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1 week ago | 
thestage.co.uk | David Benedict
OpinionIsobel McArthur, Hannah Jarrett-Scott, Christina Gordon, Tori Burgess and Meghan Tyler in Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of). Photo: Matt CrockettFrom Midnight Cowboy to Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of), worrying about how faithful an adaptation is to its source misses the point, says David Benedict – a show should succeed on its own termsSupport The Stage by registering or subscribingTo continue reading this article you must be logged in.
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2 weeks ago | 
thestage.co.uk | David Benedict
FeaturesWhich productions most inspired, moved and delighted our leading theatremakers? Actor, director and Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh chooses David Hare’s play Plenty, which changed everything for her Plenty, Bristol Old Vic (1978)I was a year early in sixth form, very depressed, with teenage angst dialled to 11, anorexic, my parents were divorcing, and the only thing that made me happy was doing drama. We had to go to a play and then write about it.
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3 weeks ago | 
thestage.co.uk | David Benedict
I have, shamefully, not read the novel and despite the existence of umpteen adaptations of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, I’m sorry to say that outside of Helen Edmundson’s stage version and Joe Wright’s film, I have somehow missed them all. I’m especially sad not to have caught Broadway’s 1992’s flop musical – although I’m relieved to learn that, courtesy of an overseas production, its score was preserved on disc. In Japanese.
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1 month ago | 
thestage.co.uk | David Benedict
I wrote to him later about what I felt. Not only was it so theatrical with a beautifully spare design that told the story so well, but everyone on stage knew what play they were in. I know people bang on about that, but it’s rare. When actors aren’t sure, they go into panic mode and it’s everyone for themselves.
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1 month ago | 
thestage.co.uk | David Benedict
Opinion It’s all, as is widely known, in the timing. Rupert Goold’s taut production of Peter Morgan’s political portrait of Russia, Patriots, was lauded at the Almeida in 2022 and again in its limited West End run in 2023. In April 2024, it opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore and eight days later, Tony voters handed a Tony nomination for best actor to Michael Stuhlbarg as Boris Berezovsky but not, alas, to anyone else.
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1 month ago | 
thestage.co.uk | David Benedict
I don’t speak German, but I was extraordinarily moved by it, most of all by the wit and the bravura of Ekkehard Schall’s performance as Coriolanus. He was absolutely prodigiously brilliant, like a combination of Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce: very mercurial and charismatic. But it was also the sheer astonishing beauty of Helene Weigel as Volumnia.
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1 month ago | 
thestage.co.uk | David Benedict
OpinionThe company of Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London. Photo: Marc BrennerThis year’s Olivier nominations are dominated by shows affiliated with Tim Sheader, in particular Fiddler on the Roof with a well-deserved 13 nodsSupport The Stage by registering or subscribingTo continue reading this article you must be logged in. Register or login below to unlock 3 free articles every month. OR Or subscribe from just £7.99 and get unlimited access to thestage.co.uk.
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2 months ago | 
thestage.co.uk | David Benedict
FeaturesPaule Constable at The Stage Awards 2018. Photo: Alex BrennerWhich productions most inspired, moved and delighted our leading theatremakers? Lighting designer and associate director at the National Theatre Paule Constable chooses an opera directed by Barrie KoskySupport The Stage by registering or subscribingTo continue reading this article you must be logged in. Register or login below to unlock 3 free articles every month.
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2 months ago | 
thestage.co.uk | David Benedict
OpinionThe artwork for Festen at the Royal Opera House, London. Photo: Sebastian NevolsAfter watching the five-star, tension-loaded Festen at the Royal Opera, David Benedict ponders what the real difference is between musical theatre and classical operaSupport The Stage by registering or subscribingTo continue reading this article you must be logged in. Register or login below to unlock 3 free articles every month. OR Or subscribe from just £7.99 and get unlimited access to thestage.co.uk.
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2 months ago | 
thestage.co.uk | David Benedict
“Strengths aplenty”ReviewsArts Depot, LondonLauren Young in Riders to the Sea by OperaUpClose. Photo: Rich SouthgateDirected by Flora McIntosh, this rendition of Vaughan Williams’ one-act work by OperaUpClose is musically rich but dramatically underpoweredSupport The Stage by registering or subscribingTo continue reading this article you must be logged in. Register or login below to unlock 3 free articles every month. OR Or subscribe from just £7.99 and get unlimited access to thestage.co.uk.
