International

THEATRE TURNED ALL THE WAY UP There are moments in the theatre when everything converges: writing, performance, design, direction, and something indefinable that transforms craft into revelation. David Adjmi’s Stereophonic, now blazing through the Duke of York’s Theatre, is precisely such a moment. This isn’t simply 2024’s finest American play; it’s a seismic shift in…

BOURNE AGAIN: A MUSICAL RECLAMATION IN GLORIOUS MINOR KEY After a long absence from the West End, Oliver! has returned with the force of a Victorian street gang bursting through fog-shrouded London alleys. Matthew Bourne‘s revival of Lionel Bart‘s beloved musical at the Gielgud Theatre is nothing short of theatrical gold, a production that honors…

WHAT THE FOREST KNOWS: TOTORO AND THE RADICAL ACT OF WONDER There’s something profoundly radical about a piece of theatre that trusts its audience to believe in wonder. The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of My Neighbour Totoro, now enchanting audiences in its West End transfer at the Gillian Lynne Theatre after breaking box office records…

A GIANT PEACH OF AN ANTISEMITE There’s something eerily familiar about the way John Lithgow adjusts his cardigan in Mark Rosenblatt‘s haunting new play Giant, now playing in the West End’s Harold Pinter Theatre, having transferred from Royal Court. Like a beloved uncle settling in for storytime, he radiates the practiced charm that made Roald…

THE GYM TOOK OVER ARGENTINA AND NOBODY LOOKED BACK Jamie Lloyd’s Evita comes at you like a SoulCycle class that got a state grant for performance art. It’s sweaty, shiny, and occasionally shouts at you in political slogans. The whole thing feels like someone dared the production team to stage a military coup with nothing…

LONDON THEATRES’ BOUNTIFUL OFFERINGS Spring may not have come yet, but it’s already high season for the London theatre. And it’s an exceptional one. Of the eight productions I attended last week (two Shakespeare, two Chekhov, two history plays, one docudrama, one feminist work), all have recently opened and all are enlightening and memorable. Two…

LONDON THEATRES’ BOUNTIFUL OFFERINGS Spring may not have come yet, but it’s already high season for the London theatre. And it’s an exceptional one. Of the eight productions I attended last week (two Shakespeare, two Chekhov, two history plays, one docudrama, one feminist work), all have recently opened and all are enlightening and memorable. Two…