Royal Court
Cow | Deer, Royal Court review - paradox-rich account of non-human lifeThursday, 11 September 2025
I love irony. Especially beautiful irony. So I’m very excited about the ironic gesture of staging a show with no words at the Royal Court, a venue which boasts of being the country’s premier new writing theatre. Billed as “a new experiment in... Read more... |
Deaf Republic, Royal Court review - beautiful images, shame about the wordsSaturday, 06 September 2025
The Ukraine war is not the only place of horror in the world, but it does present a challenge to theatre makers who want to respond to events that dominate the news. And which make us all feel powerless, including our leaders. Instead of staging a... Read more... |
4.48 Psychosis, Royal Court review - powerful but déjà vuFriday, 20 June 2025
Sarah Kane is the most celebrated new writer of the 1990s. Her work is provocative and innovative. So it seems oddly unimaginative to mark the 25th anniversary of her final play, 4.48 Psychosis, by simply recreating the original production, with the... Read more... |
Giant, Harold Pinter Theatre review - incendiary Roald Dahl drama with topical biteFriday, 09 May 2025
When Mark Rosenblatt was preparing his debut play, the miseries of the assault on Gaza were still over the horizon. Now they are here, another terrible moment in human history that resonates all through Giant. Since the play opened at the Royal... Read more... |
Manhunt, Royal Court review - terrifyingly toxic masculinityMonday, 14 April 2025
Are we really in “a new era of male anger, societal discontent and rage”? This is what Royal Court artistic director David Byrne claims in the programme of Manhunt, Robert Icke’s new documentary play about Raoul Moat. Weak thought, because surely... Read more... |
A Knock on the Roof, Royal Court review - poignant account of living under terrorFriday, 28 February 2025
The war in Gaza has been going since 7 October 2023 – that’s about 15 months. But it’s strangely absent from British stages. Of course, it’s a divisive issue, a difficult issue, a painful issue – but isn’t that what contemporary... Read more... |
More Life, Royal Court review - posthuman tragedy fails to come aliveSaturday, 15 February 2025
I always advocate in favour of more sci-fi plays, and over the past decade there have been a gratifying number of them. But one essential element of any futuristic fantasy must be its power to convince. And it is precisely this that is missing from... Read more... |
First Person: writer Lauren Mooney on bringing bodies together in the new Royal Court play, 'More Life'Thursday, 06 February 2025
It started with a Guardian long-read. I’m ashamed to admit it since so many shows could say the same, but that was the beginning.It was the summer of 2022, and James [Yeatman] and I had just finished making two shows back-to-back with our company,... Read more... |
… Blackbird Hour, Bush Theatre review - an unrelentingly tough watchTuesday, 04 February 2025
In a world tainted with racism and homophobia, the Bush Theatre is something of a refuge from prejudice. As one of the most queer friendly venues in London, it’s no surprise that this theatre is now staging babirye bukilwa’s … Blackbird Hour, a play... Read more... |
A Good House, Royal Court review - provocative, but imperfectMonday, 20 January 2025
Most Brits don’t know much about South Africa today, but we do know about house values, so this new comedy by South African playwright and screenwriter Amy Jephta is comprehensible – even in its incoherent moments (of which there are several).... Read more... |
The Legends of Them, Royal Court review - reaching out for serenityFriday, 13 December 2024
I live in Brixton, south London. To get to the tube, I have to cross Windrush Square. Since 2021, I go past the Cherry Groce memorial, which honours the woman who was wrongfully shot by the Met in 1985, an event which sparked the riots I remember so... Read more... |
Expendable, Royal Court review - intensely felt family dramaFriday, 29 November 2024
British theatre excels in presenting social issues: at its best, it shines a bright light on the controversial subjects that people are thinking, and talking, about. Emteaz Hussain’s excellent new play, which opens at the Royal Court, is based on... Read more... |
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