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!
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Mansfield Polak
In communities where exploitative warehouses have replaced coal mines, Beth Steel has fashioned an uproarious state-of-the-nation comedy, says MARY CONWAY
DEVASTATING: Sinead Matthews (Sylvia), Lorraine Ashbourne (Aunty Carol), Lisa McGrillis (Maggie) and Lucy Black (Hazel) in Till the Stars Come Down at the National Theatre
[Manuel Harlan]
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
Full of mysterious religious references and radical sound design, the Scottish duo’s new offering is candidate for album of the year, suggests SIMON DUFF
MARY CONWAY revels in a powerful reminder that human lives are not defined by physical perfection
PAUL DONOVAN recommends the fine performances in this account of the pre-war meeting between the US president and the British king
TECLYN AROD relishes an intimate celebration of jazz improvisation that mixes local and national musicians
Till the Stars Come Down
NT - Dorfman
TO watch the National Theatre embracing a play set in Mansfield feels like the nearest thing we’ve seen to levelling up in a long time. And it’s a beautifully crafted piece.
This world premiere by Beth Steel is real, deeply engaging and so uproariously funny that when the hard truth bubbles intermittently to the surface, its devastating and hyperbolic impact hits with exaggerated force.
The play takes place at a family wedding between Sylvia and local Polish worker, Marek.
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MARY CONWAY is spellbound by superb performances in Arthur Miller’s study of the social and personal stress brought about by Nazi Germany’s Kristallnacht
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
MARY CONWAY applauds the success of Beth Steel’s bitter-sweet state-of-the-nation play