The gift that keeps on giving… Actor and writer Harvey Virdi, best known as Dr Misbah Maalik on long-running TV soap Hollyoaks, tells us about her hit play Happy Birthday Sunita which comes to Leeds Playhouse from 13-17 June, 2023. Virdi also chats about the power of British Asian women on stage and the fun... Continue Reading →
Interview: Set & Costume Designer Rose Revitt talks “A Passionate Woman”
May 2023 Kay Mellor’s “A Passionate Woman” opened last week at Leeds Playhouse, the same theatre in which it premiered back in 1993. This revival, directed by Tess Seddon, is dedicated in memory of Mellor who sadly passed away last year. Billed as “A story of family, love and Leeds, that challenges the notion of... Continue Reading →
Interview: The Creative Team behind “The Beekeeper of Aleppo”
May 2023 ‘People can lose everything, but still have so much joy’ – the powerhouse creative team behind The Beekeeper of Aleppo - including bestselling author Christy Lefteri and Olivier Award-winning director Miranda Cromwell - discuss its power and truth with Miriam Gillinson. The runaway success of the novel and now the stage play of... Continue Reading →
Review: Dream School at The Space, London
Trigger warnings for the content of this review: cults, psychological manipulation, sexual manipulation/abuse, self harm Thursday, 18th May 2023 at The Space, London ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reviewer: Emma Dorfman The ensemble emerges. They are floating, euphoric. They are seeking out connection. They are giggling for no reason at all, but you know it must be a good... Continue Reading →
Review: Quality Street (Touring)
Tuesday, 16th May 2023 at York Theatre Royal ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Quality Street: The Regency Comedy is J.M. Barrie’s take on life and love for the women left behind during the Napoleonic Wars; those who involuntarily became old maids when dreams of marriage departed along with the strapping patriotic men. Quality Street is certainly a farce in... Continue Reading →
Review: Of Mice and Men at Leeds Playhouse
Saturday, 13th May 2023 at Leeds Playhouse ⭐️⭐️⭐️ John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, once a GCSE text staple (remember the spoilers helpfully left behind in the margins by the outgoing Year 11 students?), is currently finishing up its tour at Leeds Playhouse. Following an unlikely pairing of itinerant workers during the Great Depression, this... Continue Reading →
Review: Mayflies at York Theatre Royal
Thursday, 4th May 2023 at York Theatre Royal ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The world of modern dating: connection online, awkward first meetings and the inevitable gamble taken on whether or not anything will come of it. Gus Gowland’s warm-hearted new musical, Mayflies, follows a pairing who are meeting up for the first time after two years of chatting... Continue Reading →
Review: The Retreat at Finborough Theatre, London
Friday 28th April 2023 at the Finborough Theatre, London. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reviewer: Emma Dorfman The Retreat is reminiscent of much of the realist dramas that North American audiences seemingly couldn't get enough of in the early 2000s. Most of the time, it reads less theatrical and nearly slice-of-life. As much as the 4-person cast and the... Continue Reading →
Review: The Mistake at Arcola Theatre
Tuesday April 18th 2023 at Arcola Theatre, London ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reviewer: Emma Dorfman In American schools, World War II’s Eastern Front conclusion is given but a few lines in the textbooks. But Michael Mears’ two-hander, The Mistake, interweaves verbatim material through a narrative that oscillates between the creation of the nuclear bomb and the bombing of... Continue Reading →
Spotlight on: Theatre Highlights of 2022
December 2022 It’s been a busy year at Always Time For Theatre, not only for me, but for the brand new and very brilliant London-based team! So, here’s the round-up, just in time to wave goodbye to 2022 and hello to 2023… Emma Dorfman showed five star love to Gigi Star and The Lost Lending... Continue Reading →