theatre

From a Noh Othello that puts Desdemona centre stage to a requiem for a family killed in the Rwandan genocide, the theatre at this year’s festival gives voice to the marginalised When Willem Dafoe took over at the creative helm of the Venice theatre biennale last year, he shaped the programme around his own passions. Dafoe selected experimental theatre companies that had influenced him as a young …

This collection of ‘art meets theatre meets activism’ by more than 80 writers can feel overwhelming, writes our critic, but it devastatingly conveys the cumulative horror and anger of abuse against women Can social media bring on the revolution? Maybe not, but it was vital for the collective action behind this theatrical event, conceived on a WhatsApp group for playwrights shortly after the relea…

In 1984, an unlikely coalition was formed between London LGBTQ+ campaigners and Welsh miners. Now their story, as told in the 2014 film Pride, is coming to the stage. The original demonstrators share what the new production means to them The National Theatre’s new summer musical is all about real people, but here’s a strange feeling – many of them are literally sitting around me tonight. In a buz…

Everyman theatre, Liverpool Julia Cranney’s play illustrates complex processes as it explores one woman’s plans to start a family but it hops too quickly through her life Adoption and the care system are at the emotional centre of Julia Cranney’s new monologue. There are hoops to jump through, questions that require you to crack your soul open and hope bubbling beneath it all. Mat (Paislie Reid) …

The Swiss director has staged court cases against Pussy Riot, mining companies in Congo and Gisèle Pelicot’s abusers. But after his invitation to Palantir founder Peter Thiel caused a row in Vienna, is Rau’s method eating itself? Milo Rau, once the enfant terrible of continental European theatre, is a little less buoyant these days. The Swiss theatre-maker has done something he says he explicitly…

Royal Court, London Teenage girls discuss the horrors they have seen via their phones as Georgie Dettmer’s reckoning with internet culture is brutally realised by director Jess Edwards Georgie Dettmer’s gaze is unflinching. Nothing is held back in Are You Watching?, her fury-filled interrogation of our twisted relationship with sex and violence, and the emotional distance we hide behind when we w…

Buxton Opera House Villages appear out of thin air, broomsticks take flight and owls turn into people in a truly enchanting showcase of theatrical storytelling If you catch a young audience member at just the right moment, when they are old enough to be fully engaged but not so old that the sharp edges of teenage cynicism have begun to slink into view, you can make them truly believe in the magic…

Plus, Anne Hathaway shoots from the hip for Arsenal and Rosamund Pike calls out theatregoer for texting during show The first day of Pride month and friends in New York report a textbook encounter between one of the straightest forces in this world – hen night energy – and one of the gayest, the Rocky Horror Show, currently in revival on Broadway, where for the past three months, Tony-nominated L…

Plays about political extremes, religious sects, swimming the Channel and an 80th birthday party are among the highlights at this summer’s arts spectacular Producer Francesca Moody has shown a sure touch for spotting fringe hits ( Fleabag and Baby Reindeer among them). Her new offering, by Australia’s Hannah Reilly, is about a feminist podcaster who becomes an online “slutfluencer” to earn some e…

Theatre503, London Hope still resides against horror in this collection of short plays from Palestinian playwrights, poets and artists What are the basic requirements of theatre-making? Actors, writers, resource and rehearsal space, to name a few. What happens when these factors are narrowed to their most dangerous extremities? Companies like Belarus Free Theatre and the Freedom Theatre have show…

There’s a rare chance to catch a Tony-nominated hit live from New York, plus blasts from the past including Rent, The Audience and Hugh Jackman as a singing cowboy Livestreams of current Broadway hits remain incredibly rare – and this has been one of the hottest tickets of the season. In the 100th birthday revival of Noël Coward’s comedy, Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara knock back cocktails while the…

Prince Edward theatre, London There are drop-dead gorgeous designs and the performances are full of life but this off-kilter escapade has scattershot gags and unmemorable songs Halloween has arrived early as yet another movie turned musical hits the West End. This art deco theatre is now a haunted house festooned with purple and green lights. A sandworm slithers around the auditorium and it all k…

This thesis examines how improvisational theatre and Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed function independently and how these practices have shaped me as both an artist and educator. Having grown up with improvisation and continued working professionally in performance and education, I have observed how it creates conditions that support development. Guided by a qualitative practice-as-resear…

Hit Iranian horror Under the Shadow conjured scares from the aftermath of the 1979 revolution. With Tehran once again under siege, a new theatrical version makes that story feel more relevant than ever Nadia Latif’s grandmother warned her about djinn. “If angels are good and devils are evil,” the theatre and film director remembers learning, “then the djinn is something in between.” As a child, s…

Charing Cross theatre, London The power and personality of its singers and music lift this Twilight-esque story into the realms of enjoyably ridiculous The origins of this supernatural musical are in ancient British folklore but it plays out as a teen love story in small-town America. Young, spirited – and human – Barbara Allen (Lauren Jones) falls in love with John the Witch Boy (Glenn Adamson),…

Mercury theatre, Colchester This musical from the company behind The Play That Goes Wrong unearths the invention of acting in ancient Greece – and finds little has changed The Mischief theatre company has been making fun of actors’ foibles for years, especially in the deliriously amusing Goes Wrong series. Its first musical asks if all those rampaging egos, heated rivalries, creative differences …

Nottingham Playhouse Teenage crushes, breakups, careers, kids, fallings out and unbreakable loyalty – Jane Upton gives us a sweeping story of two best mates Imagine if One Day was set in Long Eaton. Now, take its sweeping, time-spanning love story, but make it platonic, and about two theatre-obsessed best mates. That’s the foundation for Jane Upton’s luminous, heart-exploding play, which catches …

Arcola theatre, London The 70s novel about the everyday grumbles of four office workers remains just as relevant, playfully staged by director Dominic Dromgoole It’s no wonder why Barbara Pym’s bittersweet and quietly profound novel about four prickly office workers approaching retirement has not been adapted for the stage before. Its charm is tightly wedded to the rich interiority of its charact…

Carolyn Dell’s career path was ignited by a fireworks show. As a sophomore in high school, Dell’s father — who worked in theme parks entertainment — gave her the opportunity to program part of a fireworks show at Six Flags. Dell watched as her art lit up the sky and became the backdrop for a couple’s surprise engagement. That’s when she knew that, no matter what, she needed to continue making art…

The Royal Court is presenting the Slow Horses star’s version of one Beckett masterpiece alongside 19-year-old Leo Simpe-Asante’s riff on another. They combine beautifully Where does the time go? It’s a year since Gary Oldman performed Krapp’s Last Tape in York, returning him to the Theatre Royal where at the age of 21 he played a sleepy panto cat . Now, Samuel Beckett’s play has a homecoming of i…