Review added of “Macbeth” (LINKED) at the National Theatre. This was critically reviled when it opened. It runs at the same time as the RSC production reviewed here earlier, so comparison is inevitable.

06/05/2018 by Peter Viney
Review added of “Macbeth” (LINKED) at the National Theatre. This was critically reviled when it opened. It runs at the same time as the RSC production reviewed here earlier, so comparison is inevitable.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Anne-Marie Duff, Joshua Lacey, Kevin Harvey, Nadia Albina, Parth Thakerar, Patrick O'Kane, Rory Kinnear, Rufus Norris, Stephen Boxer, Trevor Fox | Leave a Comment »
05/05/2018 by Peter Viney
Review added of Absolute Hell by Rodney Ackland from The National Theatre. This is a huge production with a cast of twenty-eight of the play set in a Soho night club in 1945. Does it justify such a lavish production? Read the review.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Charles Edwards, Jenny Galloway, Joel Hill-Gibbins, Jonathan Slinger, Kate Fleetwood, Prasanna Puwanarajah, Sinead Matthews | Leave a Comment »
29/04/2018 by Peter Viney
Review of Romeo & Juliet at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, (LINKED) Stratford added. This was directed by Erica Whyman who did the A Midsummer Night’s Dream- A Play For The Nation in 2016 at the RSC. As you’d guess, it’s an urban youth setting, urgent, exciting.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Afloabi Alli, Andrew French, Baly Gill, Beth Cordingley, Charlotte Josephine, Erica Whyman, Ishia Bennison, Josh Finan, Karen Fishwick, Michael Hodgson, Paul Dodds, Raphael Sowole, Tom Piper | Leave a Comment »
28/04/2018 by Peter Viney
Review of The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich at the Royal Shakespeare Company Stratford. The play dates from 1700, written by Mary Pix. Here it is revived in a major RSC production, starring SophieStanton as Mrs Rich.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Amanda Hadingue, Areth Ayeh, Daisy Badger, Jessica Turner, Jo Davies, Laura Elsworthy, Leo Whirter, Mary Pix, Michael Simkins, SadieShimmin, Sandy Foster, Solomon Israel, Sophie Stanton, Susan Salmon, Tam Williams, Will Brown | Leave a Comment »
25/04/2018 by Peter Viney
Review added of Noel Coward’s “Present Laughter” (LINKED) which opens the Chichester Festival Season 2018. Directed by Sean Foley, with Rufus Hound in the lead role. This goes all out for comedy … it is very funny, though broader than usual. Excellent.
Picture: Rufus Hound as Garry & Lucy Briggs-Owen as Joanna.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Ben Allen, Carol Macready, Delroy Atkinson, Emilio Doorgasingh, Katherine Kingsley, Lizzy Connolly, Lucy Briggs-Owen, Noel Coward, Richard Mylan, Rufus Hound, Sean Foley, Tamzin Griffin, Tracy-Ann Oberman | Leave a Comment »
20/04/2018 by Peter Viney
Review of Much Ado About Nothing (linked) at the Rose Theatre, Kingston-upon-Thames. This production imagines the play in Sicily with Don Pedro as a Mafia boss, staying at Leonato’s luxury hotel. High concept. Mel Giedroyc (Great British Bake Off) starsas Beatrice, with John Hopkins as Benedick.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Calum Lynch, Caolan McCarthy, David Rintoul, John Hopkins, Kate Lamb, Katherine Toy, Mel Giedroyc, Naomi Dawson, Nicholas Prased, Peter Bray, Peter Guinness, Sam Dastor, Silas Wyatt-Barker, Simon Dormandy, Stewart Wright, Victoria Hamnett | Leave a Comment »
11/04/2018 by Peter Viney
Review of THE BOOTLEG BEATLES in Bournemouth. They are touring with The Pepperland Sinfonia and this is a chance to hear the songs The Beatles never played live, and given the changes in technology, probably couldn’t have played live. It may be a tribute band, but it’s one of the shows I have most enjoyed in years. Don’t miss them.

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03/04/2018 by Peter Viney
Review of Hamlet starring Andrew Scott as the Prince. This production started at the Almeida in 2017, moved to the West End where it was filmed for the BBC, and shown at Easter 2018. Andrew Scott is the best Hamlet we’ve seen in years.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Andrew Scott, Angus Wright, Barry Aird, Calum Findlay, Daniel Rabin, David Rintoul, Joshua Higgett, Juliet Stevenson, Luke Thomas, Madeleine Appiah, Peter Wright, Rhudri How, Robert Icke | Leave a Comment »
25/03/2018 by Peter Viney
You’ve read The Da Vinci Code? Angels & Demons? Inferno? Origin? Seen the films? Then look ahead to this sneak preview of an extract from The Shakespeare Cod-Piece, another conspiracy story in the saga of the Harvard Professor of Symbology.

WARNING: This is (NOT) by Dan Brown.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
25/03/2018 by Peter Viney
Review of the Wanamaker Playhouse production of The Four Seasons: A Re-imagining. Max Richter “re-composed” Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in 2012. His version is performed live with the addition of a narrative puppet theatre by Gyre& Gimble. Magical, and playing until late April too.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Gyre & Gimble, Max Richter, Vivaldi | Leave a Comment »