Jackie Shemesh

Review: BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO, Young Vic
by Franco Milazzo - Dec 10, 2025

Bengal Tiger At The Baghdad Zoo, arriving now at the Young Vic for its long-overdue European premiere, is ostensibly about the American occupation of Iraq. Really, though, Rajiv Joseph’s Pulitzer-nominated work is about two things: a gold-plated toilet seat stolen from Uday Hussein (son of Saddam and recreational rapist, torturer and murderer), and the sheer, unforgivable absurdity of existence.

Robert Sean Leonard and Paten Hughes Will Lead INTERVIEW at Riverside Studios
by Stephi Wild - Jul 10, 2025

Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard and Paten Hughes will star in the World Premiere of a new stage adaptation of Interview, a seductive 2-handed psychological thriller about truth, persona, and gender power.

IMPERMANENCE Returns to Edinburgh Fringe with VENUS 2.0
by Stephi Wild - Jun 18, 2025

IMPERMANENCE, the award-winning contemporary dance company run by directors, choreographers and performers Roseanna Anderson and Joshua Ben-Tovim, return to the Edinburgh Fringe.

INTERVIEW Comes to Riverside Studios
by Stephi Wild - Jun 17, 2025

This August, the World Premiere of a new stage adaptation of Interview, a seductive psychological thriller about truth, persona, and power, comes to the stage at Riverside Studios.

Ben Lawson, Pia Miranda, Nadine Garner, and More Join Malthouse Theatre's ECHO
by Stephi Wild - Jun 17, 2025

Malthouse Theatre has announced the seven leading Australian media and entertainment personalities who will star in the highly anticipated Australian premiere of ECHO: Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen.

Daniel Kaluuya, James Corden, Reece Shearsmith and More Join ECHO at the Royal Court
by Stephi Wild - May 29, 2025

The Royal Court Theatre has revealed ten new performers who will star in Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour’s critically acclaimed production ECHO at the Royal Court next month. 

Full Cast Set For RHINOSAURUS at The Almeida Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Feb 5, 2025

The Almeida Theatre has announced the full cast of Omar Elerian’s production of Rhinoceros. Performances begin in March. Learn more about the upcoming show here!

Review: THE PICNIC, Sadler's Wells
by Louise Penn - Nov 29, 2024

Billed as a 'weird and wonderful gathering', Eva Recacha's full-length work The Picnic is inspired by the painting The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, dating from the 15th century.  The Picnic is about pleasure, power, privilege, passion, playfulness and partying. It is as hedonistic as it is human, as vibrant as it is visceral, as supportive as it is strange.

Review Roundup: NOWHERE at Battersea Arts Centre
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 7, 2024

See what the critics are saying about Nowhere at Battersea Arts Centre. The production features the star of United 93, The Kite Runner and The Crown, Khalid Abdalla, in his writing debut. Read the reviews!

Review: NOWHERE, Battersea Arts Centre
by Cindy Marcolina - Oct 5, 2024

The world is a dark place. Every day, we seem to edge closer to the start of another global conflict. Nowhere is safe. War and destruction have become steady protagonists on our television screens, to the point where we’re growing increasingly desensitised to violence.

Review Roundup: A FACE IN THE CROWD at the Young Vic
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Sep 23, 2024

See what the critics are saying about A Face in the Crowd by Elvis Costello and Sarah Ruhl’s at The Young Vic. Read the reviews for the production starring Ramin Karimloo, and learn more.

Review: A FACE IN THE CROWD, Young Vic
by Cindy Marcolina - Sep 21, 2024

“I love you like Mary Shelley loved her monster.” Being in the right place at the right time can change your life. So, when young producer Marcia Jeffries stumbles upon a drunken Larry Rhodes while she’s recording a radio segment somewhere in the southern States, it seems like it’s fate. A gifted singer songwriter with a charming bluntness to him, Rhodes is immediately offered a slot on her show and his rise to stardom begins. Based on the 1957 film that launched Andy Griffith’s career, A Face in the Crowd is now only a creaky musical with an attractive cast. Written by Elvis Costello and Sara Ruhl, it’s Kwame Kwei-Armah’s swansong as Artistic Director of the Young Vic.

Photos: Young Vic's A FACE IN THE CROWD Starring Karimloo and Lucas in Rehearsal
by Blair Ingenthron - Aug 24, 2024

Check out rehearsal photos from A Face in the Crowd at Young Vic Theatre, starring Ramin Karimloo, with original music from Elvis Costello, and a book by Sarah Ruhl, here!

Khalid Abdalla's Solo Show NOWHERE and More Set For Fuel's 20th Anniversary Season
by Stephi Wild - Jun 12, 2024

Fuel has announced the first part of its anniversary season. The programme is a celebration of everything that has been achieved as well as a statement of intent for the future, including new work from Khalid Abdalla, Toby Olié and Melanie Wilson. Learn more about the lineup here!

Ramin Karimloo and Anoushka Lucas Will Lead the World Premiere of A FACE IN THE CROWD With Songs By Elvis Costello
by Stephi Wild - May 9, 2024

Ramin Karimloo and Anoushka Lucas will lead the world premiere of A Face in the Crowd, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah in his final production as Young Vic Artistic Director, designed by Anna Fleischle.

Casting Announced for RSC'S BEN AND IMO, written by Mark Ravenhill
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Dec 19, 2023

Samuel Barnett and Victoria Yeates will make their Royal Shakespeare Company debuts to play, respectively, Benjamin Britten and Imogen Holst in the Company’s forthcoming production of Ben and Imo, written by Mark Ravenhill and directed by Erica Whyman.

Photos: First Look at Armando Iannucci's PANDEMONIUM at Soho Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Dec 7, 2023

Pandemonium, a wild account of our great leaders grappling with the Pandemic and then with each other, has released production photos for its run at Soho Theatre. 

Photos: Inside Rehearsal For Armando Iannucci's PANDEMONIUM at the Soho Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Nov 22, 2023

Pandemonium, a wild account of our great leaders grappling with the Pandemic and then with each other, has released rehearsal photos ahead of its run at the Soho Theatre. 

The Pandemonium Players Announced For Mr. Armando Iannucci's PANDEMONIUM
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 27, 2023

The Pandemonium Players are announced for Mr Armando Iannucci's PANDEMONIUM, a scornful account of the activities of Mr Boris Johnson and 'others' during the pandemic and its aftermath. Directed by Mr Patrick Marber, the show will now run from 1 December 2023 to 13 January 2024 at the Soho Theatre, with tickets for the extended week available on the Soho website starting Friday 27 October at 11am.

Review: DEATH OF ENGLAND: CLOSING TIME, National Theatre
by Alexander Cohen - Oct 10, 2023

The latest part of the the Death of England tetralogy is theatre at its most courageous