Selfie review digital Dorian Gray looks good but lacks substance by Lyn Gardner

Ambassadors, LondonThis Oscar Wilde update is a neat idea, but it embraces, rather than dissects, our looks-obsessed celebrity culture Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:18am on October 10, 2014☆⚑

Here's how a touring company can keep moving while celebrating local voices by Lyn Gardner

Come to Where I'm From, Paines Plough's project in which new writers focus on home, succeeds in nurturing regional richness Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 4:27am on October 10, 2014☆⚑

Battle fatigue: war on the stage by Lyn Gardner

There's been plenty of war on stage in this first world war centenary year. But do the difficulties of staging conflict leave theatregoers battle-scarred? Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:14am on October 9, 2014☆⚑

Peer Gynt review hollow rocknroll take on Ibsen by Lyn Gardner

Barbican, LondonDespite a barnstorming lead performance, Iggy Pop songs and Sam Shepard poetry, this rock-star version of Ibsens fantasy fable is a bit obvious Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:56am on October 9, 2014☆⚑

Private Peaceful review fails to deliver emotional punch of Morpurgo story by Lyn Gardner

Ambassadors, LondonThe poignancy in this tale of brothers at war is deserted by the clutter of the National Youth Theatres clumsy production Video: Michael Morpurgo meets the youngsters brin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:26am on October 8, 2014☆⚑

Plan your week's theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

Fifty Shades of Grey gets ripped up in Camden, Ibsen finds himself collaborating with Sam Shepard and Iggy Pop at the Barbican and there's an all-day theatre lock-in in Cardiff Continue rea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 2:00am on October 6, 2014☆⚑

Gardens Speak: the sound installation unearthing Syrias backyard tragedies by Lyn Gardner

Tania El Khourys interactive piece marks the lives of 10 Syrians whose families were forced to bury them at home Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12am on September 29, 2014☆⚑

Plan your week's theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

Forced Entertainment have a UK premiere at Warwick Arts Centre, Here Lies Love brings Imelda Marcos to the NT in disco style, and Fun Palaces pop up all over the country this weekend Continu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 2:00am on September 29, 2014☆⚑

What makes a great theatre festival? by Lyn Gardner

Europe's oldest theatre festival opens again in Dublin this week, with the perfect combination of modest size and top-class work. What are the essential components of a great festival for yo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:13am on September 25, 2014☆⚑

Sequence 8 review chiselled bodies, little humanity by Lyn Gardner

Peacock, LondonCircus innovators Les 7 Doigts de la Mains recent quest to match Cirque du Soleil has robbed their work of any profundity Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:05am on September 23, 2014☆⚑

The Liberation of Colette Simple review witty and energetic by Lyn Gardner

Jacksons Lane, LondonThis plucky experiment in theatrical form, inspired by an early Tennessee Williams play, brings together a multiplicity of distinctive voices Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:23pm on September 22, 2014☆⚑

Theatre's gender inequality is shocking but change is in the air by Lyn Gardner

With Agatha Christie the only female playwright represented in London's West End, a Tonic Theatre initiative is taking aim at the traditional gender imbalance in British playhouses Continue …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:17am on September 22, 2014☆⚑

Plan your week's theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

In a packed week across the British Isles, Kristin Scott Thomas takes on Electra, there is exciting work from a host of independent companies, and the brilliant German director Thomas Osterm…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 2:00am on September 22, 2014☆⚑

Immersive theatre: living up to its name, or just an overused gimmick? by Lyn Gardner

Immersive theatre has become ubiquitous, but too often such billing is just a commercial come-on designed to sell tickets Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:40am on September 19, 2014☆⚑

Ghosts by the coast: Sea Breeze breathes new life into Morecambes Winter Gardens by Lyn Gardner

A new theatre show celebrates the colourful past of one of Victorian Englands finest seaside pleasure palaces Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:38am on September 18, 2014☆⚑

Play Strindberg review a punchy satire on the state of marriage by Lyn Gardner

Ustinov, BathDürrenmatts absurdist reimagining of Dance of Death sees a husband and wife locked in a 12-round boxing match, with all the performances scoring highly Greg Hicks: how Peter Ha…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:37am on September 18, 2014☆⚑

Forbidden Broadway review gleeful send-up of musical theatre by Lyn Gardner

Vaudeville, LondonThis ragbag of sketches pokes fun at shows such as Les Mis and The Book of Mormon and neatly skewers Robert Lindsay Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:42am on September 16, 2014☆⚑

Animals on stage should we allow it? by Lyn Gardner

Peta has protested at the use of live goldfish in a scene in Jamie Lloyd's staging of Richard III. Maybe it will make us think harder about the wider ethics of using animals in performance C…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:31am on September 15, 2014☆⚑

The Gathering review sheep are the stars in Snowdon theatre show by Lyn Gardner

Hafod Y Llan, SnowdoniaThe audience are herded around the mountain for a four-hour performance that is both lyrical and brutal Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:46am on September 15, 2014☆⚑

Plan your week's theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

Scotland puts the independence debate on stage, Plymouth hosts James Graham's play about terrorism, and Roy Williams' contemporary adaptation of Antigone goes on tour Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 2:00am on September 15, 2014☆⚑

She Stoops to Conquer review foolish, foppish fun by Lyn Gardner

Viaduct, HalifaxThis 1773 comedy about mistaken identity is over the top but its preposterous humour is delightful Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:58am on September 12, 2014☆⚑

Fully Committed review Kevin Bishop nails the laughs in flashy one-man show by Lyn Gardner

Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonBecky Modes comedy about an out-of-work actor manning the phones in a New York restaurant delivers a virtuoso display of character switching but not much mor…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:50am on September 12, 2014☆⚑

The Tricycle's True West: a classic play gets a classic production by Lyn Gardner

After 30 years and numerous versions, I have finally seen why the hype around Sam Shepard's 1980 play is justified. Which revivals have changed your mind about feted works? True West review …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:07pm on September 11, 2014☆⚑

True West review sibling rivalry erupts like a volcano by Lyn Gardner

Tricycle theatre, LondonThis searing staging of Sam Shepards play tackles the violence between two misfit brothers head-on Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:27am on September 11, 2014☆⚑

Commercial is not a dirty word: meet the new breed of theatre producer by Lyn Gardner

Exciting young talents such as Vicky Graham, Emily Dobbs and Nicola Seed are breaking into the theatre production boys club, and bringing new life and authenticity to the stage Michael Billi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:28am on September 10, 2014☆⚑