Romeo & Juliet (Sky Arts/NowTV) Verdict: A little too grown up Rating: An Elephant In The Garden (barntheatre.org.uk) Verdict: Animal healing Rating: Where The Bugaboo Lives (littleangeltheatre.com) Verdict: Puppets enchant Zoom Rating: Prince Charles playing Romeo? Well, not quite, but it was a little disconcerting this week to see the features of the heir apparent in the … Read more
Sitting (BBC4, Wednesday 2.30pm) Verdict: You’ll be drawn in Rating: Scaramouche Jones (stream, theatre) Verdict: Richie re-born Rating: Sadie (BBC iPlayer) Verdict: Gritty but powerful Rating: People worry about the wrong things when they’re being painted. They think they’ll get bored, or restless. But what should really concern them is what they’ll say when they … Read more
Adventurous (Jermyn Street Theatre; stream.theatre) Verdict: Lovable stereotypes Rating: The Picture Of Dorian Gray (Barn Theatre, Cirencester; pictureofdoriangray.com) Verdict: Not-so-lovable stereotypes Rating: Stereotypes have had a bad rap in this age of woke, but I’ve got a lot of time for them. My only caveat is that someone should make sure they receive a regular refresh. … Read more
Three Sisters (NT at Home) Rating: Verdict: Wonderful women Stevie Smith: Black March (deadpoets.live) Rating: Verdict: Audio-visual delight Back in the day, brimming with idealism at university, I tried to join the Feminist Society. The woman at the freshers’ fair desk objected on the grounds that I was clearly a man — only to be overheard … Read more
Hymn (almeida.co.uk) Rating: Verdict: Sing the praises! The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (stream theatre) Rating: Verdict: Genial musical needs a little more charm The Secret Society of Leading Ladies (barntheatre.org.uk) Rating: Verdict: Gamey musical jukebox Praise be and rejoice: a new play! They’ve been increasingly rare this past year, so it’s a real treat to come across … Read more
Barnes’ People (originaltheatreonline.com) Verdict: Power to the people Rating: He never became a national treasure, but about the same time Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads were launched on TV in the 1980s, playwright Peter Barnes had his own set of one-person vignettes on telly. Back then, they starred Jeremy Irons, Judi Dench, Alan Rickman and Antony Sher. … Read more
Romeo And Juliet (romeojuliet2021.com) Rating: Verdict: Polished but too polite Good Grief (originaltheatreonline.com) Rating: Verdict: Good but glib grief This Valentine’s Day is likely to be a more restrained occasion than usual. With restaurants and bars closed, it’s either the kitchen or the living room for that romantic date. So maybe it makes sense that … Read more
Audience participation. Two words that used to strike terror into the hearts of theatregoers and make them long to cower beneath their velvet seats. Happily, there is little to fear from the virtual equivalent and the explosion of so-called ‘immersive online theatre’. These are shows, led by actors in videos and voiceovers, in which friends … Read more
Present Laughter (Broadway HD – online and via app) Rating: Verdict: Lots of laughter present Kennedy: Bobby’s Last Crusade (stream.theatre) Rating: Verdict: Soft-focused eulogy Waiting For Obama (stream.theatre, Spotify) Rating: Verdict: Guns, not roses As Oscar Wilde cheekily suggested, we Brits have everything in common with America nowadays ‘except, of course, language’. I was therefore … Read more
War Horse (NT at Home) Rating: Verdict: Saddle up and ride! Julie (NT at Home) Rating: Verdict: Thin and tawdry Now Lockdown 3 is upon us, you may worry that theatrical rations will start to run low. Fear not! We still have plenty in our stockpile, with a good supply of new material promised on various … Read more