All stories by Michael Billington on BroadwayStars

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]
Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Sweeney Todd review " raging underdog adds politics to the pies by Michael Billington

Everyman, Liverpool Nick Bagnall's ingenious revival reminds us that Sondheim's musical thriller is also a savagely political piece about injustice Forty years after its premiere, Stephen So…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:01PM[SHARE]
Friday, April 12, 2019

A German Life review " Maggie Smith shines as Goebbels' secretary by Michael Billington

Bridge Theatre, London Smith returns to the stage in triumph as she relives one woman's extraordinary experience in Nazi Germany Absent from the stage for 12 years, Maggie Smith returns in t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48PM[SHARE]

Rooms review " Enda Walsh's empty spaces are full of despair by Michael Billington

Barbican, LondonPart installation, part prose-poem, this strangely beautiful piece takes its audience into other people's heads Enda Walsh's plays are often about people trapped inside four …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Pah-La review " fascinating Tibetan drama sets theatre ablaze by Michael Billington

Royal Court, LondonAbhishek Majumdar's play launches a philosophical inquiry into non-violence and defying oppression A special virtue attaches to playwrights who take us into unfamiliar ter…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:07AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 8, 2019

Intra Muros review " prison play takes liberties with a serious subject by Michael Billington

Park theatre, LondonAn English version of a play by golden boy of French theatre Alexis Michalik is too cavalier in its depiction of prison life Alexis Michalik is the man of the moment. His…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 5, 2019

Scary Bikers review " John Godber saddles up for a bumpy Brexit ride by Michael Billington

Trafalgar Studios, LondonIn his funny and perceptive two-hander, Godber and his wife play a quarrelsome couple on a tandem trip to Europe Although it dominates our lives, Brexit has so far m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:30PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 4, 2019

Top Girls review " Churchill's study of bourgeois feminism gets an epic makeover by Michael Billington

Lyttelton, LondonWith a boosted cast of 18, Lyndsey Turner's revival of Caryl Churchill's classic sometimes feels like three separate plays What started as an economic necessity in 1982 soon…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:52AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Kunene and the King review " poignant two-hander illuminates post-apartheid South Africa by Michael Billington

The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonJohn Kani beautifully captures the complex divides of race, class and politics in a remarkable and moving new play How do you put a nation's history on stage? In…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:30PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Little Miss Sunshine review " feuding family hits the road to a new tune by Michael Billington

Arcola, LondonThis lively musical take on the 2006 film satirising child beauty pageants is likable but lacks bite I missed the 2006 film that is the source for this musical with songs by Wi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:50AM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 31, 2019

Maggie May review " Lionel Bart's musical knows how to show you a good time by Michael Billington

Finborough, LondonBart and Alun Owen's 1964 musical about a Liverpudlian dockside prostitute and her sailor beau gets a foot-stamping first professional revival The working-class British mus…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:01AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 29, 2019

Grief Is the Thing With Feathers review " Cillian Murphy is a wonder by Michael Billington

Barbican, LondonMurphy has an astonishing athleticism playing both man and crow in an adaptation of Max Porter's story of grief Cillian Murphy and Enda Walsh have teamed up to bring Max Port…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:56AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Wolfie review " Sisters Grimm weave a fairytale with a social conscience by Michael Billington

Theatre 503, LondonRoss Willis's surreal debut is driven by a concern for vulnerable children, but will be remembered for its two remarkable actors Ross Willis's debut play is subtitled "som…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 22, 2019

Edmond de Bergerac review " France's hectic answer to Shakespeare in Love by Michael Billington

Birmingham RepThis slapstick look at the classic play about Cyrano the long-nosed poet has been given a witty, kaleidoscopic staging It is not hard to see why Alexis Michalik's play has cloc…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:59AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 21, 2019

Downstate review " big-question drama on how we live with child abusers by Michael Billington

Dorfman, LondonFour sex offenders are confronted by one of their victims in Bruce Norris's viscerally acted drama about punishment Bruce Norris likes to live dangerously. In Clybourne Park, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:58AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 20, 2019

The Bay at Nice review " David Hare's battle of duty and desire by Michael Billington

Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonPenelope Wilton gives a fine turn as an understated heroine in this revival of Hare's play about a one-time pupil of Matisse David Hare's 1986 play was origin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 19, 2019

