Anthropology review " clever AI missing-person mystery by Mark Lawson

Hampstead theatre, LondonLauren Gunderson's smart play finds a software engineer creating a digital version of a sister who has disappeared While screenwriters strike, partly over the threa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:49am on September 19, 2023[SHARE]

'The despair is the same': Alan Bleasdale and James Graham on bringing back Boys from the Blackstuff by Mark Lawson

It's a dream team: the creator of the 1982 BBC series and the writer of Sherwood. The pair meet in Liverpool to discuss putting Yosser and the lads on stage in a new era of economic desperat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:33am on September 15, 2023[SHARE]

Macbeth review " a strenuously fresh reading with one-liners by Stewart Lee by Mark Lawson

RSC, Stratford-upon-AvonBenefitting from a Scottish cast and a rewritten Porter's speech by Lee, Wils Wilson's production gets at the demonic drive of people desperate for power but hopeless…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:33am on August 31, 2023[SHARE]

A Mirror review " Pirandellian wedding drama throws a bouquet of unrealities by Mark Lawson

Almeida, LondonSam Holcroft's drama delights in the theatrical trickery of dual identities and false realities to throw a final surprise punch Extending the long tail of works influenced by …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:13pm on August 24, 2023[SHARE]

Macbeth review " Max Bennett's jokey king is clearly unfit to govern by Mark Lawson

Shakespeare's Globe, LondonGender swapped roles shed new light on dark days in a production " complete with gruesome bodybags and references to fake news " that feels aptly aligned to our ti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:19am on August 3, 2023[SHARE]

The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale review " the greatest show on Middle-earth by Mark Lawson

Watermill theatre, BerkshireA formidable cast journey through folk via Bollywood to pop " not to mention mountain treks and orc attacks " in a compressed revival of the 2007 musical As direc…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:04am on August 2, 2023[SHARE]

Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors review " a masterpiece of forensic fury by Mark Lawson

Dorfman theatre, LondonPiling up devastating detail, this play with a remarkable cast shockingly lays bare the abject failures behind this disaster During dramas about a national catastrophe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:19pm on July 20, 2023[SHARE]

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher review " true crime classic turned into tense drama by Mark Lawson

Watermill theatre, NewburyKate Summerscale's Victorian potboiler is deftly condensed in a production that brings out the misogyny and class snobbery of the era The risk of a successful crim…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:18am on May 10, 2023[SHARE]

Cymbeline review " Shakespeare's knotty romance is a fabulous farewell for Doran by Mark Lawson

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonDeparting artistic director Greg Doran reinvigorates this tale of a royal family in crisis with clarity and intelligence The president of the Ro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54am on May 4, 2023[SHARE]

Visitors review " searing study of ageing family frictions by Mark Lawson

Watermill theatre, NewburyBarney Norris's revival radiates the pain of older parents trapped on deteriorating paths, while their son and end-of-life au pair struggle to find their own Young …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:24am on April 6, 2023[SHARE]

Julius Caesar review " timeless account of the flimsiness of power by Mark Lawson

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonAtri Banerjee's RSC production stresses the remarkable universality of the play's examination of leaders and the led Early in the Trump administ…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42am on March 29, 2023[SHARE]

An anonymous, pro-Brexit play about Dominic Cummings? Classic Dom! | Mark Lawson by Mark Lawson

Partially based on verbatim texts from Boris Johnson's former chief adviser, a new play which lists no dramatist veers from Ted talk to pantomime At this play about Dominic Cummings, the not…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:07am on February 23, 2023[SHARE]

The Tempest review " Alex Kingston is a magnificent Prospero by Mark Lawson

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonClimate catastrophe and power struggles dominate Elizabeth Freestone's RSC interpretation of Shakespeare's play If there were prizes for inventi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:52am on February 3, 2023[SHARE]

Arms and the Man review " Shaw's women show their steel by Mark Lawson

Orange Tree theatre, LondonThis 1894 farce set during the Serbo-Bulgarian war is impeccably played in a production showing the playwright's radical vision still resonates When Channel 4 bega…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 4:24am on November 25, 2022[SHARE]

A Christmas Carol review " Adrian Edmondson stars in a biting tale for our times by Mark Lawson

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonDavid Edgar's sharp script feels close to home in this exuberant, illusion-filled version of Dickens' seasonal but socially conscious story Ther…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 2:03am on November 9, 2022[SHARE]

Stumped review " at the crease with Beckett and Pinter by Mark Lawson

Original Theatre OnlineShomit Dutta's play imagines the two cricket-obsessed Nobel prize winners as waiting batsmen in an enjoyable spin on Waiting for Godot and The Dumb Waiter Samuel Becke…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:43am on September 18, 2022[SHARE]

The Clothes They Stood Up In review " Alan Bennett tale dressed to impress by Mark Lawson

Nottingham PlayhouseAdrian Scarborough stars in his own adaptation of Bennett's story, featuring convincing new dialogue and staged with visual panache Between the stage and TV plays and jou…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:07am on September 15, 2022[SHARE]

The Narcissist review " a darkly honest dissection of post-Trump politics by Mark Lawson

Minerva, ChichesterA spin doctor's life spirals into chaos after he's hired by an ambitious senator in Christopher Shinn's grimly comic drama After working on Hillary Clinton's failed presid…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:55am on September 2, 2022[SHARE]

Two Ukrainian Plays review " masterful framing of a nation's tragedy by Mark Lawson

Finborough theatre, LondonA ghostly tale and a potent monologue form a double bill that uses the 2014 conflict to remark movingly on current events Because theatres schedule so far ahead, th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54am on August 12, 2022[SHARE]

Peter Brook: the great seeker of British theatre by Mark Lawson

The esteemed British director inspired each new generation of theatre creatives to be more daring and experimental Peter Brook, influential theatre visionary, dies aged 97 The two key Britis…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:48am on July 3, 2022[SHARE]

King Lear review " Kathryn Hunter's frail, fond old ruler almost unbearably affecting by Mark Lawson

Shakespeare's Globe, LondonBack in the role she first played in 1997, Hunter uses her extraordinary transformative powers to show us the king as a geriatric child at the head of a disintegra…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:18am on June 19, 2022[SHARE]

Murder on the Orient Express review " a first-class ride all the way by Mark Lawson

Chichester Festival theatreHenry Goodman gives us every inch of Hercule Poirot's dandiness and comedy in this exemplary adaptation of Christie's ingenious murder mystery, but also gets every…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:37pm on May 22, 2022[SHARE]

Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends review " a glorious all-star memorial service by Mark Lawson

Sondheim theatre/Prince Edward theatre, LondonJudi Dench, Rob Brydon, Imelda Staunton and Bernadette Peters joined the cast for this superb tribute to a genius Stephen Sondheim was so vast a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12pm on May 4, 2022[SHARE]

Henry VI: Rebellion / Wars of the Roses review " thrilling games of thrones by Mark Lawson

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonWith their portrait of a wobbling monarchy and egotistical leadership, these rare stagings are particularly topical The three plays about King H…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:42am on April 21, 2022[SHARE]

The Taxidermist's Daughter review " Kate Mosse's gothic mystery stuffed with visual thrills by Mark Lawson

Chichester Festival theatreMosse's adaptation of her blood-soaked novel delivers on chills but could do with more substance amid the sound and fury Gothic chillers are rare in modern theatre…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:42am on April 20, 2022[SHARE]