Dominic Cavendish

United Kingdom

Theater Critic at The Telegraph

Telegraph theatre critic; [email protected]

Articles

Retrograde: A deserved West End triumph for one of Britain’s finest playwrights

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Dominic Cavendish

When I reviewed Retrograde – Ryan Calais Cameron’s riveting account of a career-defining moment for actor Sidney Poitier in the mid-Fifties – at the Kiln in 2023, I rounded off by comparing it to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. “Yes, it’s honestly that good”, I declared, giving it five stars.
A deserved West End triumph for one of Britain's greatest playwrights

1 month ago | telegraph.co.uk | Dominic Cavendish

Poitier could walk away but where to? More poverty and obscurity, with blacklisting a threatened certainty. Yield, and he's staring at a Faustian pact, a traitor to his own kind. In 2023, thoughts flitted to cancel culture; today, they're as likely to head in the direction of a crazed White House, too.
Dear England 2025, National Theatre, review: a brisk update of the decade’s biggest theatrical triumph

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Dominic Cavendish

British theatre’s star-striker James Graham scores again with this updated reboot of his 2023 drama about Gareth Southgate’s time as manager of the English (men’s) national team. Factor in the hit Punch at the Young Vic and his touring adaptation of Boys from the Blackstuff, and you wonder if Graham himself should be England’s manager; he never puts a foot wrong.
a brisk update of the decade's biggest theatrical triumph

1 month ago | telegraph.co.uk | Dominic Cavendish

British theatre's star-striker James Graham scores again with this updated reboot of his 2023 drama about Gareth Southgate's time as manager of the English (men's) national team. Factor in the hit Punch at the Young Vic and his touring adaptation of Boys from the Blackstuff, and you wonder if Graham himself should be England's manager; he never puts a foot wrong.
Clueless, The Musical: Can it match the film’s greatness? As if!

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Dominic Cavendish

It proved an inspired move to transpose Jane Austen’s Emma to an affluent LA high-school scenario and the resulting romcom – Clueless – made writer-director Amy Heckerling successful and wealthy, gave the mid-Nineties a feel-good hit to remember, and entered popular parlance, gifting us “Whatever!” and “As if!”. Whether it’s such an inspired move for Heckerling to twist the film into a stage-musical is another question.
Can it match the film's greatness? As if!

1 month ago | telegraph.co.uk | Dominic Cavendish

It proved an inspired move to transpose Jane Austen's Emma to an affluent LA high-school scenario and the resulting romcom - Clueless - made writer-director Amy Heckerling successful and wealthy, gave the mid-Nineties a feel-good hit to remember, and entered popular parlance, gifting us "Whatever!" and "As if!". Whether it's such an inspired move for Heckerling to twist the film into a stage-musical is another question.
A small piece of magic from an unsung London theatre

1 month ago | telegraph.co.uk | Dominic Cavendish

"We reimagine theatre to reimagine the world" runs the mission-statement of The Yard in Hackney Wick. A grand claim. But weighing the evidence of the past 14 years, the vaunt seems amply justified. As the east London space - an inspiring labour of love by founding director Jay Miller - reaches the final production in its current guise (it will be demolished to make way for a bigger, better equipped building, opening next year), it can take pride in its survival and achievements.
A Streetcar Named Desire: This accomplished revival is boosted by a superb Blanche

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Dominic Cavendish

Who’d want to be in the position of Blanche DuBois, the delicate creature first played on stage by Jessica Tandy, and then on screen by Vivien Leigh, both actresses starring opposite Marlon Brando as her nemesis Stanley Kowalski?
This accomplished revival is boosted by a superb Blanche

1 month ago | telegraph.co.uk | Dominic Cavendish

Who'd want to be in the position of Blanche DuBois, the delicate creature first played on stage by Jessica Tandy, and then on screen by Vivien Leigh, both actresses starring opposite Marlon Brando as her nemesis Stanley Kowalski?
The Seagull: Cate Blanchett delivers the goods - and does the splits

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Dominic Cavendish

Cate Blanchett is back on the London stage for the first time in six years, playing the feted, self-absorbed, glamorous actress Arkadina in Chekhov’s first theatrical masterpiece The Seagull (1896). The production, whose stellar wattage is boosted by Emma Corrin and Tom Burke (the former plays Nina, the young would-be actress whom Burke’s famous writer Trigorin falls for, despite being tied to Arkadina), has seen a box-office stampede.