'There is a growing unease': will Covid-19 damage theatre's progress in...
It would be a tragedy if the lockdown left drama narrower and risk-averse. Our chief critic hears from Kwame Kwei-Armah, Indhu Rubasingham, Lynette Linton and Rachel De-lahayAs protests over thekilling...
View Article'At last a glimpse of hope': UK arts leaders on the rescue package
Responses to the government’s promise of £1.57bn for the arts and heritage sectorsBoris Johnson pledges £1.5bn lifeline to keep UK’s arts sector afloatArtistic director of Kiln theatreContinue reading...
View Article'It's my second home': UK arts figures pick the theatres that inspired them
Arts venues have been hit hard by the pandemic and are still unable to stage live performances. In a new series, we celebrate their essential roleHelen Monks: When I was a kid I used to go to Macfor...
View ArticleA dramatic year: the 10 best theatre shows of 2020
As the industry faced turmoil, there were triumphant stagings of classics by Sarah Kane, David Mamet and Alan Bennett – and bold new experiments More on the best culture of 2020Continue reading...
View ArticleFrom Hamlet to Hullabaloo: what to see as theatres and comedy clubs reopen
As stage shows return, we pick the best post-lockdown offerings – featuring Egyptian gods, rebelling vicars, dancing youths ... and Ian McKellen playing the Dane at 82More events to enjoy: Pop | Art |...
View ArticleReasons You Should(n’t) Love Me review – big-hearted debut is a keeper
Kiln theatre, LondonStarring in her play about friendship, romance and spina bifida, Amy Trigg is enormously entertainingThere are several good reasons to love Amy Trigg’s debut play about a...
View ArticleThe Invisible Hand review – thrilling tale of money lust and morality
Kiln theatre, LondonA US bank employee is captured in Pakistan in Indhu Rubasingham’s pacy revival of Ayad Akhtar’s chillingly ingenious playA frequent critique of financial markets – where billions...
View ArticleNW Trilogy review – let’s hear it for melting-pot Brent’s brilliant stories
Kiln theatre, LondonMoira Buffini, Roy Williams and Suhayla El-Bushra deliver a trio of powerful immigrant stories set in the London boroughNW Trilogy comprises three short plays with one overarching...
View ArticleThe week in theatre: Indecent; NW Trilogy; East Is East – review
Menier Chocolate Factory; Kiln, London; Birmingham RepCultural identity unites a Jewish writer’s shockingly radical play, diverse tales from Kilburn and Ayub Khan Din’s 1996 classicIt is wonderful to...
View ArticleThe Wife of Willesden review – Zadie Smith’s boozy lock-in is a bawdy treat
Kiln theatre, LondonTheauthor’s debut play lets one of Chaucer’s most revolutionary characters loose in modern-day Kilburn in a celebration of community and a life well-livedFor her debut play,...
View ArticleThe week in theatre: The Wife of Willesden; Rare Earth Mettle – review
Kiln; Royal Court, LondonThe Wife of Bath is wonderfully at home in 21st-century Brent in Zadie Smith’s inspired reworking of Chaucer. Meanwhile, the troubles of the Royal Court’s big new play continue...
View Article‘Beautiful, profound, uplifting’: readers’ favourite stage shows of 2021
A comeback year saw standout productions up and down the country. Here’s your pick of the bestMore on the best culture of 2021Curve, LeicesterI don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it – it...
View ArticleThe week in theatre: Daddy; Black Love; The Fever Syndrome
Almeida; Kiln; Hampstead, LondonJeremy O Harris’s trance-like study of power play sizzles; Chinonyerem Odimba tells a complex sibling story; and Robert Lindsay stars in a predictable family sagaThe...
View ArticleGirl on an Altar review – cool and deadly vision of the impact of male power
Kiln theatre, LondonFamily dynamics and toxic masculinity are explored in Marina Carr’s riveting version of the story of Agamemnon and ClytemnestraThe story of Clytemnestra is not quite as we know it...
View ArticleThe week in theatre: The Glass Menagerie; Girl on an Altar; We Started to Sing
Duke of York’s; Kiln; Arcola, LondonAmy Adams’s star power fails to illuminate underpowered Tennessee Williams; Eileen Walsh burns bright as Clytemnestra; and Barbara Flynn and Robin Soans elevate a...
View ArticleThe Darkest Part of the Night review – a powerful portrayal of autism and...
Kiln theatre, LondonZodwa Nyoni’s hard-hitting play takes us into the mind of Dwight, growing up with his Black British family in 1980s Leeds and in the present dayThis drama about family, race and...
View ArticleThe week in theatre: Closer, The Tempest, The Darkest Part of the Night – review
Lyric Hammersmith; Shakespeare’s Globe; Kiln, LondonPatrick Marber’s four-way passion play still adds up; Sean Holmes takes enjoyable liberties with his party island Tempest; and the heartfelt vies...
View Article‘The audience want to connect with her’: portraying the Queen after her death
The Kiln theatre’s Handbagged, about the monarch’s meetings with Margaret Thatcher, has opened in a week of mourning. Its stars reflect on the play’s humour and their tears in rehearsalThey all...
View ArticleHandbagged review – sparks fly at the Queen’s audiences with the Iron Lady
Kiln theatre, LondonMoira Buffini’s clever political comedy returns, educating a new generation on Margaret Thatcher’s legacy through her weekly encounters with the monarchIt is unnerving to see a...
View ArticleThe week in theatre: Handbagged; The Cherry Orchard; Clutch – review
Kiln; Yard; Bush, LondonMoira Buffini’s damning satire imagining the Queen’s weekly meetings with Margaret Thatcher acquires poignancy; James Macdonald directs Chekhov in outer space; and a driving...
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