Author: Hugh Simpson
Catch 22
★★★★☆ Catchy:
As with so many great books, Catch-22 seems to have defied dramatic representation over the years. And while EGTG’s version at the Biscuit Factory does not necessarily kill off such an idea, is still an extremely impressive production.
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – The Musical
★★★☆☆ Shimmering:
There is enough flash and dazzling costume changes in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert to convince all but the most curmudgeonly.
Prism
★★★★☆ Sad but true:
There is a deeply felt emotional core to Prism at the King’s. Written and directed by Terry Johnson, the play benefits from an excellent central performance by Robert Lindsay.
Barber Shop Chronicles
★★★★☆ Razor sharp:
Barber Shop Chronicles, the production by Fuel, the UK National Theatre and Leeds Playhouse at the Lyceum, has a momentum that is impossible to resist.
The Night Watch
★★★☆☆ Uneasy retelling:
The touring adaptation at the King’s of The Night Watch, the best-selling novel by Sarah Waters, has a great deal of emotional clarity, but little in the way of dramatic power.
An Inspector Calls
★★★★☆ Worryingly compelling:
The revival of a much-garlanded take on J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls at the King’s is wonderfully staged, relevant and more than a little troubling.
A Woman of No Importance
★★★☆☆ Curiosity value:
A Woman of No Importance, Classic Spring Company’s touring production at the King’s, is an accomplished piece of theatre whose stately nature contains little in the way of excitement.
Black Men Walking
★★★★☆ Poetic Journey:
There is a scope to Eclipse Theatre Company’s Black Men Walking that is truly impressive. And if its reach sometimes exceeds its grasp, it is none the worse for it.
Showcase 2019
★★★★☆ Melodic juggernaut:
Showcase 2019 at the Church Hill Theatre is an object lesson in how to ring the changes on a familiar formula and keep the result delightfully fresh.
Solaris
★★★★☆ Questioning intelligence:
Dealing with troubling questions about human interaction, the Lyceum’s adaptation of Solaris is – like all the best science fiction – not really about alien planets but about our own world.
