After being commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival to write a play about the American Revolution, Lynn Nottage wrote SWEAT eerily close to the announcement of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy. It is revived in Manchester by director Jade Lewis for the Royal Exchange Theatre. Spanning 2000 and 2008, SWEAT follows a group of friends and their families in Reading, … More SWEAT – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE
A brilliantly authentic revival, which allows Delaney’s dialogue to shine, with enough alterations to make the restaging worthwhile and optimistic. A Taste of Honey is a giant in British theatre history and therefore is an especially difficult text to stage well. Initially workshopped by Joan Littlewood and premiering in 1958, A Taste of Honey has enjoyed a long … More A TASTE OF HONEY – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE MANCHESTER
Shed: Exploded View has powerful language, but the pared-back production fails to communicate the central message. Phoebe Éclair-Powell’s Shed: Exploded View is a character study inspired by Cornelia Parker’s installation Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View. Parker’s piece celebrates the human desire to rebuild, but Powell’s shed symbolises an unattainable ideal of marriage. The language … More SHED: EXPLODED VIEW – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE
A near-perfect production that is electrifying, fun, and modern. Romeo & Juliet is director Nicholai La Barrie’s Royal Exchange debut, and it is a daunting venture. With Shakespeare, the difficulty is freshening the text and its themes; any Shakespearean production must justify its revival. While many people cite universal themes, exemplary dramatic narratives, and heritage … More ROMEO & JULIET – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE
Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations has been adapted by Tanika Gupta and is directed by Pooja Ghai, in this co-production between the Royal Exchange Theatre and Tamasha. Dickens’s classic story of a working-class boy becoming a gentleman still resonates today. Pip’s longing to move beyond his station, Miss Havisham’s desire for revenge against the men who have wronged … More GREAT EXPECTATIONS – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE MANCHESTER
Co-Artistic Director Bryony Shanahan’s last hurrah at the Royal Exchange is a political farce that feels as though it was written directly from today’s news. No Pay? No Way! is a translation of a 1974 Italian play Non Si Paga! Non Si Paga! by Dario Fo and Franca Rame. The English translation by Marieke Hardy debuted in Sydney, … More NO PAY? NO WAY! – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE, MANCHESTER
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is the second Tennessee Williams play programmed at the Royal Exchange Theatre in the last six months, after The Glass Menagerie’s success in September last year. It is directed by co-artistic director Roy Alexander Weise, who will also direct the International Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting winning play Untitled F*ck … More CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE
