Marianka Swain - Page 20

The audience plays surveillance state in this pioneering collaboration between playwright Ella Hickson and sound designers Ben and Max Ringham. We experience the action through individual sets of headphones, corresponding to a hidden mic on our protagonist Anna - listening in to her every exchange and private moment.

Canadian actor and singer Tim Howar's past work includes Les Miserables, The Who's Tommy, Chess, and the 10th Anniversary production of Rent. He's also in the band Mike + The Mechanics. Currently, he's tackling one of the most iconic roles in musical theatre: playing the Phantom in the West End production.

Seventy years on from its Broadway opening, Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell present Arthur Miller's masterpiece afresh in an inspired, shattering revival. One key change - making the 1940s Loman family African-American - gives the play a whole new texture, while retaining its searing condemnation of the American Dream's false promises.

As politicians and pundits dissect the local election results, Duncan Macmillan serves up a blistering new adaptation of an 1886 work that feels eerily like a 2019 commentary. Move over, James Graham - it turns out Ibsen has supplied the political play for today.

The 2004 prize-winning novel by Andrea Levy, who sadly passed away earlier this year, has been beautifully translated to stage by adaptor Helen Edmundson and NT head honcho Rufus Norris, using thrilling theatrical solutions to honour Levy's epic - and still urgent - tale.

London's latest foray into Arthur Miller has serious transatlantic star power, with its leading quartet of Bill Pullman, two-time Oscar-winner Sally Field, Colin Morgan and Jenna Coleman. However, Jeremy Herrin's Old Vic/Headlong co-production is surprisingly understated, with the play's politics, rather than its passions, really shining through.

London is never short of temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From timely plays to the beginning of open-air theatre season, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews, interviews and features!

Director Rebecca Frecknall and actress Patsy Ferran recently picked up deserved Olivier Awards for their revelatory revival of Summer and Smoke. Now, they're back at the Almeida, bringing that fresh approach to well-known Chekhov instead of obscure Tennessee Williams.

Matthew Bourne's legendary and award-winning production of Swan Lake, which has returned to UK stages with a fresh look for the 21st century, will be screened in cinemas nationwide on 21 May. Watch an exclusive sneak peek below!

Caryl Churchill's ground-breaking 1982 work comes to the National for the first time - and, also a first, with a full cast rather than actors doubling up, as the playwright had originally intended. It adds to the expansive feel of Lyndsey Turner's production, particularly effective in the play's still audacious opening.

London is never short of temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From Arthur Miller and Caryl Churchill to Don Quixote and zombie gore, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews, interviews and features!

Debbie Kurup's extensive musical theatre experience ranges from Chicago, West Side Story and Sister Act to originating roles in Girl from the North Country and The Bodyguard. She's currently playing taxi dancer Helene in Cy Coleman, Neil Simon and Dorothy Fields' Sweet Charity - the farewell production of Donmar Warehouse Artistic Director Josie Rourke, opening early next month.

“We are only as powerful as the stories we tell.” So proclaims poet and activist Emilia Bassano, as she wrestles back her own story in Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's 2018 Globe hit – its raw, feminist, revolutionary power just as potent in this West End transfer.

Pulitzer-winner Bruce Norris once again challenges audiences with a play built around a difficult topic – in this case, asking whether paedophiles are irredeemable, how they should be punished, the distinction between justice and vengeance, and whether an empathetic response betrays our support of their victims.

News emerged today that Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were among 50 wealthy people charged in a college cheating scam dumbed 'Varsity Blues', in which they allegedly paid bribes of up to $6 million to secure places for their offspring at top universities. In a strange twist of fate, the breaking story coincides with the UK opening of Joshua Harmon's incendiary satire Admissions, which demonstrates that even those with the most devout liberal principles about progress and fairness can falter when it comes to their own family and self-interest.

The meticulous care of the National Theatre's production is continued in the soundtrack recording, demonstrating the collaborative brilliance of orchestrations from Jonathan Tunick and Josh Clayton, music supervision from Nicholas Skilbeck, and musical direction from Nigel Lilley - the latter conducting an exceptionally disciplined and articulate 21-piece orchestra.

Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson's 2015 musical adaptation of Adrienne Shelly's film, about a small-town waitress who processes her feelings via her skilful baking, brings its sugar and spice mixture to the West End. The result is a tasty treat - albeit with the odd ill-mixed ingredient. Hollywood Handshakes all round.

Harriet Lane's memorably unsettling 2012 novel, about an overlooked sub-editor who infiltrates the literary elite, has been adapted for stage by Lucinda Coxon. Its combination of psychological thriller and industry satire is decently translated, but a conservative production from Bridge boss Nicholas Hytner (who, astonishingly, is here directing his first ever play by a female writer) makes a middling case for the virtues of a theatrical version.

London is never short of temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From a starry Pinter and tasty musical treat to a portrait of grief, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews!

'Isn't that the problem with political theater, too much directness?' queries one of Anne Washburn's characters in her new play - which, in meta fashion, and over a leisurely three hours, not only addresses Trump head on, but also painstakingly analyses our responses to the President and the present moment, including the role of the arts.