CHRIS SEARLE welcomes a startling vision of contemporary Newport from a veteran photographer of the British working class
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A cerebral play, broaching questions that never quite land
MARY CONWAY tries her best to work out ‘what the hell is going on’ as style triumphs over substance
Gina Mckee and Paul Mcgann
[The Other Richard]
ANGUS REID recommends a very unusual documentary: a love story between two disillusioned journalists
In verse and polemic, the bard points out that he is a poet and musician, not a political party
MARIA DUARTE, JAMES WALSH and ANDY HEDGECOCK review The Invite, My Father’s Island, Nirvanna: the Band, the Show, the Movie, and Oh My Goodness!
PAUL DONOVAN is chilled by the contemporary resonance of Harper Lee’s coming of age tale amidst racism and white supremacy in this excellent production
GEOFF BOTTOMS recommends the unashamedly light-hearted escapism on offer in this stage version of the 1963 film
The Forest
Hampstead Theatre
PLAYWRIGHT Florian Zeller finds himself in a charmed position by anyone’s standards, his play The Father having achieved almost iconic status and the film version having won best actor Oscar for Anthony Hopkins. Following this and the other two plays in his family trilogy, Zeller we must believe can do no wrong.
So it feels like a fait accompli that his new play The Forest – in its customary translation by heavyweight Christopher Hampton – will gather accolades galore for its premiere at Hampstead Theatre.
The play – as with Zeller’s earlier work – is based on a single idea in which style and structure ultimately triumph over substance. And the prime fascination for the audience is the absorbing task of working out what the hell is going on.
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MARY CONWAY applauds the timely revival of Miller’s study of people fatally deformed by the economics of survival
SYLVIA HIKINS recommends a fascinating, revealing, superbly acted evening of theatre
MARY CONWAY becomes impatient with the intellectual self-indulgence of Tom Stoppard in a production that is, nevertheless, total class
Although this production was in rehearsal before the playwright’s death, it allows us to pay homage to his life, suggests MARY CONWAY