2,444 stories by "Michael Billington"
Almeida, LondonWatching Michael Attenborough's revival of Eduardo de Filippo's 1946 Neapolitan comedy is a pleasant experience: a sun-kissed garden set by Robert Jones, warm lighting by…
Barbican, LondonIt is not quite true to say that Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, written between 1928 and 1940, is unadaptable. I saw a famous production by Yuri Lyubimov in Moscow in 1983, and Ed…
Newly appointed RSC artistic director Greg Doran is a true Shakespearean, fit for the challenges aheadWhen Michael Boyd's departure from the Royal Shakespeare Company was first announced las…
Adelphi, LondonOne test of a true work of art is that it is open to multiple possibilities. Since its premiere in 1979, I have seen Stephen Sondheim's dark masterpiece staged everywhere fro…
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Olivier wasn't just a great actor " he was a quintessentially modern performer, who cast a powerful spell over audiencesIt's a shock to realise that few people under the age of 60 will ever …
If you listen to a new CD that tries to capture the original pronunciation of Shakespeare, you might think soI'm not a great fan of "authenticity" in Shakespeare: partly because tastes chang…
Orange Tree, RichmondThere's something old, something new in this double bill by Martin Crimp. What is odd is that the new piece, Play House, shows the mature Crimp evoking impassioned youth…
Curve, LeicesterSome people argue this is the greatest Broadway musical. That's open to debate. But there is no dispute that Arthur Laurents's book, Jule Styne's music and Stephen Sondheim's…
Actor of poise and beauty who enjoyed a rich and productive career on both sides of the AtlanticFaith Brook, who has died aged 90, was an actor of remarkable elegance, poise and beauty. She …
Lyttelton, London"This is Islamophobic shit," cried an angry spectator two-thirds of the way through DV8's investigation of multiculturalism. I was later told that the intervention was a "st…
The dream of a national theatre has happily come to pass, not only in England but in Wales and Scotland, too. But is regional theatre under threat as a result?I was very struck by something …
Etcetera, LondonWhat kind of future London do we see? Francis Beckett, a political journalist and periodic playwright, has devised one in which policing is privatised, hospitals are reserved…
Young Vic, LondonSound and Fury are a rare company in that they combine an experimental process with rich content. In their last show, Kursk, they took us inside the bowels of a nuclear subm…
Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonMike Leigh has often been accused of condescension towards his characters. Lindsay Posner's perceptive revival of this 1977 landmark reminds us that we are no…
Hampstead theatre, LondonI am normally wary of any new play that could be called "Chekhovian": it implies something fragile and wispily atmospheric. But Richard Nelson's extraordinary p…
Crucible/Lyceum, SheffieldSheffield is one of the few theatres to devote seasons to living writers. Now it is the turn of Michael Frayn. With Democracy still to come, it is already possible …
Finborough, LondonLast year this venturesome venue gave us a riveting portrait of Belfast's Protestant culture in St John Ervine's Mixed Marriage (1911). Now it crosses the border to sh…
Long gone are the happy days when the musical was a source of innocent pleasure. They have become cultural juggernauts, devoid of risk-taking and, like the banks, too big to failMusicals are…
Trafalgar Studios, LondonAn air of glamour surrounds this French-Canadian import by François Archambault. The cast, including ex-supermodel Agyness Deyn, is glamorous. The audience is gla…
Royal Court, LondonOne thing intrigues me about this fine play, presented as part of the Young Writers festival: how come its 26-year-old author, Luke Norris, knows so much about senior citi…
Bush, LondonThis is a first full-length play by a former Middlesbrough cab-driver, Ishy Din. Even if its plot is formulaic, it has plenty fresh to say about the aspirations of young Pakistan…
Richard Bean's West End hit is transferring to New York. Let's hope American audiences get served the full English version in all its improvisatory gloryRichard Bean's One Man, Two Guvnors t…
Rose theatre, Kingston-upon-ThamesJoely Richardson is very brave. In playing Ellida, the mysterious heroine of Ibsen's 1889 drama, she takes on a role already made famous by her mother and l…
Duke of York's, LondonThanks to the TV series Scrubs and the film Garden State, Zach Braff clearly enjoys cult status in Britain. His first appearance in his own play, All New People, is gre…
