Monthly Archives: July 2012

When Nora walked out on her husband and their three children in 1879, slamming the door behind her, the sound reverberated round Europe, bringing Ibsen instant international fame. The critics found the subject morbid, unwholesome and unnatural. A German actress … Continue reading →

Tennessee Williams’ semi-autobiographical dreamlike play, written in his familiar high feverish style, feels, at times, like a pastiche of a Tennessee Williams melo¬drama. He began it in 1938 when he was 28 but he did not complete it until 40 … Continue reading →

Stories from the Syrian Revolution: it’s not war; it’s torture and indiscriminate massacre of men, women and children. Director Zoe Lafferty and journalists Paul Wood and Ruth Sherlock travelled covertly into Syria and interviewed leading activists. What they recorded is … Continue reading →

Derren Brown describes himself as an illusionist, writer, painter, mentalist and sceptic. One of his skills is reading minds and body language. He has asked the critics not to tell anybody what happens during his performance so as not to … Continue reading →

Matthew Bourne’s erotic swinging 60’s dance drama, which premiered at the National Theatre in 2002, is, as the title says, wordless story-telling. Terry Davies provides a cool Jazz score. Lez Brotherston creates an expressionistic London setting. The company includes Richard … Continue reading →

Ibsen’s fairy tale comedy was first performed in Bergen in 1853 when Ibsen was 23. It had a bad reception; the audience hissed and whistled. In his old age he refused to allow it to be published in his collected … Continue reading →

Jerry Herman has always had a soft spot for Mack & Mabel but it has never enjoyed the success of his other Broadway musicals, Hello, Dolly, Mame and Cage aux Folles. The score is bright but the book is poor. … Continue reading →

Shakespeare’s farce is quite definitely not for feminists and the politically correct. It is, however, the perfect play for the Globe’s core audience. The groundlings don’t want subtlety and psychological insight. They want a good time. They want a laugh … Continue reading →