Category Archives: Theatre

THEATRE REVIEW: Mike Leigh’s ‘Grief’ at the National

Posted on September 24, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON (The Hollywood Reporter) – Mike Leigh’s new play “Grief” is the complete opposite of his film “Happy-Go Lucky” with a family rendered almost cataleptic by personal loss and the gloom of post-World War II England. Given … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: ‘South Pacific’ at the Barbican

Posted on August 25, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The big numbers in the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” are so entertaining that the Tony Award-winning Broadway production at the Barbican until Oct. 1 is irresistible even though the production is a bit … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Anne Boleyn’ at Shakespeare’s Globe

Posted on August 21, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett Finally made it to Shakespeare’s Globe in London to catch Howard Brenton’s Tudor romp “Anne Boleyn” before it closes today. A hit this summer as it was on its debut last year, the crowd- and critic-pleasing production … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: ‘London Road’ at the National

Posted on April 15, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – “London Road” is a documentary musical about the impact of a serial killer on one community with words spoken and sung to match the original phrasing and cadence of people who lived where the murders … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Betty Blue Eyes’

Posted on April 14, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – “Betty Blue Eyes” is a new stage musical based on the 1984 Michael Palin and Maggie Smith post-war English comedy “A Private Function” but in making something loud and boisterous, the show loses the film’s … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Harold Pinter’s ‘Moonlight’

Posted on April 13, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The late Harold Pinter’s last play, “Moonlight”, revived for the first time in 18 years at the Donmar Warehouse, deals in disaffection and alienation, and it is difficult to warm up to. Director Bijan Sheibani … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Terence Rattigan’s ‘Cause Celébre’

Posted on March 30, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – There have been two first-rate West End productions of lesser-known plays by the late British playwright Terence Rattigan, whose centenary is this year, but the Old Vic comes a cropper with the third, an unconvincing … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Lost Musicals’ ‘The Band Wagon’

Posted on March 27, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – One of the most acclaimed Broadway revues of the 1930s – “The Band Wagon” by George S. Kaufman, Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz – is on show in concert for the first time in Europe, … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Clifford Odets’s ‘Rocket to the Moon’

Posted on March 21, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – American playwright Clifford Odets’s 1938 play “Rocket to the Moon” raises more questions than it answers but a captivating performance by Jessica Raine (pictured top), as a young woman who is catnip for every man … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: David Eldridge’s ‘The Knot of the Heart’

Posted on March 21, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – An engrossing story of middle-class drug addiction with a committed performance by Lisa Dillon, David Eldridge’s new play The Knot of the Heart suffers from being too middle class for its own good. Dillon plays … Continue reading →

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