Stuart King
24 Oct
Reviews 
Review: LA TRAVIATA at English National Opera, London Coliseum
By Stuart King Tuesday, October 24 2023, 11:38
In a case of art inspiring art, Alexander Dumas’ story The Lady of the Camellias (penned in response to his love affair with a courtesan Marie Duplessis), so inspired Guiseppe Verdi at the play’s Parisian premiere, that he purportedly began to write La Traviata — the fallen woman — the moment he left the theatre.
David Webb, Patrick Alexander Keefe, Jonathan Lemalu, Amy Holyland, ENO’s La traviata 2023 © Belinda Jiao
20 Oct
Reviews
Review: THE NAG’S HEAD at Park Theatre
By Stuart King Friday, October 20 2023, 09:43
Alice Chambers directs Felix Grainger and Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson’s THE NAG’S HEAD which opened on a rainy Wednesday evening at Park Theatre. The young writer/actors appear alongside Cara Steele in their three-hander, set (perhaps unsurprisingly) at The Nag’s Head pub where a wake for their father, the former owner, has just ended and the siblings are considering what to do with their dilapidated inheritance.
The Nag's Head cast at Park Theatre. Photo credit Alice Chambers.
18 Oct
Reviews
Review: PORTIA COUGHLAN at Almeida
By Stuart King Wednesday, October 18 2023, 10:07
Melancholy currently pervades the air of the Almeida stage as a family living in the rural Irish midlands is forced to come to terms with survivor’s guilt and familial recriminations.
Portia Coughlan, Almeida Theatre. Kathy Kiera Clarke and Alison Oliver. Credit Marc Brenner
11 Oct
Reviews
Review: IOLANTHE at London Coliseum
By Stuart King Wednesday, October 11 2023, 17:10
Directed by Cal McCrystal with a set and costumes by the late and much lamented Paul Brown, this revival from 2018 is a wonderfully frolicsome flower in ENO’s buttonhole and captures all of Gilbert and Sullivan’s joyful nonsense. With a splash of modern playfulness (and even a pinch of vulgarity secreted amidst the coded messaging and spoofed political appearances), IOLANTHE is a blast of energy, irreverence, and fun, from start to finish.
The Cast of ENO’s Iolanthe 2023 © Craig Fuller
10 Oct
Reviews
Review: GENTLEMEN at Arcola
By Stuart King Tuesday, October 10 2023, 09:25
A full 1,296 days after it was originally due to open, Matt Parvin’s GENTLEMEN —set amidst the environs of academia — finally shakes off its Covid cloak and reaches an audience. Under the direction of Richard Speir the play was fortunate enough to benefit from an Arts Council England grant and monies from other worthy benefactors on its journey to opening night at the Arcola. So was it worth the extended wait?
Gentlemen at the Arcola Theatre. Photo Alex Brenner.
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