Fiona Mountford

London

Journalist and Host of Talks and Events. at Freelance

Previously 17 years as Evening Standard theatre critic. Now at the i. All-round arts lover. Has opinions. Host of talks and events. Finally writing the book.

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Articles

After the Act is a triumph - the Royal Court is revived

1 month ago | inews.co.uk | Fiona Mountford

Before he took over at the Royal Court, Artistic Director David Byrne ran fringe venue the New Diorama, transforming it into a hub of innovation and acclaim, nurturing the likes of Operation Mincemeat, which became a sensation. It is, therefore, little wonder that he has invited a number of these creative colleagues to join him at his august new premises in Sloane Square, a venue sorely in need of an infusion of fresh blood.
In Mrs Warren’s Profession, Imelda Staunton outshines her real-life daughter

1 month ago | msn.com | Fiona Mountford

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
In Mrs Warren's Profession, Imelda Staunton outshines her real-life daughter

1 month ago | inews.co.uk | Fiona Mountford

Imelda Staunton and director Dominic Cooke have enjoyed a most fruitful working relationship in recent years. First of all, Staunton starred in Cooke’s production of the Sondheim musical Follies at the National. Then, last year, she bagged her fifth Olivier Award for her phenomenal turn in his revival of Hello, Dolly!. This latest outing doesn’t quite manage to complete a hat-trick of undisputed triumphs, but it is never less than a fascinating evening’s theatre.
The Comedy About Spies is the latest West End hot ticket

1 month ago | inews.co.uk | Fiona Mountford

The new show from the team behind The Play That Goes Wrong is destined to be a hit There is, it appears, no limit to the number of things that can “Go Wrong”, theatrically speaking. The Play That Goes Wrong last year celebrated a decade in the West End and Mischief, its creator company founded in 2008 by a group of acting graduates, have now unleashed their particular brand of merry mayhem in a dizzying number of ways.
Tim Crouch's improv experiment An Oak Tree is far too pleased with itself

1 month ago | inews.co.uk | Fiona Mountford

An Oak Tree this year celebrates its 20th anniversary, yet Tim Crouch’s play has lost none of its capacity to beguile and bewilder in roughly equal measure. Deploying a different guest actor each night to perform alongside him, Crouch riffs upon the immense power and inherent artificiality of storytelling, as well as the vital importance of the suspension of disbelief.
Romeo and Juliet, Globe, review: a fine start to a Shakespearean summer

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Fiona Mountford

OpinionRomeo and Juliet, Globe, review: a fine start to a Shakespearean summerSat, May 3, 2025 at 11:55 AM UTCLola Shalam and Rawaed Asde star in Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe - Tristram KentonThe season of alfresco theatre is upon us and before every green space in the country plays host to a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, here comes the opening salvo in the Globe’s 2025 programme.
a fine start to a Shakespearean summer

1 month ago | telegraph.co.uk | Fiona Mountford

The season of alfresco theatre is upon us and before every green space in the country plays host to a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, here comes the opening salvo in the Globe's 2025 programme. What a fine start to a summer of Bankside theatricals this Romeo and Juliet proves, revealing itself to be accessible, appealing and on the good side of broad, unlike too many over-emphatic shows at this venue in recent years.
Ewan McGregor makes an exquisite return to UK theatre in My Master Builder

2 months ago | inews.co.uk | Fiona Mountford

The dramas of Chekhov and Ibsen are eternally relevant because of the never-ending pertinency of their themes and they are also endlessly adaptable. Last week saw the opening of Conor McPherson’s glistening new play The Brightening Air, which brings a highly Chekhovian set-up to a ramshackle family home in 80s Sligo; now American playwright Lila Raicek offers a punchy and poisonous spin on Ibsen’s 1893 play The Master Builder.
Gary Oldman's Krapp's Last Tape could've been so much more

2 months ago | inews.co.uk | Fiona Mountford

In 1979, a young actor straight out of drama school began his professional career at York Theatre Royal. That actor was a certain Gary Oldman and now, after decades of screen work that have seen him garlanded with Oscars, BAFTAS and Golden Globe awards, Oldman returns to the stage for the first time in 37 years.
The Brightening Air is the finest play of the year

2 months ago | inews.co.uk | Fiona Mountford

It is, unofficially at least, Conor McPherson season at the Old Vic this spring and summer. Next up comes a revival of his modern classic Girl from the North Country, that ingenious interweaving of the songs of Bob Dylan into a haunting tale about Depression Era small-town America. Before that there is this new drama from the Irish master, taking its title from a line in the WB Yeats poem “The Song of Wandering Aengus”.