watching…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:30PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 18, 2019

Sweet Charity, Donmar Warehouse review " Anne-Marie Duff has the rhythm of life by Michael Billington

Donmar Warehouse, LondonJosie Rourke turns this spirited Broadway musical into a hymn to female resilience in her exhilarating farewell production at the Donmar Anne-Marie Duff's last appear…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:11AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Three Sisters review " Frecknall and Ferran reunite for clannish Chekhov by Michael Billington

Almeida, LondonPatsy Ferran's Olga is one of the many admirable performances in a production by Rebecca Frecknall that fails to deliver a full Chekhovian experience When actor Patsy Ferran a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:20AM[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