Reviews
Yes, Prime Minister, Festival Theatre, Chichester (Rated 3/ 5 )
In the early days of a new hung parliament, the Prime Minister is beset by myriad problems: the cabinet is split, the national debt is rising, the Lancaster House convention is a catastrophe and the new oil pipeline deal with Kumranistan depends on the Turks joining the EU.
Inside Reviews
Babel (words), Sadler's Wells, London (Rated 3/ 5 )
Friday, 21 May 2010
Flemish-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui is known for his collaborations. He's recently worked with Akram Khan, with Shaolin Temple monks, with the sculptor Antony Gormley. Gormley is back for Babel (words): Cherkaoui's multi-cultural cast argue in a mix of languages, framed by steel Gormley shapes that suggest towers or cages.
Pygmalion, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester (Rated 4/ 5 )
Friday, 21 May 2010
Shaw's Pygmalion may not be the smash hit that is My Fair Lady, Lerner and Loewe's creation considered "the perfect musical", but it has more substance. Even with some of the additional scenes which Shaw added, making the ending slightly more long-drawn out than is strictly necessary, Greg Hersov's polished production keeps the top spinning.
Salome, Curve, Leicester (Rated 3/ 5 )
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
In an abstract Middle East, where black oil rather than glittering jewels represents King Herod's fabulous wealth, we're a long way from either a Biblical context or Oscar Wilde's tragedy, Salome.
Susan & Darren, Sadler's Wells, London (Rated 4/ 5 )
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
"My mum's embarrassment threshold is high," explains Darren Pritchard. "What we tell you here, she'd tell you at the bus stop." Susan is Darren's mum; this show is about their life together, past and present. They reminisce, fondly or with arguments, dance and finally invite the audience to stay for a party and a buffet. The show has the jolt of real people's lives, going on around you, then welcoming you in.
Death of a Salesman, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds (Rated 4/ 5 )
Monday, 17 May 2010
From the moment he enters, shuffling wearily with his bags across the Quarry Theatre's spacious stage, Philip Jackson's Willy Loman seems to be carrying a lot more baggage than two worn valises.
Susan and Darren, Lilian Baylis Studio, London
La Danse, Frederick Wiseman, 159 mins (PG)
Sunday, 16 May 2010
An evening with the amazing Mrs Pritchard and son, cheesy nibbles thrown in
Love the Sinner, NT Cottesloe, London
Salome, Curve, Leicester
A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky, Lyric Hammersmith, London
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Liberals and conservatives of the Church negotiate their way through a curate's egg of a story
A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky, Lyric Hammersmith, London (Rated 4/ 5 )
Friday, 14 May 2010
A case where three heads are better than one
Twelfth Night, Tricycle Theatre, London (Rated 5/ 5 )
Friday, 14 May 2010
A third of the way through, the play stops, completely. Viola, disguised as the boy Cesario, has been virtually propositioned by the countess Olivia. "It is too hard a knot for me to untie," she says, and leaves the stage, confused, to sit in the audience.
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Theatre guide
Night out, a date, or city break, plan things to do and tell your friends.
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FIVE BEST PLAYS
Death of a Salesman
(West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds)
In Sarah Esdaile’s classy production of Arthur Miller’s drama, Philip Jackson’s incisive Willy Loman is a man at odds with himself, teetering on the brink of dejection and haunted by lost opportunities and delusions. It’s 16 years since the play was last seen here, and this excellent revival presents it newly minted for a new generation.
(0113 213 7700) to 29 May
A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky
(Lyric Hammersmith, London)
A trio of dramatists (David Eldridge, Robert Holman and Simon Stephens) view the end of the world through the eyes of a fractious family in a beautifully acted, emotionally eloquent production.
(0871 221 1722) to 5 Jun
Twelfth Night
(Tricycle Theatre, London)
Sean Holmes’s staging catches the anarchic spirit of the Bard’s divine comedy and should be compulsory viewing for anyone who thinks that Shakespeare’s (a) boring or (b) a special heritage case.
(020 7328 1000) to 29 May
Hair,
(Gielgud Theatre, London)
A joyous production of the mother of all rock musicals. It’s a collection of protest clich�s, love-in songs and hippie high fives ser among the Greenwich Village “tribe”, in which Gavin Creel’ Claude dreams he doesn’t burn his draft card and instead goes to war in Vietnam.
(020 7907 7071) to 8 Jan
Macbeth
(Shakespeare’s Globe, London)
Lucy Bailey directs a superstitious, barbaric and bloody three-hour production, driven by the three witches and exploiting to the full the physical dimensions of the space.
(020 7401 9919) to 27 Jun