The London Theatre Review

The latest season of the podcast may be over, but 'tis the season for things like presents and surprises - so here is both! Just in time for Christmas, enjoy this bonus episode in which producer Tim talks to Paddington writer Jessica Swale and Julian Clary slips away from playing King Julian in his panto at the Palladium to answer our five questions. Happy Christmas and thanks for listening this year. The London Theatre Review will return... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another season of the London Theatre Review comes to an end with a HUGE episode in which we unveil the inaugural London Theatre Review Awards: our pick of the very best shows of the year, the result of long and passionate arguments, to champion the productions, writers and performers that have stayed with us throughout the last twelve months. Find out who the deserving winners are...As if that weren't BIG enough for the season finale, we also review Paddington the Musical, the most hotly anticipated show of the year, which has a lot to live up to given those brilliant film adaptations. AND we take a look at the very first stage adaptation of a John Le Carré novel, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, running at @sohoplace. Plus Nick Curtis managed to sneak in an interview with the very exciting director Jordan Fein who is taking on the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical Into the Woods.And George Blagden answers our five questions with a great story about unfastened trousers.Then that's it for this year. There may be a sneaky surprise Christmas drop but apart from that, you will see The London Theatre Review again in January after we have all stuffed ourselves with mince pies and sherry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More than a decade after his stupendous production of A View From The Bridge, director Ivo Van Hove returns to Arthur Miller with All My Sons starring Bryan Cranston and Marianne Jean Baptiste. David Eldridge's trilogy of plays about relationships comes to an end with End at the National Theatre. And Nick Clark speaks to Éanna Hardwicke who is about to star in Playboy of the Western World by JM Synge, also at the National - although Nick seems a little more interested in the fact Éanna has just played Roy Keane in a new film, Saipan. Ruby Ashbourne Serkis answers five questions ahead of appearing in Tom Stoppard's play Indian Ink, and Tim pays tribute to Stoppard, whose death was announced this week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bit of a shambles this week as cancellations and illness got in the way of reviews but here, nevertheless, are reviews of the hotly anticipated new musical Coven at the Kiln Theatre about the Pendle Witch Trials and Porn Play at the Royal Court starring Ambika Mod. Paapa Essiedu chats to Nick Curtis about starring in All My Sons alongside Bryan Cranston, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Tom Glynn-Carney and Hayley Squires. And Jackie Clune answers five questions with a great Mamma Mia! mishap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nancy Durrant, Nick Clark, and Nick Curtis offer themselves as tributes this week to review The Hunger Games at the new and massive Troubadour Canary Wharf theatre. On the complete other end of the spectrum, and the other side of London, they take in Nancy Farino's debut play Fatherland at Hampstead Theatre's teeny downstairs studio. Nick Clark gets very excited because he talks to the wonderful Saskia Reeves, managing not to talk just about Slow Horses, but also End, David Eldridge's new play which Saskia stars in alongside Clive Owen at the National. And Toby Stephens takes a break from buckling his swash as Captain Hook in Wendy and Peter Pan at the Barbican to answer five questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.