Review: THE SCORE, Starring Brian Cox
by Cindy Marcolina - Feb 28, 2025
Transferring from a successful run in Bath a few years ago, Oliver Cotton wants to marry politics and art to work his way up to the encounter between an ageing Johann Sebastian Bach and Frederick II of Prussia. The marketing makes it out to be an explosive meeting between church and state, between a god-fearing, scripture-quoting composer and an atheist, belligerent, ruthless monarch. That’s not exactly how it goes and the theatricality of the event is rather underwhelming. Trevor Nunn directs Brian Cox in a lengthy and inconsistent script that swiftly turns into a vehicle for anecdotal politics and bite-size philosophy. Too long into the action, we discover that the catalyst is Bach’s indomitable rage. He found out that a blind young girl was brutally raped by the military and he chooses to hold the king accountable.
Review: KENREX, Southwark Playhouse
by Franco Milazzo - Feb 19, 2025
In a vigorous virtuoso performance that demands to be seen, Jack Holden brings to exhilarating life a true-life crime story from half a century ago.
Review Roundup: Jonathan Bailey in RICHARD II - What did the Critics Think?
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Feb 19, 2025
Richard II is played by Jonathan Bailey, whose past work includes Bridgerton, Fellow Travellers, Cassio in Nicholas Hytner’s National Theatre production of Othello and Edgar to Ian McKellen’s King Lear. He has also won an Olivier Award for his role of Jamie in Company and is Fiyero in the Wicked movie. What did the critics think of the show?
Review: RICHARD II, Starring Jonathan Bailey
by Cindy Marcolina - Feb 18, 2025
A nation in need, an unsuitable king, banishments, murders, attempted coups. Richard II has it all and so does Jonathan Bailey. He might be dancing through Hollywood and hanging out with the biggest celebs, but he proves that he’s still one of us with this triumphant return to the stage.
Review: EAST IS SOUTH, Hampstead Theatre
by Franco Milazzo - Feb 18, 2025
AI and ChatGPT are yesterday’s news but artificial general intelligence - and the very existential threat it presents - may very well be tomorrow’s.
Review: THE SHARK IS BROKEN, Richmond Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Feb 18, 2025
The premise of The Shark is Broken is deceptively simple; three men in a boat, waiting and talking. We meet the cast of a new film in 1974 when Bruce the mechanical shark, necessary for the whole shoot, is indeed broken. Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, and Richard Dreyfuss would go on to star in the iconic 1975 film Jaws which sparked a lifelong fear of the ocean for many.
Photos: Jonathan Bailey and More in RICHARD II
by Stephi Wild - Feb 14, 2025
London Theatre Company has released photos of Richard II. Starring Jonathan Bailey and directed by Nicholas Hytner, this fresh take on Shakespeare’s subtle, caustic and powerful play is currently playing the Bridge Theatre until 10 May 2025.
Interview: 'It's Been a Dream Project to Figure Out': Actor Stephen Kunken on KYOTO
by Kat Mokrynski - Feb 7, 2025
After a run at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon, Kyoto has arrived at @sohoplace on the West End. The play, written by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson and directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, brings audiences into the world of the Kyoto Conference Centre on 11 December 1997, where nations are struggling to come to an agreement on climate change. In comes Don Pearlman, an American oil lobbyist who becomes the biggest obstacle to reaching such an agreement.
Review Roundup: Did Rami Malek Impress in OEDIPUS?
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Feb 5, 2025
Ella Hickson’s epic and revelatory version of Sophocles’ transcendent tragedy, Oedipus, co-directed by Hofesh Shechter and Matthew Warchus has now opened at The Old Vic.
Review: OEDIPUS, The Old Vic
by Alexander Cohen - Feb 5, 2025
It’s difficult to imagine anyone watching Oedipus without having prior knowledge of the story’s brutal twist - especially the case given that a rival production of the same play has just closed in the West End to critical acclaim.
Review: SUMMER 1954, Richmond Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Jan 28, 2025
Director James Dacre presents these two short dramas by Terence Rattigan under the banner title Summer 1954, the date when the action is set. An unusual pairing of these unshowy productions convey the intellectually astute and emotionally searing spirit of Rattigan’s writing.
Review: KYOTO, @sohoplace
by Cindy Marcolina - Jan 17, 2025
After a stellar run in Stratford-upon-Avon, Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson’s RSC-fuelled project takes hold of London. Flashback to 1997, the United Nations are desperately trying to draft up an arrangement that might save the Earth. The deadlock on global warming hadn’t eased for years: each representative cautious about their involvement and an American lawyer deep in the pockets of his country’s oil tycoons doing anything to stall. Can the world come together to protect itself?
Photos: Jonathan Bailey Rehearses For RICHARD II
by Stephi Wild - Jan 14, 2025
London Theatre Company has released new photos from the Richard II rehearsal room, starring Jonathan Bailey of Wicked, Bridgerton and Company fame and directed by Nicholas Hytner. Check out the new photos here!