Susannah Clapp

England

Theater Critic at The Observer

Theatre Critic of the Observer. Author of 'A Card from Angela Carter' and 'With Chatwin'.

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Articles

Theatre reviews: In Praise of Love and Elephant

2 weeks ago | observer.co.uk | Susannah Clapp

A Terence Rattigan revival is intriguing but overstated. Elsewhere, Anoushka Lucas stuns in a superb one-hander The campaign to rename a West End theatre is gathering strength. The Terence Rattigan Society has the support of, among others, Judi Dench and David Suchet in calling for the Duchess to become the Rattigan – a change that sounds like a coming out.
Imelda Staunton and daughter light up Shaw’s notorious brothel drama

1 month ago | observer.co.uk | Susannah Clapp

Playing a former sex worker and her disapproving daughter, Staunton and Bessie Carter are a treat in Dominic Cooke’s bold new production, which liberates the heart of Bernard Shaw’s once banned play Mrs Warren’s ProfessionGarrick, London WC2; until 16 AugustWhat a double slicing through generations. A play written more than 130 years ago is brushed off and given new vivacity by one of today’s most incisive directors.
Here We Are: Sondheim’s bittersweet swansong

1 month ago | observer.co.uk | Susannah Clapp

Unfinished at the time of his death in 2021, Stephen Sondheim’s ambitious fusion of two Buñuel films is unmissable but loses itself as the music dies Here We AreLyttelton, London SE1; until 28 JuneIn 1970 Stephen Sondheim looked ready to scalp the musical. Returning from seeing Company, Alan Jay Lerner, lyricist for the gorgeously successful My Fair Lady, wept, declaring that his way of writing was over. Which now looks both more and less than the truth.
Review: Titus with all the trimmings – Shakespeare's 'goriest' play | The Observer

1 month ago | observer.co.uk | Susannah Clapp

Amid the lopped-off limbs and family pies, Simon Russell Beale also melts hearts in Max Webster’s searing production of Shakespeare’s goriest tragedy Titus AndronicusSwan theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; until 7 JuneThe prize for the most challenging Shakespearean stage direction is up for grabs. “Exit, pursued by a bear” has long been presumed the winner: the Royal Shakespeare Company has an enormous stuffed bruin looming near its Stratford bookstall.
Ewan McGregor fails to excite in heavy-handed spin on Ibsen's Master Builder

1 month ago | observer.co.uk | Susannah Clapp

Ibsen’s play could certainly do with a going over. But not this one, writes The Observer's theatre critic Susannah Clapp My Master BuilderWyndham’s, London WC2; until 12 JulyThe Brightening AirOld Vic, London SE1; until 14 JuneMartin Amis, who was not a fan of the theatre, warned me off this job 28 years ago. After all, he explained, there are only three playwrights: Shakespeare, Ibsen and Chekhov. I disagree, but sometimes it seems that dramatists are on his side.
Gary Oldman is extraordinary in Krapp’s Last Tape

2 months ago | observer.co.uk | Susannah Clapp

The Slow Horses star performs in, directs and designs an intimate production of Samuel Beckett’s one-man drama of loss, finely capturing its sense of rage and reverie Krapp’s Last TapeYork Theatre Royal; until 17 MayWhy would I rather see Krapp’s Last Tape than Waiting for Godot? Both plays are drenched in disappointment: Godot (1952) from defeated expectation, Krapp (1958) from the losses of the past.
The week in theatre: Speed; Shanghai Dolls – review

2 months ago | msn.com | Susannah Clapp

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The week in theatre: Speed; Shanghai Dolls - review

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Susannah Clapp

My attitude to stage design changed about 15 years ago when I was on the judging panel for the Evening Standard theatre awards. Advocating one designer, I was met by an objection from another critic: “You can’t see what he does.” That was, of course, the best argument for my chap winning. Suddenly I realised what should have been self-evident: the best design does not have evident designs on its audience. I remembered that exchange when watching Mohamed-Zain Dada’s light-footed new play, Speed.
The week in theatre: Manhunt; Jab – review

2 months ago | msn.com | Susannah Clapp

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.
The week in theatre: Manhunt; Jab - review

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Susannah Clapp

Robert Icke goes on disrupting, reinventing what we see on stage. His new production, Manhunt, does not have the sleek incisiveness of the superb Oedipuswith which he lit up the theatre last year: it sprawls, tries to lasso too much, is sometimes overexpository. Yet it is coruscating. It transmits indelible images. Not moving but transfixing. Manhunt is a departure for Icke: a modern, real-life story that he has written as well as directed.