OTHELLO

“Celeb studded casts have become as common place in London’s West End as Pret A Mangers on the surrounding streets. They often leave you with a similar feeling too: you’ve paid too much for something that lacks proper substance. I am thrilled to type that All My Sons at Wyndham’s Theatre leaves you with no such feeling. Yes, it’s a very expensive show, but it is as enriching and nourishing as the juiciest steak. The stars (Bryan Cranston, Paapa Essiedu, etc.) don’t steal scenes. They work together, lifting and lovingly delivering Miller’s words. A true ensemble & a show truly worth catching. As the fellow solo theatre goer said to me during the curtain call: ‘I’m so happy I spent all my salary on that. I now don’t need to eat for the month’.”

“I first saw “Other” over the summer in the Berkshires under its previous title “Out of Character.” I didn’t like it then, and I still don’t like it now. Ari’el Stachel has written this 90 minute one-man play, positing that it explores belonging in America, particularly in regards to his ethnic background and lifelong struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder. Instead, the show is more the self-indulgent monologue of a historically compulsive liar that sprinkles in thinly-veiled Zionism. For a play that mostly conflates identity with geopolitics, it is well-acted. And it tracks that Stachel is a great actor—he did play the part of another race for much of his life. His accent and impression work are outstanding and his projectile volume of spit recalls Broadway’s Jonathan Groff.”

“Robert Icke is one of the most exciting voices in theatre today. A master of transforming classic texts, he turns this ancient myth into a contemporary political thriller. Lesley Manville and Mark Strong deliver fantastic performances giving us a show that\'s repulsive, captivating and heartbreaking all at once.”