The Taming of the Shrew review " RSC's battle of reversed sexes by Michael Billington

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon Gender-swapped roles turn this courtship power game into a strange puzzle " although the trick plays dividends with its gleeful subplots You c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:30PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Betrayal review " a haunting reminder of deception's impact by Michael Billington

Harold Pinter Theatre, LondonTom Hiddleston is the big draw and is superb in conveying unhealed emotional wounds After a brilliant season of Pinter's short plays we now get his full-length s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:26PM[SHARE]

Admissions review " a harsh lesson for white liberals by Michael Billington

Trafalgar Studios, London When positive discrimination appears to rob a boy of his college place, the racial pieties of America's left are exposed in Joshua Harmon's drama Joshua Harmon has …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:22PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 11, 2019

Strike Up the Band review " cheese-war satire roasts the American whey by Michael Billington

Upstairs at the Gatehouse, LondonThe Gershwins' upbeat music sits uneasily with a cheerily absurd script in this revival of George S Kaufman's comedy Satire, George S Kaufman said, is what c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:14AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 7, 2019

Waitress review " guilty passions served up with warmth by Michael Billington

Adelphi, LondonBased on Adrienne Shelly's film and scored by Sara Bareilles, the New York hit arrives in London in a lively production Billed as the first Broadway musical with an all-female…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:45PM[SHARE]

Richard II review " women of colour's blazing show reflects our current chaos by Michael Billington

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonAdjoa Andoh is extraordinarily expressive in a production with politics to the fore that makes one see the play afresh By casting an iconic English history pl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:37AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Alys, Always review " stylish staging of Harriet Lane's thriller by Michael Billington

Bridge theatre, LondonJoanne Froggatt plays a lowly journalist who ascends into elite literary circles in Nicholas Hytner's smooth production Journalists enjoy seeing themselves depicted on …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:22AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 28, 2019

Counting Sheep review " feverish show recreates Kiev uprising by Michael Billington

The Vaults, LondonThis viscerally powerful piece about the 2014 revolution divides the audience into protesters and observers Originally conceived by Mark and Marichka Marczyk, this piece of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:39AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 27, 2019

The Son review " Florian Zeller's frightening tale of teen depression by Michael Billington

Kiln, London Fear and fleeting joy punctuate an exploration of family dynamics, charting the upheaval of divorce and adolescence Florian Zeller's remarkable play completes a trilogy that vie…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:44AM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 24, 2019

Equus review " Peter Shaffer's homoerotic classic is exhilarating by Michael Billington

Theatre Royal Stratford East, LondonNed Bennett brilliantly directs the landmark 1973 play about a teenager who has blinded horses I've often complained about the move towards a directors' t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:05PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Bodies review " deft revival for adultery neurosis comedy drama by Michael Billington

Southwark Playhouse, LondonJames Saunders' impeccably performed 70s piece takes on big issues as two couples swap partners and explore the poetry of painDedicated to retrieving forgotten pla…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:32AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 18, 2019

Come From Away review " relentless niceness in tale of post-9/11 Canadian kindness by Michael Billington

Phoenix theatre, LondonThis musical about plane passengers diverted to Newfoundland on 11 September has plenty of heart but not enough biteThis musical by the Canadian married team of Irene …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54PM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 17, 2019

9 to 5 The Musical review " slick and stylish Dolly Parton period piece by Michael Billington

Savoy theatre, LondonThis beloved revenge fantasy is as subtle as a sledgehammer but its advocacy of workplace equality makes it hard to dislikeYou can't escape the presence of Dolly Parton …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42PM[SHARE]
Friday, February 15, 2019

Berberian Sound Studio review " aural sex-drenched horror hits its targets by Michael Billington

Donmar Warehouse, London This fascinating adaptation of a film about a Foley artist creating sound effects for a horror movie attacks its targets " artistic responsibility and male power str…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 14, 2019

The American Clock review " Arthur Miller's snapshots of the 1930s by Michael Billington

Old Vic, LondonThis vaudeville about the Great Depression showcases Miller's capacity to capture the state of a troubled nationThe impromptu Arthur Miller festival " initiated by the transfe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM[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