Category Archives: Theatre

THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Pygmalion’ at the Old Vic

Posted on June 5, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle were wrapped up in romance so convincingly in “My Fair Lady” that it’s bracing to rediscover that Bernard Shaw’s original play, “Pygmalion,” was so tart and biting. Directed by … Continue reading →

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‘Gone With the Wind’ musical to close

Posted on June 1, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON — To no one’s great surprise, Trevor Nunn’s West End production of a new musical version of “Gone With the Wind” will soon be just that and plans for a New York production have been shelved. … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Polly Stenham’s ‘That Face’

Posted on May 16, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett Polly Stenham wrote “That Face,” a play about the disintegration of a well-off family, when she was 19 but you wouldn’t know it until the shrieking of two siblings and their estranged parents goes from strident to … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Tony Harrison’s ‘Fram’ at the National

Posted on May 9, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON — The title of British theatrical poet Tony Harrison’s new play, “Fram,” means “forward” in Norwegian, but a better name for it would be whatever in that language means “awkward.” “Fram” was the name of the … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Harper Regan’ by Simon Stephens

Posted on May 6, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – A series of crisp scenes marked by sharp observation and illuminated by engaging performances form Simon Stephens’ new National Theatre play “Harper Regan,” about a woman facing crises on all sides. Lesley Sharp (pictured right … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Trevor Nunn’s ‘Gone With the Wind’ musical

Posted on April 23, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Tomorrow is another day for Scarlett O’Hara but how long that will remain true for the new musical “Gone With the Wind” is another question. Three-time Tony-winning director Trevor Nunn has delivered a long-winded show … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: ‘The Last Days of Judas Escariot’

Posted on April 21, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON — An appeal in the case of the apostle who ratted on the messiah in the story of Jesus Christ becomes an electrifying examination of faith and redemption in Stephen Adly Guirgis’s excoriating play “The Last … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Ringwood players’ ‘Follies’

Posted on April 20, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett To stage a Stephen Sondheim musical gives pause to the best in the business so top marks to the Ringwood Musical & Dramatic Society in Hampshire for tackling “Follies” and carrying it off with flourish. One of hundreds … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW BRIEF: Peter Gill’s ‘Small Change’

Posted on April 18, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON — Peter Gill’s play “Small Change,” a tale of two men’s boyhood friendship and their missed opportunity for love in a working-class area of Wales in the 1950s, has evocative moments but is rendered in a … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Jeremy Irons in ‘Never So Good’

Posted on April 4, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Jeremy Irons gives a masterful performance as an old-school politician grappling with a rapidly changing world in “Never So Good” at London’s National Theatre, but the play itself offers biography more than great drama. Irons … Continue reading →

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