2,436 stories by "Michael Billington"
Gielgud Theatre, LondonWhile the mechanics of the dual murders are moderately exciting, in the second half the tension deceleratesTheatre is theatre, film film. Right? Actually not any more …
Gate, LondonThis wryly resilient musical monologue about the corporate world is as New York as a triple-decker pastrami sandwichAn authentic piece of Manhattan has landed in west London. It …
London PalladiumDame Edna's creator pushes the bad taste boundaries in this raucous show that confirms just what a rare bird he isIn a theatre shorn of outsize personalities, the idea of a B…
Barbican, LondonThe audience become eavesdroppers in Ivo van Hove's gripping and inventive restaging of the Ingmar Bergman classicWho's afraid of Ingmar Bergman? Obviously not Ivo van Hove a…
This revival of Jez Butterworth's play " a tale of rock'n'roll rivalry in gangland Soho " packs plenty of punchJez Butterworth's first play burst on the scene like a fireball in 1995, a…
Duke of York's, LondonMatthew Macfadyen is a fine Jeeves in this farce-fuelled dramatisation of PG Wodehouse's The Code of the WoostersHow do you dramatise a sublime novel like PG Wodehouse'…
Garrick, London This 1950s courtroom drama is an efficient piece of entertainment but is beginning to show its ageReginald Rose's script has had an incredibly long life. It first surfaced on…
Minerva, ChichesterThis return to star-driven Shakespeare has in Frank Langella a commanding Lear still driven by a craving for loveWe are used to director's Shakespeare. This production, wh…
Southwark Playhouse, LondonTimberlake Wertenbaker's modern interpretation produces anachronisms, but brings home the psychological ravages of warTimberlake Wertenbaker has been inspired by S…
Birmingham RepThis modern update of Molière's play tries too hard to keep the laughter coming, with comedy destroying any sense of dangerThe panto season has come early to Birmingham t…
The Shed, LondonDebbie Tucker Green achieves a compelling synthesis of poetry and drama in this charged cry of anguish recalling Sarah KaneI've always admired the distinctive voice of "debbi…
We got a brilliant, kaleidoscopic entertainment that evoked the National's past and opened up possibilities for the futureI count myself fortunate to have been part of the audience at Saturd…
Finborough, LondonThis impressive play takes an unsensational approach to the stresses of having to work professionally with abusive imagesHow do human beings cope with being exposed, profes…
The Bussey Building, LondonWritten in Chile under the Pinochet dictatorship, this play offers a moving image of the desolation created by oppressive regimesThis play, by the Chilean writer J…
Arcola, LondonDavid Storey's haunting, elegiac play reveals itself slowly but this production too often leaves the audience staring at actor's backsDavid Storey's beautiful 1970 play about o…
Young Vic, LondonThis musical about racist bigotry in 1930s America is a strong show with a social conscience One of theatre's most potent weapons is an ironic contrast between form and cont…
Hampstead theatre, LondonThree couples on a weekend in Wales. What could go wrong? With Robert Webb, Sarah Hadland and Tamzin Outhwaite, there's plenty of comic potentialActors who write pla…
Shaftesbury theatre, London"Highly professional". Those are the words that come to mind watching this new musical, based on James Jones's 800-page novel about life on a Hawaiian army base in…
Everyman theatre, CheltenhamAn ingenious spy thriller shows Dawn King's skill as a dramatist and echoes of John le CarréDawn King made a big impression in 2011 with the prize-winning Foxfin…
Royal Court, LondonAbhishek Majumdar's play about the human cost of the conflict in Kashmir is politically enlightening and theatrically hypnoticA play can be a means of heightening one's po…
Theatre Royal, BathThis unqualified masterpiece from 1631 by Lope de Vega is shot through with irony and ambiguityThis is the real deal: an unqualified masterpiece by Lope de Vega that, in M…
This week, Rufus Norris was appointed the new director of the National theatre. After 50 dramatic years, where does he take it from here? Guardian critic Michael Billington assesses how…
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonDavid Tennant is mesmerising in the first show of Gregory Doran's six-year plan to present all of Shakespeare's worksThis show marks the start o…
Ustinov Studio, BathLope de Vega's romantic comedy has something in common with the Taming of the Shrew, and gets a lively performance here, but it leaves a somewhat acrid aftertasteLaurence…
The National Theatre's new artistic director has an air of unpredictability and will bring plenty of excitement to the job. Comment thread: Let us know what you thinkHow on earth do you foll…
