The Arts Dispatch

13/08/2024

Diva: Live from Hell! review – Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh ★★★★★

"Luke Bayer's the star - our diva - and his bravura makes this fringe hit a must-see"

reviews 's stunning performance in
DIVA: Live from Hell

Diva: Live from Hell! is devilishly good. There, I said it. And Luke Bayer is devilishly good as Desmond Channing in this perfectly crafted one-man (plus band) musical. It shouldn’t be a surprise, after all, it’s already received glowing reviews for its London runs at the Turbine Theatre in 2022...

12/08/2024

Cyrano review - Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh ★★★★☆

“As they play with the story and theatre itself as a medium, it makes for a wonderfully engaging piece of theatre.”

reviews ’s new version of Cyrano at

Read it now - link in bio

11/08/2024

In her brand new stand-up show, Louise Atkinson (Winner of Amused Moose Comedy Award for Best Debut Show 2023), revisits a piece of unsolicited feedback about her appearance from someone in the comedy industry who reported that she ‘Sounds good, looks like a mess'. She’s Got the Look is a frank ...

11/08/2024

Mustafa Algiyadi: Almost Legal Alien review - Just the Tonic Nucleus, Edinburgh ★★★☆☆

"A well-crafted hour"

takes in Mustafa Algiyadi Comedy at Just The Tonic at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

ComedyEdinburgh Festival FringeFestivalReviewMustafa Algiyadi: Almost Legal Alien review – Just the Tonic Nucleus, Edinburgh ★★★☆☆ Jim Keaveney5 mins ago5 mins ago Review byJim Keaveney The turnout for Mustafa Algiyadi’s hour-long show Almost Legal Alien is admittedly not the largest b...

11/08/2024

The Grapes of Wrath review - National Theatre, London ★★★☆☆

"It's not bad, it's mostly just incredibly frustrating - you know the production has the potential to be so much better"

on The Grapes of Wrath at the National Theatre

https://www.theartsdispatch.com/the-grapes-of-wrath-review-national-theatre-london/

11/08/2024

ARCADE review - Summerhall, Edinburgh ★☆☆☆☆

"I had no desire to play again"

With thirty potential endings, our reviewer finds himself disappointed with his path through this choose your own adventure experience at

At ALSO Festival last month, Philippa Perry talked about how we can be happier by not setting expectations of things. If you go to the quiet carriage for a train, for example - where I am currently writing this review from - and expect it to be quiet then you will almost certainly be let

09/08/2024

The Daughters of Róisín review - Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh ★★★☆☆

“An assured performance”

reviews The Daughters of Róisín at as part of

Read it now - link in bio

18/07/2024

ECHO review - Royal Court Theatre, London ★★★☆☆

“Prose and poetry meet”

reviews ECHO at as part of

Read it now - link in bio

07/07/2024

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Lyric Amphitheatre, Belfast ★★★★★

“Spectacular: the absolute best of Belfast”

reviews ’s ‘outstanding’ production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Link in bio

01/07/2024

Starlight Express review - Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, London ★★★★☆

reviews an ‘exhilaratingly high-risk’ revival

Read the review now - link in bio

26/06/2024

Really nice article talking to some of our young performers at Glastonbury Festivals this week! Thanks The Arts Dispatch https://www.theartsdispatch.com/cirk-hes-the-cornish-charity-bringing-young-performers-to-glastonbury-festival/ 🥰

26/06/2024

Don’t miss our slate of Glastonbury coverage, including these great interviews:








r.wolley


Link in bio

26/06/2024

My Fair Lady review - Leeds Playhouse ★★★★☆

“James Brining’s production passes the test”

We review My Fair Lady at

05/06/2024

A View from the Bridge review - Theatre Royal Haymarket, London ★★★☆☆

"Dominic West’s Eddie is notably human"

reviews A View from the Bridge at

Following a sold-out four-week run in Theatre Royal Bath’s intimate Ustinov Studio, Lindsay Posner’s production of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge arrives in London for its official national opening at the expansive Theatre Royal Haymarket. It comes with a star attachment in Dominic Wes...

02/06/2024

Fun At The Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp!! review – Southwark Playhouse, London ★★★☆☆

"It is the kind of play that you want to see with a few friends on a Friday night after a few drinks"

Read our review now

Review by Natalie Evans Arriving at the Southwark Playhouse just in time for summer, Fun at the Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp is a brand new musical from dynamic duo Martin Landry and Brandon Lambert. You can tell from a mile off that this was directed by the same mind that brought us The Play That Goes Wr...

