A View From The Bridge (NTLive, in cinemas from Thursday) Rating: Verdict: Handsomely austere The Hound Of The Baskervilles (Watermill Theatre Gardens, Newbury) Rating: Verdict: Ideal Holmes Watching Rosie (originaltheatreonline.com) Rating: Verdict: Ten minutes well spent Hunted: Mark Strong in A View From The Bridge This fabulous production of A View From The Bridge, Arthur … Read more
Much Ado About Nothing (BBC iPlayer) Rating: Verdict: Gorgeously cosy nostalgia Treasure (BBC iPlayer) Rating: Verdict: Crafty tale of the unexpected First Things (Scenes For Survival, nationaltheatrescotland.com) Rating: Verdict: Sweetly sentimental elegy We were supposed to have news this week of Andrew Scott in Stephen Beresford’s one-man play Three Kings, live-streamed from London’s Old Vic. Unfortunately, … Read more
Cyrando de Bergerac (NT Live in cinemas) Verdict: James McAvoy is a revelation Rating: Whisper it, but theatre is slowly coming out of its shell. A Zoom play here, a car park comedy there, and now a couple of West End star turns, getting a run in cinemas around the country. One is James McAvoy … Read more
Small Island (NT at Home, YouTube) Verdict: Chastening Windrush saga Rating: Small island opened last year at London’s National Theatre in the wake of the Windrush scandal. Now, with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, the epic stage adaptation of Andrea Levy’s novel feels more timely than ever. But much as I admire Levy’s … Read more
The Madness Of George III (NT At Home, Youtube) Verdict: Gatiss is king of all he surveys Rating: The highlight of my lockdown so far has been discovering Mark Gatiss to be one of our finest leading actors. Last week I felt he almost stole the show from Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus. And this week … Read more
This House (NT at Home, YouTube) Rating: Verdict: Still rocks the house Unprecedented (BBC iPlayer) Rating: Verdict: Unexciting This House is the Westminster political drama that keeps on giving. It’s the third time I’ve seen James Graham’s brilliant play and, if anything, it’s grown in stature thanks to the hung parliament shenanigans of last year. … Read more
Frankenstein (NT at Home, YouTube) Verdict: There be monsters… Rating: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (BBC iPlayer) Verdict: A dream of a Dream Rating: Duelling has been illegal in Britain for hundreds of years, but that didn’t stop Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller going musket to musket in the National Theatre’s Frankenstein in 2011. Danny … Read more
Forsooth, gentle reader, is this, or is this not the week of Shakespeare’s birth? According to parish records in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Bard was baptised on April 26, and at the time it was customary for this to happen three days after an infant’s birth. Which would suggest he was born on the 23rd. But soft … Read more
Treasure Island (National Theatre at Home, YouTube) Verdict: Theatrical gold waiting to be discovered Rating: The Phantom Of The Opera (The Shows Must Go On, YouTube) Verdict: Still as lush as you like Rating: Flowers For Mrs Harris (Chichester Festival Theatre, cft.org.uk) Verdict: A lovely bunch of characters Rating: When this is all over . . … Read more
Musical Mastermind: PATRICK MARMION tests how well you know the top song-based stage shows By Patrick Marmion for the Daily Mail Published: 01:52 BST, 10 April 2020 | Updated: 01:52 BST, 10 April 2020 We may not be able to see a musical live on stage right now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t keep … Read more