THEATRE REVIEW: Pinter at the Pinter starring Martin Freeman & Danny Dyer

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE?: Harold Pinter Theatre RUN TIME: 120 minutes (including interval)

WHEN?: 1/2/19, press night 6/2/19, booking to 23/2/19

Danny Dyer might be familiar to you as father of Love Island‘s Dani, his Henry VIII connection, from EastEnders or because of a memorable ‘trotters up’ Brexit quote but you might not know he was twice directed by Harold Pinter, in 2000 and 2002.

  • Read on for reasons including why this is the most successful so far of the Pinter at the Pinter series

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THEATRE REVIEW: Time Is Love/Tiempo Es Amor starring Sheila Atim

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE?: Finborough Theatre RUN TIME: 90 minutes (no interval)

WHEN?: Last night 26/1/19

In April Sheila Atim (pictured above) won the Best Supporting Actress in a Musical Olivier and tonight we’re in the front row at this 50-seater theatre above a pub to see her in a production of a new play she has also composed the music for.

  • Read on for reasons including why this production deserves a transfer to a larger London venue

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THEATRE REVIEW: Cost Of Living starring Adrian Lester at Hampstead Theatre

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE?: Hampstead Theatre RUN TIME: 110 minutes (no interval)

WHEN?: 25/1, press night 31/1, booking to 2/3/19

Author Martyna Majok is a Polish-American playwright familiar with homelessness, grief and working multiple jobs to pay her way and weaves those subjects seamlessly together here in her play which won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

  • Read on for reasons including why Hampstead Theatre is becoming the home of cutting edge new writing

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THEATRE REVIEW: Leave To Remain starring Tyrone Huntley & Billy Cullum at Lyric Hammersmith

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE?: Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith RUN TIME: 120 minutes (without interval)

WHEN?: 21/1, press night 24/1, booking to 16/2/19

Former pop stars have co-written our favourite new musicals of the last 2 years (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Eugenius) and so we approached this collaboration between Doctor Who writer Matt Jones and Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke with much excitement.

  • Read on for reasons including why we think this deserves a West End transfer

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THEATRE REVIEW: Six at the Arts Theatre

UPDATE: Six is now booking at the Lyric Theatre from 14/11/20 through to 31/1/21 Tickets

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

WHERE?: Arts Theatre RUN TIME: 75 minutes

WHEN?: 17/1/19 (matinee) booking to 5/1/20

It couldn’t be more timely for this musical about the 6 wives of Henry VIII to be returning to the West End as tales of Queen Anne, Mary Queen Of Scots and Elizabeth I dominate cinemas.

  • Read on for reasons including how you’ll be headed home humming the hits with a smile across your face

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THEATRE REVIEW: The Tragedy of King Richard the Second starring Simon Russell Beale at the Almeida

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE? Almeida RUN TIME: 100 minutes (no interval)

WHEN?: 12/1/19, runs to 2/2/19

Buckets of blood, soil and water rain down on the cast in director Joe Hill-Gibbins’ 3rd radical reinterpretation of Shakespeare since 2015.

  • Read on for reasons including what to expect from its NT Live showing next week

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THEATRE REVIEW: Coming Clean at Trafalgar Studios 2

UPDATE: Coming Clean returns to Trafalgar Studios 2 8/1 through 2/2/20. Tickets

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE? Trafalgar Studios 2 RUN TIME: 115 minutes (including interval)

WHEN?: 9/1/19, press night 11/1 runs to 2/2/19

Coming Clean is the 1st play by author Kevin Elyot who is probably best known for My Night With Reg which won many awards including the 1995 Olivier for Best Comedy.

  • Read on for reasons including how actor Elyot was encouraged to write his 1st play at Bush Theatre

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THEATRE REVIEW: The Cane starring Nicola Walker, Maggie Steed & Alun Armstrong

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE? Royal Court RUN TIME: 100 minutes (no interval)

WHEN?: 29/12 (matinee), runs to 26/1/19

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time returned recently to the West End and it was for her part in the original production that Nicola Walker (who we last saw in A View From The Bridge in 2015) won a Best Supporting Actress Olivier.

  • Read on for reasons including why Walker’s interrogative qualities honed on TV are well realised here

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THEATRE REVIEW: Cinderella starring Craig Revel Horwood & Paul Chuckle at New Victoria Theatre Woking

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? New Victoria Theatre Woking RUN TIME: 2 hours and 30 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)

WHEN?: Runs to 6/1/19

We saw Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood in pantomime last year in Southampton when we thought it odd he didn’t dance more and it’s a criticism that’s rectified here.

  • Read on for reasons including how Paul Chuckle provides this show’s most heartfelt moment

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THEATRE REVIEW: Rocky Horror Show starring Ben Adams & Joanne Clifton

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Theatre Royal Brighton RUN TIME: 2 hours (including interval)

WHEN?: 14/12/18 (matinee), runs to 5/1/19, and then tours regionally

The Rocky Horror Show  has been performed in over 30 countries in every continent and translated into more than 20 languages.

  • Read on for reasons including how a Strictly Come Dancing winner is this production’s surprise

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