25/05/2024

Strategic Love Play Review – Soho Theatre, London ★★★★☆

"Brilliantly encapsulates the depressing rituals of modern relationships and dating fatigue"

Read our review of Strategic Love Play at Soho Theatre now

Review by Carla Rudgyard In the age of the internet, we’ve all experienced the formalities of a first date with someone you met online. That’s why everyone will relate to Miriam Battye’s brutal and clever dissection of the transactional and formulaic nature of 21st-century dating in Strategic ...

24/05/2024

Bluets review – Royal Court Theatre, London ★★★★★

"A breath of fresh air...a fascinating theatrical experiment"

We review Margaret Perry's adaptation of Maggie Nelson's Bluets at The Royal Court Theatre - directed by Katie Mitchell and starring Ben Whishaw, Emma D'Arcy and Kayla Meikle

So begins David Byrne’s tenure at the helm of the Royal Court with Bluets, an adaptation of Maggie Nelson’s book of the same name, opening in the theatre's main space. Margaret Perry has adapted - or rather, as she puts it, ‘translated’ - the 240 'propositions' of Maggie Nelson's prose poetr...

24/05/2024

Romeo & Juliet review - Duke of York's, London ★★★☆☆

"Style sucking the life out of substance"

We review Jamie Lloyd's production of Romeo & Juliet starring Tom Holland

Jamie Lloyd’s production of Romeo & Juliet sees style sucking the life out of substance in the much-hyped opening of Shakespeare's tragedy, starring Marvel movie star Tom Holland. Brooding from the outset, the production sets the tone pre-show with Michael “Mikey J” Asante’s ominous, electro...

24/05/2024

Dead Girls Rising review – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh ★★★★☆

"Perfectly sums up what women have to live with every single day"

reviews Dead Girls Rising from at

Review by Lakshmi Mizen Dead Girls Rising, written by Maureen Lennon, is a punk-rock cabaret show about what it takes to live in a violent patriarchy as a young woman. The story follows two young women, Katie (Helen Reuben) and Hannah (Angelina Chudi), as they grow up under the rule of male supremac...

21/05/2024

Murder in the Dark review - Original Online ★★☆☆☆

"Fails to deliver on the play's early promise"

Read our review of the digital release of Murder in the Dark, available from 24 May

Torben Betts uses a classic set-up for his play, Murder in the Dark, part psychological thriller, part ghost story, which has made the leap from stage to streaming following a tour last year. Following a car accident on the way home from his mother's funeral, fading pop star Danny Sierra (Tom Chambe...

19/05/2024

The Pillowman review – Lyric Theatre, Belfast ★★★★★

"Moving and heartbreaking - a story that will stay with you long after you have left the theatre"

Read our review of The Pillowman at Lyric Belfast now, a co-production between the Lyric and Prime Cut Productions

Review by Orla Keaveney A year on from the success of the Lyric Theatre and Prime Cut Productions’ co-production of Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, this dynamic pairing presents McDonagh’s The Pillowman on the Lyric's main stage. The play tells the story of a writer, Katurian (K...

16/05/2024

Between Riverside and Crazy review – Hampstead Theatre, London ★★★☆☆

"Every single performance was a standout"

Natalie Evans reviews Between Riverside and Crazy. Read the review now:

Review by Natalie Evans To open the 2024 summer season at the Hampstead, Stephen Adly Guirgis’s 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Between Riverside and Crazy takes to the main stage. Set in a rent controlled apartment on the highly coveted Riverside Drive, our protagonist Walter “Pops” Washingt...

15/05/2024

People, Places and Things review - Trafalgar Theatre ★★★★★

"Denise Gough’s ever-morphing & deviously desperate performance is both remarkably captivating and terrifyingly deceptive"

Read 's review of the National Theatre's
People, Places and Things now

https://www.theartsdispatch.com/people-places-things-review-trafalgar-theatre-london

07/05/2024

Dugsi Dayz review - Royal Court Theatre, London ★★★★☆

"An insightful play that stands, not just as a knowing take on The Breakfast Club, but on its own merits'

Read our review of Sabrina Ali's Dugsi Dayz at The Royal Court Theatre

Sabrina Ali's Dugsi Dayz kicks off David Byrne's inaugural season as artistic director at the Royal Court Theatre. You might describe it as a 'soft launch' - an Edinburgh Fringe transfer that plays in the theatre's upstairs studio space ahead of the big opening of the Ben Whishaw-fronted Bluets in t...

04/05/2024

The Cherry Orchard review - Donmar Warehouse, London ★★★★★

"What a timely, necessary and radical piece of theatre."

We review The Cherry Orchard at Donmar Warehouse

Benedict Andrews blows the bloody doors off the family estate home at the centre of The Cherry Orchard in this near-immersive production of Chekhov’s classic play. The house lights are up, the actors sit amongst us and some audience members stand in for props on Magda Willi’s minimalist stage, t...