All stories by Michael Billington on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Don Juan in Soho review " David Tennant dazzles as a desolate hedonist by Michael Billington

Wyndhams theatre, LondonTennant brings a beguiling, fleet-footed charm to Molière's libertine, reinvented as DJ in Patrick Marber's subversive updateDavid Tennant stars as the rutting rake …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12PM[SHARE]

The Wipers Times review " Ian Hislop salutes satirical wartime newspaper by Michael Billington

Arts theatre, LondonHislop and Nick Newman's play explores the extraordinary real-life story of how a Punch-style publication was set up by troops during the first world warIan Hislop and Ni…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 27, 2017

David Storey: an instinctive writer who portrayed a divided soul and country by Michael Billington

Storey, who has died at the age of 83, had a natural understanding of theatre and strived to resolve the tensions of his life through his playsDavid Storey, who has died aged 83, was a drama…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:32PM[SHARE]
Friday, March 24, 2017

Julius Caesar/Antony and Cleopatra review " Rome truths from the RSC by Michael Billington

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonJosette Simon seems born to play Cleopatra, but the dissection of tyranny in Julius Caesar makes it the thrilling highlight of this Roman double…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 23, 2017

The Kid Stays in the Picture review " Robert Evans gets the Citizen Kane treatment by Michael Billington

Royal Court, LondonSimon McBurney's adaptation of the Hollywood tycoon's memoir is technically brilliant and often breathtaking but it adds little to his familiar storyRobert Evans's Hollywo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 21, 2017

An American in Paris five-star review " Minnelli musical becomes theatrical gold by Michael Billington

Dominion, LondonChristopher Wheeldon's superb show is a riot of colour and movement, with irresistible dance routines and a wealth of Gerhswin classicsA magical transformation has taken plac…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48PM[SHARE]

Love in Idleness review " Trevor Nunn reveals Rattigan's political divide by Michael Billington

Menier Chocolate Factory, London Eve Best and Helen George star in a production that merges the playwright's Love in Idleness with its former iteration, Less Than KindBetween August and Dece…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 20, 2017

Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Hamlet? by Michael Billington

To mark the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth we're choosing our favourite versions of his plays. Here's a handful of the finest Hamlets' 45 Hamlets for Shakespeare's 450th birthday "…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM[SHARE]

The Frogs review " Nathan Lane's larky update of Sondheim musical by Michael Billington

Jermyn Street theatre, London Funny things happen on the way to Hades in this version of Aristophanes' civic-minded comedy about the function of artIt is disconcerting to find the creator ha…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 18, 2017

Pinter's The Dwarfs holds the key to his later plays by Michael Billington

With its male rivalry and edgy dialogue about London buses, Pinter's 1950s novel The Dwarfs holds the key to all his later plays, says Michael BillingtonApart from their public prominence an…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:36AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 17, 2017

Filthy Business review " a superbly modern Mother Courage by Michael Billington

Hampstead theatre, LondonSara Kestelman excels as an uncliched Jewish matriarch in Ryan Craig's punchily acted new play about an East End family firmIf plays survive by creating meaty roles …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 16, 2017

La Cage aux Folles is proof of theatre's ability to shift sexual attitudes by Michael Billington

Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's 1983 musical has been revived once more. The show struck an important, rarely acknowledged blow for equalityWhen it opened in New York in 1983, La Cage au…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Seventeen review " veteran actors get teenage kicks in striking portrait of youth by Michael Billington

Lyric Hammersmith, LondonAdults play confused adolescents in Matthew Whittet's playground drama, adding an extra layer of hope and sadness to their characters Related: Seventeen going on 70:…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:32AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 14, 2017

My Brilliant Friend review " triumphant staging of Elena Ferrante's quartet by Michael Billington

Rose theatre, KingstonApril De Angelis's inventive and fluid five-and-a-half-hour production spans 50 years in its characters' lives, and makes clear the books' feminist messageI am normally…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12AM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 12, 2017

The Miser review " Griff Rhys Jones presides over a relentless gag-fest by Michael Billington

Garrick theatre, London The audience is clobbered into submission by an anything-for-a-laugh Molière adaptation that casts Lee Mack " in his theatre debut " as the sane oneI guess, since we…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PM[SHARE]

My Country: A Work in Progress review " Carol Ann Duffy visits Brexit by Michael Billington

