Theatre
I am currently the New York Review of Books‘ resident London theatre critic, and I write a monthly column on theatre issues for The Stage. Previously, I was a freelance junior critic for The Times newspaper in London, reviewing for the paper about twice a week. I got my start as the theatre critic for The Spectator magazine’s online content, after spending most of my teenage years queuing outside every fringe theatre in London. I am a member of the Critics’ Circle and I have previously contributed London reviews to the Wall Street Journal.
I also maintain an active interest in arts philanthropy. I can date the moment I fell in love with theatre to a Joanna Laurens production at the Gate Theatre, W11. Consequently, I have recently founded a Young Supporters’ Network at the Gate and sit on their Development Working Group, which means that this is the only venue at which I exclude myself from reviewing.
Kiki’s Delivery Service, Southwark Playhouse, SE1
reviewed for The Times, 22 December 2016 If you’ve read Eiko Kadono’s Japanese bestseller, you know the drill. If you haven’t, welcome to an enchanting new world of whimsy and witchcraft. Kiki the little witch is desperate to prove to her parents that she is ready to take on adult responsibilities,...
Read MoreSweet Charity at Royal Exchange, Manchester
reviewed for The Times, 14 December 2016 Charity Hope Valentine is “just nuts about happy endings”. They tend not to come her way. Our eponymous dance hall hostess doesn’t just wear her heart on her sleeve — it’s tattooed right on her shoulder. Appropriately enough, it’s broken. Neil...
Read MoreAladdin at the Lyric Hammersmith, W6
reviewed for The Times, 29 November 2016 When I was small, I hated panto. The tired puns, the insulting drag, the cultural references intelligible only to the ITV demographic. There are only so many times a budding theatre critic can watch David Mellor cavorting with the stars of You’ve Been Framed!...
Read MoreGhosts at Home, Manchester
reviewed for The Times, 25 November 2016 Niamh Cusack is one of my favourite actresses. The intensity of her work will burn your retinas, yet never obscures her light traces of humour. In Polly Findlay’s Manchester Home production of Ghosts, Cusack turns Ibsen’s 19th-century widow, Helen Alving, into a...
Read MoreGenesis at Soho Theatre, W1
reviewed for The Times, 18 November 2016 Modern bedside manner makes for a cold performance. Go for a consultation on your risk level for breast cancer and you’ll probably meet someone like Helen Bradbury’s Rachel: restrained, informative, professional. Stage a medical “issue play” and you get the...
Read MoreDeny, Deny, Deny at Park Theatre, N4
reviewed for The Times, 11 November 2016 Jonathan Maitland is one of the country’s most successful TV journalists and a nationally rated Scrabble player. His second play, An Audience with Jimmy Savile, provoked headlines and helped to put the fledgling Park Theatre in north London on the map. None of...
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