Letters from the Theatre

This is a reunion — a return of the 2017 sensation. Girl From the North Country once swept up awards, nominations, and full houses on tour. Its author — the playwright, director, and storyteller behind the entire stage tapestry combining…

This isn’t quite a play—or rather, not just a play. The duology Dear England, written by James Graham and directed by Rupert Goold, is an extraordinary document of its era, whether you’re a football fan or not. Philosopher Johan Huizinga,…

This Saturday, May 24, the play The Sound of Absence will be performed at Omnibus Theatre. Mournful and funny, tragic and light – everything is mixed here. This unusual theatrical experience is created in the space of a black box…

April marks one of the most important months for British theatre, with the Olivier Awards soon to be presented at the Royal Albert Hall. Everyone is watching, holding their breath — but it would be a mistake to think the…

The National Theatre has unearthed a play from the archives, written in 1978 by British playwright of Guyanese origin, Michael Abbensetts. Its premiere was a great success that same year, coinciding with the television series Empire Road, which was also…

“Much Ado About Nothing” is one of those productions that doesn’t just start at the coat check—it begins right from the theater’s façade. There, bathed in a pink-golden glow, are the enormous faces of Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell—Benedick and…

What does London’s theater scene have in store for audiences in the first month of spring? Gains and losses, as always. We’ll lose a few gems, gain some new ones, and we’re here to tell you about a few right…

Chekhov has always been an important playwright for the English stage—just think of recent landmark productions, from Uncle Vanya with Andrew Scott to The Seagull starring Emilia Clarke. And now, a new addition: Three Sisters is playing at the Sam…

Director and playwright John Retallack staged “Mariupol”, a play by Katya Haddad, at The Cockpit theater with the support of the David Nott Foundation. This is the first staging of the play after a successful reading at Oxford’s The Old…

This Merchant of Venice—with the added subtitle 1936—is pinned to the stage floor, like a model, with push pins, two scenes sharply contradicting the classic content of Shakespeare’s play, yet entirely comprehensible in the context of its new interpretation. The…

Alright, there is one comedy in this selection—but otherwise, prepare yourselves for catharsis. Catharsis is when the audience empathizes deeply with the characters, and this state, as the ancient philosophers believed, purifies and ennobles the viewer—or at least emotionally. Whether…