Anthony Walker-Cook - Page 2

When you think of theatre, what shows come to mind? An obvious answer may well be Wicked. The writer of songs such as 'Defying Gravity' and 'Popular', Stephen Schwartz is for many the epitome of musical theatre. But cast your mind back to before Wicked and remember The Prince of Egypt, a 1998 animated film for which Schwartz penned 'When You Believe'. Now at the Dominion Theatre and bolstered with 10 songs penned by Schwartz, a new adaptation of the 1990s DreamWorks film defies little other than entertainment.

At a platform at the National Theatre on a blustery February evening, Michael Billington spoke with artistic director Rufus Norris about his career and processes. Billington stepped down from his role as chief theatre critic of the Guardian, a position he held for 48 years, at the end of 2019. 

After you have seen Antoinette Nwandu's Pass Over, you might give a second thought to the next street beggar you see and, probably, ignore.

Kevin Mathurin is currently appearing in The Visit, Tony Kushner's adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's play of the same name at the National Theatre. Mathurin plays Bill, one of the inhabitants of Slurry tempted by Claire Zachanassian's offer of a billion dollars in exchange for the murder of one man...

Love was in the air at the Bush Theatre this Valentine's Day with the opening of Temi Wilkey's new play The High Table. A heartfelt drama that spans generations of a Nigerian family, this is a confident debut.

The winners of the Casting Directors' Guild Awards 2020 have been announced! Casting directors of theatre, film and television gathered at the Ham Yard Hotel last night to celebrate the significant achievements of the guild's members.

Terrorism. Online security. Passwords. Encryption. Cookies. These are all familiar terms in the modern world. Odds are, as audiences take their seats in the Hampstead Theatre to watch Al Blyth's new play The Haystack, they'll finish a text or quickly dash out an e-mail before turning off their phones. The walls have ears, they used to say a?' but now, the threat seems much closer, with the objects we rely on daily becoming tools to invade our privacy. But is this a necessary evil?

Debbie Kurup's recent roles include Blues in the Night at the Kiln Theatre), Sweet Charity at Donmar Warehouse), and Girl from the North Country at the Old Vic and in the West End. Kurup is now in Stephen Schwartz's The Prince of Egypt at the Dominion Theatre, playing the role of Queen Tuya. She spoke to BroadwayWorld about self-representation, the large scale of the show, and the theatrical magic that awaits audiences.

If like many you find yourself wishing you could change the world right now, you might want to first pop down to the Lyric Hammersmith to see Chris Bush's Faustus: That Damned Woman. Taking Christopher Marlowe's Renaissance play and bringing parts of it into the twenty-first century, Bush's new work reminds audiences that dealings with the devil always ever benefit one person. Hint: it's not you or me.

a?oeWhat is a true book?a?? Cormac McCarthy's early attempts to distinguish the nature of fiction in The Sunset Limited are, at the very least, ironic. A programme essay from Joe Penhall suggests the difficulty of the play form is the reason McCarthy has only ever had two performed. To be blunt, it shows.

a?oeIt was human tapioca.a?? An unusual way to describe a party, perhaps, but a stickily accurate one. That's just one of many effective lines in Miriam Battye's Scenes with girls at the Royal Court. Knowing references, squeals of delight and animated gestures confirm the hilarious familiarity shared between Tosh and Lou as the two dissect said party, and from there audiences are quickly drawn into their comfortable space.

Two towering Christmas trees dominate the stage of the Royal Albert Hall. Pillars of festive spirit, they were an ample backdrop for the London Community Gospel Choir's (LCGC) Christmas concert, which was a magical evening of love and worship.

Fascinating Aïda's new show offers irreverent looks to growing old, politics, the environment, dogging, and everything in between. Having gone a?oefungala?? with 'Dogging' and the infamously naughty 'Try Not To Be a C**t, It's Christmas', the group are now playing a limited four-week season at the Queen Elizabeth Hall before a spring tour in 2020.

It's a case of rather ironic programming that the press night for Mike Lew's Teenage Dick at the Donmar Warehouse was on the 12 December, the day of the General Election in the UK. An adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III, Lew's new play is a meditation on the nature of power transposed to an American high school. Commissioned by The Apothetae, a theatre company dedicated to plays that discuss disability, and with direction by Michael Longhurst, Lew retells Shakespeare with a needed urgency, providing an arch reminder that the voices of the disabled have often been ignored, terrorised or shouted down from the earliest possibility.

Following the success of Summer and Smoke at both the Almeida and the Duke of York's theatre, director Rebecca Frecknall returns to the former venue with John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi. Taking Webster's grotesque tale of betrayal, this production sets the lives of its female characters on brutal display with a relentless atmosphere.

Following successful runs at the Old Vic, in the West End and in New York, Conor McPherson's Girl from the North Country returns for a limited run at the Gielgud Theatre. Anna-Jane Casey's past work includes Chicago, Billy Elliot and Calendar Girls, alongside regular appearances in the BBC's Prom series. She talks about her role, Bob Dylan's music and the audience reactions she's experienced so far.

With recent roles in Noises Off and Exit the King, Amy Morgan can now be seen at the Royal Court performing in Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's A Kind of People. Set during a party on a Friday night, this new play examines seven people and asks wider questions about communities in Britain today. BroadwayWorld spoke with Amy about her character, Victoria, the rehearsal process and how the play compares to her previous work in theatre.

If you're in need of a brief sojourn away from London this Christmas period, then I've little hesitation in recommending the Mill at Sonning's Singin' in the Rain. With a fine cast, you'll be hard pressed to find a more impressive show in London than this production.

Panto might be the stalwart annual theatre trip at Christmas (yes, I know, 'oh no it isn't'...), but The Old Vic's production of A Christmas Carol, now in its third year, is fast catching up as one of the most joyous experiences of the festive season.

At the beginning of My Brilliant Friend, all there is on stage is a desk, a chair and a laptop. For the Olivier stage (and the for the National Theatre in general), it's noticeably, surprisingly bare, but one thing is clear: a story is about to be told.