2,444 stories by "Michael Billington"
The age of the genuine theatrical stinker is over. But there are still plenty of terrible things to watch out for ...In all the recent controversy about whether British theatre has become mo…
Noel Coward, LondonHoward Davies has a gift for revitalising Coward's comedies. Having put the sexuality back into Private Lives, he now visually redefines Hay Fever and pulls off the daring…
Young Vic, LondonWhen Angus Jackson's fine production of Edward Bond's bony masterpiece was first seen in Chichester two years ago, a respected colleague attacked the author for his assumpti…
Royal Court, LondonBasildon has always been a key political barometer. But, although David Eldridge's riveting new play has its roots in this allegiance-shifting Essex town, he also uses it …
Barbican, London"Try everything once except incest and folk-dancing," runs an old Scottish adage. In fact there is plenty of both in Declan Donnellan's revival of John Ford's 1633 tragedy, a…
The largely forgotten Polish professor, who drew a connection between Shakespeare and 20th-century European theatre, had a huge impact on modern-day theatrical cultureDoes anyone still read …
Tricycle theatre, LondonNicolas Kent bids farewell to the Tricycle with a characteristically grand project: a two-part history of the nuclear bomb consisting of 10 separate plays. Obviously …
Union theatre, LondonThis is the third all-male version of Gilbert and Sullivan that Sasha Regan has directed at this tiny Southwark theatre. But, while the result is as "blithe and gay" as …
Lyric Hammersmith, LondonThe sound of wild laughter suddenly fills our theatre. Following on the success of their Twelfth Night, Filter now bring us a joyous, two-hour Dream that owes a visi…
Tobacco Factory, BristolThere is a sentimental myth abroad that if we could only minimise the role of these pesky directors with their quirky concepts, we could see Shakespear…
Just as Jewish folk culture influenced Hollywood cinema, modern theatre has also been shaped by Yiddish traditionAt the moment there is a rather under-valued play by Nicholas Wright, Travell…
Orange Tree, RichmondWe've all been there: the dinner party from hell. Although it's a stock dramatic device, Torben Betts gives it a fresh and funny spin in this new play that, at its best,…
At Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud theatre, playwright David Seidler has much more room to explore the story's historical background than the cinema version allowedWatching David Seidler's play in…
Harold Pinter Theatre, LondonIt is fascinating to see a new generation of directors and actors discover Alan Ayckbourn. And, even if the National came badly unstuck with Season's Greetings, …
The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonReligion is big by the Avon this winter. Following Written on the Heart, about the King James Bible, the RSC brings us Helen Edmundson's new play about the life …
Sheffield CrucibleAfter a decade of neglect, Restoration comedy is back on the agenda. And Lyndsey Turner's modern-dress revival of William Congreve's 1700 classic proves highly pleasurable,…
Suspension of belief can be a powerful theatrical tool, but should we be more emotionally detached from what's happening in front of us?The last 100 years have seen a constant battle against…
Vaudeville, LondonBeware of Americans bearing gift-wrapped versions of Greek legends. After the horrors of Martin Sherman's Onassis, we now have the return of Terrence McNally's version of a…
Trafalgar Studios, LondonPlays about casual sex among today's twentysomethings are not that uncommon. But two things give this cryptic, 80-minute three-hander by Stefan Golaszewski (wri…
It took Judi Dench's astonishing 1989 production of Look Back in Anger to give us the play that John Osborne actually wrote " a play, like Beckett's, about waiting Continue reading...
It took Judi Dench's astonishing 1989 production of Look Back in Anger to give us the play that John Osborne actually wrote " a play, like Beckett's, about waitingBritish theatre is full of …
The playwright has put up with my running commentary for 40 years. But no one else so tenaciously exposes society's frailtyI'm currently reading Benjamin Disraeli's Sybil, which offers a sta…
Why Shakespeare plays havoc with your memoryHow much should critics invoke the past when judging the present? It's a thorny topic. I sometimes get letters along the lines of "You may not hav…
Old Vic Tunnels, LondonIn theory, this underground venue should be an ideal place to stage Eugene O'Neill's early sea plays, two of which are set in a ship's forecastle. But, with its shaky …
For over a century, theatre has been inspired by the movies, and vice versa. If only musicals would keep their relationship with Hollywood to a Brief EncounterWhat, you may wonder, is a sect…