National Theatre, London Britannia is shown to be fractious and divided in this bold but fragmented piece " built from interviews with UK voters " that does not tell us anything newTom Stopp…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 11, 2017

From Brecht to Lorca, the playwrights who became theatre's freedom fighters by Michael Billington

It's wrong to characterise 1930s theatre as escapist or frivolous. In Europe and America, many plays were alerting audiences to the dangers of fascism " led by the German fugitive Bertolt Br…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 9, 2017

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? review " Staunton ignites Albee's marital battle by Michael Billington

Harold Pinter theatre, London Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill are both superb as they trade insults and toy vindictively with their guests in a first-rate revival of an astonishing playThis…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36PM[SHARE]

Limehouse review " timely account of Labour's 1981 split is beautifully acted by Michael Billington

Donmar Warehouse, LondonRoger Allam is astonishing as Roy Jenkins in this drama about how the 'gang of four' left Labour to form the SDPSteve Waters likes to peep behind closed doors. In Tem…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Privacy review " Taut drama short-circuits the crucial debate by Michael Billington

Donmar Warehouse, LondonJames Graham's new play under the direction of Josie Rourke is rich and adrenaline-fuelled but lacks a real intellectual tussle' Ewan MacAskill: Fear, then relief, at…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead review " Daniel Radcliffe returns in Stoppard classic by Michael Billington

Old Vic, LondonActor perfectly matched in nimble high-wire act that is still spritely " but gains heft from its awareness of death The play's the thing. Fifty years after its professional pr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24PM[SHARE]

a profoundly affectionate ... review " couples' rows are painful to watch by Michael Billington

Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, LondonMeera Syal stars in debbie tucker green's play about intimate relationships which is given a perverse staging that leaves you with a crick in the neckAs t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 6, 2017

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead " review by Michael Billington

Chichester Festival TheatreTrevor Nunn's fine production of Tom Stoppard's 1966 play begins with a striking image: the two heroes seen against the stark background of a leafless tree. The Be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:32AM[SHARE]

Imelda Staunton is right: eating in your seat is a crime against theatre by Michael Billington

Audiences have been asked not to consume food at a new show. Theatre is a collective act of concentration " it's spoiled by constant chomping and slurpingHallelujah! Imelda Staunton has had …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:12AM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 4, 2017

Snow in Midsummer review " restless spirit seeks revenge in Chinese classic by Michael Billington

Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonThe ghost of a wronged widow hovers over a modern industrial town in the RSC's intriguing update of a 13th-century playThis is a genuine curiosity. As part of its mi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 2, 2017

The Hypocrite review " Richard Bean's raucous comedy does Hull proud by Michael Billington

Hull Truck theatre, HullStaged for Hull's year as UK City of Culture, this One Man, Two Guvnors-style farce is a merry take on local historyThe road to Hull, they say, is paved with good int…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 1, 2017

La Strada review " Fellini's ragtag circus comes to the stage by Michael Billington

Richmond theatre, LondonSally Cookson directs a fine ensemble in a witty and inventive high-wire production with a modern edgeThe last attempt to stage Fellini's Oscar-winning 1954 movie had…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Hamlet review " Andrew Scott is a charming prince in a chic yet dotty show by Michael Billington

Almeida, LondonRobert Icke's staging of Shakespeare's tragedy has fine performances and highly intelligent touches but some of its ideas are eccentrically wrong-headedBy a strange irony Andr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06PM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 26, 2017

Speech and Debate review " tech-savvy kids battle with a phoney adult world by Michael Billington

Trafalgar Studios, LondonPatsy Ferran shines in Stephen Karam's shapeshifting off-Broadway hit about teenage dilemmas and predatory adults set around a school rhetoric contestFirst seen off-…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 24, 2017

A Midsummer Night's Dream review " a nightmare of rage and chaos by Michael Billington

Young Vic, London Simmering hatred, lust and violence are never far away in a disturbing production that delves deep into the collective unconsciousRomantic Victorian versions of Shakespeare…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 23, 2017

Twelfth Night review " Tamsin Greig is brilliant in a show full of fun by Michael Billington

Olivier, LondonSimon Godwin's inventive gender-fluid production of Shakespeare's most perfect comedy has a vital elan and some great performancesThe casting of Tamsin Greig as Malvolia is bo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03AM[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