Tag Archives: National Theatre

THEATRE REVIEW: Katie Mitchell’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’

Posted on December 3, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The creature in director Katie Mitchell’s Beauty and the Beast at London’s National Theatre is a great hairy beastie, a 10-foot cross between a rat and a wolf with a voice that growls and thunders … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Rory Kinnear in ‘Hamlet’ at the National

Posted on October 14, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – “Now I am alone,” Hamlet says, and a key light immediately pins him down as a reminder that he never is alone. No one is ever alone in Nicholas Hytner’s riveting production of the William … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Howard Brenton’s ‘Danton’s Death’

Posted on July 23, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – A guillotine towers over the stage at the end of the National Theatre’s production of “Danton’s Death” as several French revolutionaries are executed. It’s a terrific illusion and it’s just a shame no blade was … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Terence Rattigan’s ‘After the Dance’

Posted on June 9, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Portraying apparent wastrels who actually have genuine character and feelings is never easy but the National Theatre’s production of Terence Rattigan’s seldom produced 1939 play “After the Dance” succeeds wonderfully. Rattigan’s hit plays included “Separate … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Thomas Middleton’s ‘Women Beware Women’

Posted on May 9, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Pretty much everyone dies at the end of Thomas Middleton’s steamy la dolce vita roundelay “Women Beware Women,” and in the National’s new production of the Jacobean classic, it happens in a magnificently designed tableau … Continue reading →

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West End theatre thrives on excellence and originality

Posted on April 24, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – If all the world’s a stage, then it never has been more true than in the British capital right now. The nation’s economy is in dire straits, but that hasn’t stopped theatergoers from flocking to … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Dion Boucicault’s ‘London Assurance’

Posted on April 24, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – First produced on the West End stage in 1841, Dublin-born playwright Dion Boucicault’s hilarious farce “London Assurance” is given its full measure in an uproarious production at the National Theatre that makes most modern comedies … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Alan Bennett’s ‘The Habit of Art’

Posted on November 19, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON — Alan Bennett has a lot on his mind in his latest play, “The Habit of Art,” including creativity, aging, fame, anonymity and sex, and it hangs together because of his gift for language and fine … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: David Hare’s ‘The Power of Yes’

Posted on October 12, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Not so much a play as a staged documentary, David Hare’s insightful “The Power of Yes” at the National Theatre is the result of the playwright acting as a journalist in search of the reasons … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’

Posted on September 29, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – There is much to admire in the National Theatre production of Tony Kushner’s translation of “Mother Courage and Her Children” Bertolt Brecht, especially Tom Pye’s dynamic set design and Duke Special’s inspired music. But it … Continue reading →

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