Annabel Sampson

2 months ago | tatler.com | Annabel Sampson

If arriving for Jamie Lloyd’s The Tempest, the first in his Shakespeare two-parter in residence at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, was all low-lit and intergalactic, emanating strong ‘a planet from a far-off universe’ energy; the ambiance ahead of Shakespeare’s much-loved rom-com Much Ado About Nothing is at the other end of the spectrum. The theatre is doused in marshmallow pink bright light and inside the theatre, it is pumping ‘90s pop hits, from ‘Party All The Time’ to ‘Tell It To My Heart’.

2 months ago | tatler.com | Annabel Sampson

From an elegant-in-excelsis Lord Bridgerton to the photogenic Prince Fiyero in Wicked, it was only a matter of time before the temptation to play an unhinged, bratty – yet beauifully eloquent – tyrant of a monarch became too much. A man born to govern, but wholly unfit for the task. Queue: Richard II at the Bridge Theatre, directed by Nicholas Hytner (formerly of the National Theatre), who has praised Bailey’s remarkable knack for speaking Shakespeare’s verse as if it was his natural parlance.

2 months ago | tatler.com | Annabel Sampson

As far as love triangles go, memorably there was Jane Austen’s featuring Elizabeth Bennett, Mr Darcy and George Wickham in Pride and Prejudice. More recently there was Luca Guadagnino’s, with Zendaya as Tashi Donaldson caught between Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Feist) in Challengers. Now, in Mike Bartlett’s hands, the conservative love triangle is forgone in place of an all-out ‘throuple’.

2 months ago | tatler.com | Annabel Sampson

Occasionally a play comes along which is so multi-layered and nuanced it shatters all preconceptions, has you transfixed for the full duration (115 minutes, no interval) and leaves you thinking for weeks afterwards. In short, it’s what every play aspires to achieve but very few actually do.

2 months ago | tatler.com | Annabel Sampson

Take Sophocles’ Electra, make her Elektra (note the ‘k’), give her a buzz cut, a tank top saying ‘BIKINI KILL’ and a handheld microphone and you’ve got the androgynous, punk rock fundamentals of American Oscar-winner Brie Larson’s vengeful West End debut. An almost single-mindedly angry punk who wouldn’t look out of place outside the Corn Exchange in Leeds. This is Captain Marvel – Larson’s best known screen role – like you’ve never seen her before, and this role is a brave undertaking.