Ellie Kurttz

Review: CARMEN, London Coliseum
by Gary Naylor - Oct 9, 2025

If you liked Evita at the Palladium, you'll like Carmen at the Coliseum

Guest Blog: 'It's Such An Iconic Opera': Conductor Olivia Clarke on Taking on ENO's CARMEN
by Guest Author - Oct 8, 2025

I’m looking forward to conducting Bizet’s Carmen for English National Opera (ENO) this autumn, alongside fellow conductor, Clelia Cafiero. Carmen’s extreme drama and memorable music makes it one of the best-loved operas by audiences worldwide.

Review: MY ENGLISH PERSIAN KITCHEN, Soho Theatre
by Clementine Scott - Oct 3, 2025

Some Soho Theatre audience members at My English Persian Kitchen over the next month may be more enticed by what comes after the show than by the show itself. That’s because Hannah Khalil’s one-woman show has the distinction of featuring onstage cooking.

Review: ENTERTAINING MR SLOANE, Young Vic
by Katie Kirkpatrick - Sep 25, 2025

There’s a lot of pressure on an Artistic Director’s first production at a new venue, especially if they’re directing it themselves. Nadia Fall kicks off her tenure leading the Young Vic with a revival of a classic Joe Orton play, promising ‘seduction and devilish wit.’ But could this show seduce its audience?

Review: WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT, Little Angel Theatre
by Christiana Rose - Sep 15, 2025

Little Angel Theatre delivers a vibrant, triumphant and delightful production of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. This much-loved story by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, is transformed into a vibrant 45 minute adventure which captivates children and adults alike with its exquisite puppetry, charming music, and infectious energy.

Review: CREDITORS, Starring Charles Dance, Orange Tree Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Sep 15, 2025

Orange Tree artistic director Tom Littler first directed Howard Brenton’s adaptation of August Strindberg’s Creditors at Jermyn Street Theatre in 2019, in rep with Miss Julie. He has secured quite a coup in gathering such a star-studded cast of acting veterans with Geraldine James, Nicholas Farrell and Charles Dance in this wonderfully performed but underwhelming production.

EDINBURGH 2025: Review: THE BEAUTIFUL FUTURE IS COMING, Traverse Theatre
by Mary Baillie - Aug 18, 2025

Flora Wilson Brown’s six-hander examines climate change across 250 years of real and imagined history. In 1856, Eunice begins to question whether carbon dioxide might signal that something is going terribly wrong. In 2027 London, Clare falls for Dan as she faces impending heatwaves and floods. By 2100 in Svalbard, Ana endures an 86-day storm raging outside, questioning the doomed future of our planet.

Review: POOR CLARE, Orange Tree Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - Jul 19, 2025

Poor Clare, written by Chiara Atik and directed by Blanche McIntyre, tells the story of how Clare (Arsema Thomas) is influenced by fellow Assisi resident Francis (Freddy Carter) to abandon her life of riches and become devoted to God, founding the Order of Poor Ladies as a discipline of the soon-to-be Saint Francis. The play opens with Clare getting her hair done in a complicated style by two of her servants, Peppa (Liz Kettle) and Alma (Jacoba Williams), discussing the concept of poverty and what can be done about it. 

Interview: 'We're Not Expecting Sainthood': Actor Liz Kettle on Hot Rehearsals and Thought-Provoking Content in POOR CLARE at the Orange Tree Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - Jul 15, 2025

Recently, we had the chance to speak with Liz Kettle, who plays Peppa, one of Clare’s servants. We discussed how she went from Art History to Shakespeare, the importance of the messages in Poor Clare and even what she hopes audiences take away from the show.

Review: FIGHT FOR AMERICA!, Stone Nest
by Franco Milazzo - Jun 19, 2025

On 6 January 2021, while the US Congress gathered in Washington DC to confirm Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States of America, a mob waited outside. Demanding that their leader Donald J Trump be returned to power, they stormed the Capitol building to confront the lawmakers.

Review: OVERHEARD IN A TOWER BLOCK, Little Angel Theatre
by Christiana Rose - Jun 9, 2025

Overheard in a Tower Block at the Little Angel Theatre Studios is a raw and honest insight into young life, parental separation and the experiences of living in a high rise flat. The play is imaginatively crafted from the original poetry of the same name.

Review: IN PRAISE OF LOVE, Orange Tree Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Jun 4, 2025

Terence Rattigan's work remains a stalwart of the British stage. Richmond's Orange Tree Theatre has a particular fondness for his lesser revived work; lighter, frothier plays such as French Without Tears and While the Sun Shines. In Praise of Love, Rattigan’s poignant penultimate play, is a different proposition. 

Photos: IN PRAISE OF LOVE At Orange Tree Theatre
by A.A. Cristi - May 20, 2025

IN PRAISE OF LOVE by Terence Rattigan will be presented 24 May – 5 July 2025. The cast includes Daniel Abelson (Mark Walters), Joe Edgar (Joey Cruttwell), Claire Price (Lydia Cruttwell) and Dominic Rowan (Sebastian Cruttwell). Check out photos from the production.

Review: THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR, starring Tom Rosenthal
by Gary Naylor - May 2, 2025

Satire bites even today, but a little more sympathy in the characters would strengthen its appeal

Review: BEN AND IMO, Orange Tree Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Apr 28, 2025

After running at the RSC's Swan Theatre last year, Erica Whyman's quietly captivating production of Mark Ravenhill's play Ben and Imo now makes its way south to the Orange Tree Theatre.

Photos: A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS At Birmingham Rep
by A.A. Cristi - Apr 17, 2025

A Thousand Splendid Suns comes to Birmingham Rep from Fri 11 Apr – Sat 3 May 2025, based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini, adapted by Ursula Rani Sarma, and directed by Roxana Silbert. See photos from the production.

Review: APEX PREDATOR, Hampstead Theatre
by Debbie Gilpin - Apr 1, 2025

It finally feels like the world is waking up to the epidemic of violence perpetrated by men towards women and girls, but John Donnelly’s new play has come up with a new way of countering this: vampirism! Clearly this is a supernatural ‘what if?’, but it raises some interesting questions and lays bare some unpleasant truths - in society at large, and even in the audience.

Review: PLAYHOUSE CREATURES, Orange Tree Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Mar 26, 2025

It is said that we stand on the shoulders of those who have come before. In April De Angelis's Playhouse Creatures, she celebrates five women who were clever innovators and brave pioneers of the stage at a time when female actors were openly objectified, judged and derided.

Photos: Anna Chancellor, Katherine Kingsley and More in PLAYHOUSE CREATURES
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Mar 21, 2025

You can now get a first look at production images for Playhouse Creatures at the Orange Tree ahead of opening night tonight. Learn more about the production and see how to purchase tickets.

Photos: PLAYHOUSE CREATURES In Rehearsal At Orange Tree Theatre
by A.A. Cristi - Mar 13, 2025

Orange Tree Theatre has released photos from inside rehearsal for its upcoming revival of April De Angelis’ Playhouse Creatures directed by Michael Oakley.