2019 has been a fabulous year for theatre and it’s given me a grand total of 154 performances to enjoy - 147 of which have been reviewed here on the site. So what’s been seen in 2019 and what are my top picks I hear you ask? You can find both answers below! January took... Continue Reading →
Finborough Theatre’s Christmas season opener may be a surprise to some but in staging The Wind of Heaven, the Finborough is bringing back this work of Emlyn Williams after a 75 year absence from the London stage. It’s a play certain to find resonance with our troubled times and as it looks at the role... Continue Reading →
Thursday 21st November 2019 at Leeds Playhouse. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ‘... this is the story of how a woman took revenge through her art to become one of the most successful painters of her generation.’ It’s True, It’s True, It’s True tells a tale of old in a dynamic, brilliantly modern production, balancing uncomfortable truths with comic... Continue Reading →
Wednesday 20th November 2019 at York Theatre Royal. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Laura Ann Price’s set design for Hello and Goodbye gives us a crystal clear vision of what’s to come as soon as seats are taken - our first glimpse of Athol Fugard’s world is ramshackle and void. Walls are incomplete with jagged edges. Colour is muted.... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 19th November 2019 at York Theatre Royal. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Toast is a coming of age tale with plenty of heart and...food. If the old adage about food being the key to many a heart is true, then this play shows us that process - and not just the positives either. Nigel Slater’s tale of growing... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 12th November 2019 at York Theatre Royal. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Susan Hill’s immensely popular novel is adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt and it fares well as a piece of modern theatre masquerading as a simplistic work of yesteryear. Here, the now famous story is set up as a real-time rehearsal taking place around a... Continue Reading →
Wednesday 6th November 2019 at York Theatre Royal. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reasons to Stay Alive, based on Matt Haig’s number one best-seller about his struggles with his mental health, takes to the stage with the help of Adapter April De Angelis. The play explores the darkest depths of a struggle with mental health while providing an unfiltered... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 5th November 2019 at Leeds Playhouse. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Winsome Pinnock’s One Under joins the growing list of commendable theatre productions which seek to explore the prominent and vital subject of mental health - particularly in relation to young men. On my way to see this show, I was scrolling the Twitter feed on the train... Continue Reading →
Saturday 2nd November 2019 at the National Theatre. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Athol Fugard’s Master Harold and the Boys is a pretty excellent creation. It’s fascinating in its approach to plucking the rotten fruit of history and placing it before us while simultaneously providing us with a very recognisable and relatable dynamic. In this instance however, the rather... Continue Reading →
