Gary Naylor - Page 52

Gary Naylor sees two beautifully written, splendidly acted timeless plays that say as much about England today as they did in the 1980s. Funny, clever and relevant - what more can one ask?

What does a kid roughly the same age as Billy think about Billy Elliot The Musical? Linus Boselius gives his view of the show right here.

Gary Naylor sees his first Billy Elliot and marvels at a tremendous central performance while wondering if the show is just a little too manipulative for his tastes.

Gary Naylor sees a play that remains as relevant today as on its Broadway premiere seven years ago: one that scores high on talk but, inevitably, low on solutions.

Gary Naylor enjoys a stage adaptation of a Radio 4 sitcom set in an old record shop in Handsworth, Birmingham, populated by a family falling out and making up the way families do.

Gary Naylor sees a remarkable production of a classic musical, one that brings the audience right into Sweeney's shop for a shave almost too close for comfort.

Gary Naylor sees a brilliant new play about new media's impact on traditional news values and on the men and women caught at the sharp end of an industry hurtling ever more quickly towards an ever more uncertain future.

Gary Naylor sees a company brimming with talent and anger deliver a crushing critique of capitalism through dynamic, demanding drama - and plenty of well-placed sweary bits.

Gary Naylor sees a show that makes up for its lack of any real story with energy, spectacle and a real connection with an audience who went off into the London night dreaming of Rio.

Gary Naylor sees a twentieth anniversary production of a play that caused outrage in the mid-90s but feels overly familiar and overtaken by events in the mid-teens.

Gary Naylor sees a bold and ambitious, and demanding, production of Brecht's classic anti-war play set in the unique and spectacular grounds of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.

Gary Naylor sees a musical that captures the charm of its inspiration, A Midsummer Night's Dream, but is slightly let down by inconsistent singing.

Gary Naylor sees an old-fashioned crowdpleaser of a musical, stuffed with the clever, catchy songs of all-time Broadway great Irving Berlin. There is indeed no business like show business.

Gary Naylor sees a magnificently realised black comedy from debutant playwright Chris Urch, one that heralds a major new writer for the English stage.

Aatif Nawaz's new show finds humour in the lives led by British Muslims, with their cultural roots in the subcontinent, in multicultural Britain and online. And shows that we all have plenty more in common than may first appear.

Gary Naylor sees a musical brimming with ambition and confidence flawed only by a slight weakness in its storytelling, the complexities of the great 19th century novel a little lost in the adaptation.

Gary Nayor sees a production of Shakespeare's most loved comedy brimming with the traditional charm and wit one has come to expect from the Globe Theatre, about to tour the Far East.

Gary Naylor sees a funny, sad, heartwarming performance that captures the life of Shirley McNamara, the Queen of the Mersey, a character that loomed large in the life of her daughter, Julie, and one now facing the inevitable final chapter of a life very well lived.

Gary Naylor sees a unique production of Romeo and Juliet set in the nave of the extraordinary Temple Church, resting place of the legendary Knights Templar.

Gary Naylor sees the winner of OperaUpClose's new writing competition, an opera that may be confined to a small performing space, but one unafraid to ask some difficult questions and unafraid to be defined by challenging, but ultimately rewarding, music and sensational singing.