07 September 2017 Follies The National Theatre Reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: ***** Delivered by a cast that exudes talent, Follies should leave theatre-goers in no doubt that Stephen Sondheim is the finest musical lyricist of his, or perhaps any generation. His ability to deliver pathos and plot, yet still including humour and satire… Continue reading Issue 119:2017 09 07:Follies(Adam McCormack)
Tag: Adam McCormack
Issue 117:2017 08 10:The Tobacconist (Adam McCormack)
10 August 2017 The Tobacconist a book by Robert Seethaler reviewed by Adam McCormack. Franz has lived an idyllic childhood with his single mother by a lake near the mountains of the Salzkammergut in Austria. When he is 17, his mother’s lover dies in the lake, meaning that their lifestyle can no longer be maintained,… Continue reading Issue 117:2017 08 10:The Tobacconist (Adam McCormack)
Issue 114:2017 07 20:Thank you for your patience(Adam McCormack)
20 July 2017 Thank you for your patience The Hackney Showroom reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: **** Have we become too blasé about nuclear waste? The seventies and eighties saw continual impassioned protests from students, but of late there has been a silence. The issues have not gone away – it will still… Continue reading Issue 114:2017 07 20:Thank you for your patience(Adam McCormack)
Issue 114: 2017 07 20: Mosquitoes (Adam McCormack)
20 July 2017 Mosquitoes The National Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: *** Alice is a brilliant scientist. She is not as brilliant as her mother, who really should have won the Nobel Prize given to her father (according to her mother), but smart enough to be involved in the search for the Higgs… Continue reading Issue 114: 2017 07 20: Mosquitoes (Adam McCormack)
Issue 111:2017 06 29: Ink (Adam McCormack)
29 June 2017 Ink (by James Graham) The Almeida reviewed by Adam McCormack Stars: ***** It is 1969, and Hugh Cudlipp wants to get rid of The Sun, a broadsheet newspaper that is failing, with a circulation dwarfed by its sister paper the Daily Mirror. Enter two archetypal outsiders. One shunned by the establishment for trying… Continue reading Issue 111:2017 06 29: Ink (Adam McCormack)
Issue 109:2017 06 15: My Cousin Rachel (Adam McCormack)
15 June 2017 My Cousin Rachel A film by Roger Michell reviewed by Adam McCormack. Did she or didn’t she? When Ingrid Bergman was praised for her acting in Casablanca on the basis that reviewers were unable to work out whether she really loved Paul Henreid or Humphrey Bogart, she confessed that this was because… Continue reading Issue 109:2017 06 15: My Cousin Rachel (Adam McCormack)
Issue 108:2017 06 08:Common (Adam McCormack)
08 June 2017 Common The National Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Common, a new play directed by Jeremy Herrin, opens with a scene reminiscent of The Wicker Man. It is mid-summer 1809 and the local peasants, dressed in wicker masks, light a bonfire and sacrifice a pig. This pagan ritual, however, comes at a time… Continue reading Issue 108:2017 06 08:Common (Adam McCormack)
Issue 103:2017 05 04:The Ferryman (Adam McCormack)
4 May 2017 The Ferryman The Royal Court Reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: *** It is harvest-time in rural Derry, 1981. The Carney family seem role models for all that is good about farming life. They are working hard, and ready to play hard in a traditional end-of-harvest celebratory meal. However, the man of… Continue reading Issue 103:2017 05 04:The Ferryman (Adam McCormack)
Issue 102:2017 04 27: Chinglish (Adam McCormack)
27 April 2017 Chinglish The Park Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: **** The strap line of: “The first rule of doing business in China…always bring your own translator,” fits well with a play that derives great humour from the discomfort and consequences of mistranslation. But what makes this play especially compelling is not… Continue reading Issue 102:2017 04 27: Chinglish (Adam McCormack)
Issue 101: 2017 04 20: Love in Idleness Menier Theatre (review)
20 April 2017 Love in Idleness The Menier Theatre Stars **** by Adam McCormack Not all theatre has to be relevant. Sometimes a charming and engaging story, which may have something to say about a previous time, can provide perfect entertainment. With this in mind there is no need to justify Trevor Nunn’s new production… Continue reading Issue 101: 2017 04 20: Love in Idleness Menier Theatre (review)
Issue 98:2017 03 30: Hamlet(Adam McCormack)
30 March 2017 Hamlet The Almeida Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Stars: ***** There is an issue with changing the setting and context of great plays in an effort to make them more relevant and accessible – quite often the changes mean that much of the original brilliance is lost in the process. This is… Continue reading Issue 98:2017 03 30: Hamlet(Adam McCormack)
Issue 96:2017 03 16:Limehouse 9Adam McCormack)
16 March 2017 Limehouse The Donmar reviewed by Adam McCormack Stars **** The Labour party is in disarray, unable to make changes without the sanction of the unions and moving further to the left. The more moderate membership fears that the party is fast becoming unelectable. No, this is not a summary of the current… Continue reading Issue 96:2017 03 16:Limehouse 9Adam McCormack)
Issue 95:2017 03 09:Twelfth Night (Adam McCormack)
09 March 2017 Twelfth Night The National Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Stars: ***** It is very rare for a new production of a Shakespeare play to succeed in every aspect, but Simon Godwin’s Twelfth Night has virtually no identifiable weakness. This is not a “safe” or standard approach – not only has the action… Continue reading Issue 95:2017 03 09:Twelfth Night (Adam McCormack)
