Monthly Archives: February 2015

In Berlin’s central criminal court in 1931, Hans Litten, a 27-year-old German-Jewish lawyer, subpoenaed Adolf Hitler to appear as a witness during a trial of four storm-troopers accused of murder. Litten cross-examined Hitler not only to expose and humiliate him … Continue reading →

Only a Jewish playwright could write a play called Bad Jews. Joshua Harmon’s very funny comedy is both anti-Jewish and pro-Jewish at one and the same time. A bitter feud develops over which member of the family should have a … Continue reading →

Peter Barnes’s satire on the British aristocracy and its arrogance and condescension, was terribly old hat when it premiered in 1968 and was panned by most critics. The film version, released in 1972, with Peter O’Toole, also got terrible reviews … Continue reading →

Infinitely more enjoyable is Robert Hestie’s revival of Kevin Elyot’s excellent comedy of manners, which was seen briefly at the Donmar last year. The actors are excellent and the play seems even better. Frank, compassionate, witty yet ineffably sad, it … Continue reading →

Sex and violence have always been good for the box-office. Thomas Middleton and William Rowley tell a sensational story in the familiar over-heated Jacobean manner in which sexual passions overrule reason and drive people to madness, rape, murder, bed-swapping, arson … Continue reading →

Ten million soldiers died in World War 1. Spanish choreographer Ivan Perez takes his inspiration for his touring ballet, Young Men, from historical documentation, film footage and the letters soldiers wrote home. The BalletBoyz’s thirteen dancers, highly drilled, don’t look … Continue reading →

The next time I am asked, “What was the worst evening you have spent in the theatre?” I will be able to say, without any hesitation whatsoever, it was a play about tax havens and tax evasions by Caroline Horton … Continue reading →