2,878 stories by "Lyn Gardner"
The Shed, LondonIt takes a while to get going, but when it does, this adaptation of Ross Collins' picture book about a young girl and her troublesome elephant friend really is a joyDespite a…
A Gay In A Manger | Silly Kings | The Schoolmistress | Moominland MidwinterA Gay In A Manger, GlasgowThere is a tradition of alternative adult festive entertainment across the land. Some of …
Bristol Old VicLittle Bulb's three-hander family show offers a deliciously comic glimpse into the English polar expeditionEat your heart out, David Attenborough! Little Bulb have Antarctica …
Julie Walters says that Educating Rita has transformed many women's lives. But can a play really make you walk out on your husband?There's plenty of debate about whether theatre can change t…
She's planted a room with trees and done a show in a pool " but can theatre-maker Geraldine Pilgrim bring the Victorian East End to life?One of Geraldine Pilgrim's earliest memories is of si…
Jo Brand struggles in the pantomime mecca of SW19 New Wimbledon, LondonThe end of the District line in SW19 has always been a pantomime mecca with Arthur Askey, Tommy Cooper and Danny La R…
Young Vic, LondonPhelim McDermott thrusts disability into the spotlight and explores the dark heart of the famous fairytalePerformer Mat Fraser is explaining his disability. Assured that it …
Tobacco Factory, BristolGripping and spirited devised show about Sinbad's lack of sailing prowess that suffers from a choppy narrative " it's snack theatreThere are some hard Christmas acts …
There have been reports that panto dames and principal boys are under threat, but pantomime is a constantly evolving formThere has been dismay and discord in pantoland this week. Reports in …
Soho theatre, LondonThis filthy new musical version of Anthony Neilson's 1995 Christmas play about an out-of-sorts city boy piles on the sentimentalityGary (Navin Chowdhry) is a former city&…
Bristol Old VicThere's plenty to enjoy in this fairytale, including an ingeniously floating mermaid and plenty of panto-style wickednessThe world in which writer Joel Horwood and the directo…
Curve, LeicesterThe windy city is a vision of hell in Paul Kerryson and Drew McOnie's galvanising makeover of the popular musicalMurder gets the razzle-dazzle treatment in Paul Kerryson's ga…
Poor pictures can be dull, and mediocre films appalling, but only bad theatre leaves you with a sense of physical painAs the Guardian's John Crace discovered earlier this week, even David Ha…
Lyric Hammersmith, LondonIt's full of politics, in-jokes and localism, but this year's Lyric panto is underpowered and lacks a narrative focus " three beansIt's only the start of December an…
Rose, KingstonThe circus sequences provide the thrills in a production that is seriously let down by its storytellingBased on a 17th-century design, the Rose has much in common with a circus…
Hackney Downs Studios, LondonInspired by the lives of its cast " all recent care-leavers " this pulsating, angry promenade production sizzles with energyLatitia has been in care since she wa…
Print Room, LondonA rational lawyer succumbs to passion with tragic consequences in actor Geraldine Alexander's well-acted first playCatherine (Hermione Gulliford) is middle-aged with a husb…
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court, LondonThis playful show takes the audience on a journey through food facts, inequities and ideas " with dinner thrown inThe Royal Court's studio space …
Arcola, LondonThe story of the pre-Raphaelite muse and painter is sad, but lacks fresh insight, despite Emma West's superb performanceYou may not recollect the name, but you will certainly k…
Oval House, LondonThis adaptation of a 17th-century tome on depression captures the original's insight, but fails to reimagine its wordy weightIf you are fearful of losing your wits, then yo…
Ever been to a show and not been sure how to categorise it? Is pigeonholing by artform helpful, or does boundary-breaking work need new terms?Whether in the reviews pages or as individuals i…
Southwark Playhouse, LondonThis dark, Canadian sibling story works hard at being kooky, but its bad-taste comedy never quite connectsSugar and Grace Ducharme are backwoods Canadian twins, mu…
Covent Garden, LondonIt's a pity this is an adult-only experience, as it's children who would really find the wonder in this Christmas adventureCovent Garden in the runup to Christmas: it sh…
Lady Macbeth peeing on stage, Gloucester's flying eyeball, a cast dressed as clowns … share your stories about performances so wrong they are unforgettableAlfred Hickling's review of the N…
Guildhall, ExeterThis funny, sometimes cringe-worthy piece, has no actors but turns the audience's conversation into urgent, playful theatreHow hard can it be for a group of people to decide…
