Selected reviews by theatre critic Tim Bano.
Tim Bano is a journalist and theatre critic.
Tim Bano has contributed to numerous outlets including being joint lead critic of The Stage, and writing and presenting for the BBC, The Guardian, The Stage, Financial Times, The Independent, Time Out London, Time Out New York, Exeunt Magazine and Fest Magazine. He has also worked as a producer for BBC Radio 4.
Tim won best writer at the 2021 Independent Publisher Awards.
More about Tim Bano:
Pygmalion at the The Old Vic Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Despite interesting turns from Olivier winners Bertie Carvel and Patsy Ferran, this revival doesn’t make much of a case for…
TimeOut
God of Carnage at the Lyric Hammersmith (2023)
★★★
"Only comes alive in its final moments" "When it sparks into life, Reza’s play is more potent than ever: it’s…
The Evening Standard
The Effect at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Bold staging from Jamie Lloyd and fine performances from Paapa Essiedu and Taylor Russell can’t quite hide the fact that…
TimeOut
The SpongeBob Musical at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London (2023)
★★★★
"Lewis Cornay’s voice is a wonder" (Birmingham Hippodrome) "Joyful UK premiere of the daft, colourful musical about an underwater sponge"…
The Stage
The Crown Jewels at the Garrick Theatre (2023)
★★
"Al Murray is aimless comedy's saving grace" "Writer Simon Nye turns an eccentric moment in British history into a messy,…
The Stage
The Sound of Music at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Songs are the star”" "Sincere, solid revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic" "... a brilliantly solid version of the…
The Stage
Dr Semmelweis at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A maverick turn from Mark Rylance" "There’s the germ of a great production in this play about a pioneering 19th-century…
The Independent
A Strange Loop at the Barbican Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"A thrillingly strange, playful and hilarious new musical" "Stuffed with catchy tunes, it’s messy, exhausting and spectacular" "This extraordinary musical"…
The Evening Standard
Mrs Doubtfire The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre (2023)
★★★
"This musical is well done, just don’t think too hard about it" "Fun farce and silly comedy make this perfect…
The Evening Standard
The Third Man - A Musical Thriller at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2023)
"Dreadful, pointless musical desecration of the film noir masterpiece" "The tragedy of ‘The Third Man’ – not in the West…
TimeOut
Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical at the Phoenix Theatre (2023)
★★★
"This stage version of the satirical institution is best at its most caustic" "Gamely, writers Al Murray, Matt Forde and…
TimeOut
Frank and Percy at the Theatre Royal Windsor (2023)
★★★★
"Ian McKellen and Roger Allam in a radical odd-couple romance" "If you want to hear Ian McKellen make jokes about…
The Evening Standard
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant (2023)
★★★★
"Very strong, heartfelt new musical" "New folk musical is soaring and swooningly romantic" "The show premiered at Southwark Playhouse in…
The Stage
Patriots at the Noel Coward Theatre (2023)
★★★
"“Telling this story is a political act" "Tom Hollander and Will Keen astonish as Berezovsky and Putin in West End…
The Stage
Great Expectations at the Garrick Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Moments of greatness" "Eddie Izzard romps entertainingly through the Dickens classic" "Fresh from a New York run, Izzard’s solo-take finds…
The Stage
The Comedy of Errors at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★★★
"Daft, bawdy and boisterous with magnificent codpieces" "Amid all the nonsense, you find yourself falling for the idiots in one…
The Evening Standard
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at the Southwark Playhouse Borough (2023)
★★★
"Zany but frustratingly incoherent" "Zany but uneven production of Frank Loesser’s classic musical" "How to succeed in staging a creaky…
The Stage
Biscuits for Breakfast at the Hampstead Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Powerful" "Stirring two-hander about love of food and lack of food from Bruntwood Prize-winner Gareth Farr" "At the centre of…
The Stage
Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Brilliant thriller, brilliant comedy, brilliant musical" "SpitLip’s superb musical about an outlandish chapter in British history hits the West End,…
The Stage
After the Act at the New Diorama Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Messy but fantastically daring musical from Breach Theatre about the UK’s infamous Section 28 anti-gay law" "Through verbatim testimony, Parliamentary…
TimeOut
The Great British Bake Off Musical at the Noel Coward Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Scrappy, home-baked vibe" "Musical version of the TV show is too vanilla" "The Great British Cash-In, coming to the West…
The Stage
Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical at the Birmingham Rep (2023)
★★★
“Puppets make fun but faltering march to the stage” "It’s impressive to see 106 beautifully crafted puppets over the course…
The Stage
The Lehman Trilogy at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Production of colossal elegance" "Sam Mendes’ stunning epic returns to the West End" "Lindsay approaches Henry very differently from the…
The Stage
2:22 A Ghost Story at the Lyric Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Cheryl appears completely at home" "You can practically hear the critics sharpening their fangs – but to get straight to…
The Stage
Disney's Newsies at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Infectious sense of fun" "Spectacular choreography and catchy songs elevate this Disney musical" "Alan Menken’s tunes are typically tender and…
The Stage
Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial at the Wyndham's Theatre (2022)
★★★
"An unexpected state-of-the-nation drama" "Liv Hennessy has edited seven days of court transcripts into two hours of match highlights, creating,…
The Stage
Local Hero at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Lovely performances" "Every element is great. Lovely performances from Paul Higgins as local barman-cum-hotelier-cum-accountant-cum-lawyer Gordon; from Gabriel Ebert as puppyish…
The Stage
Woman in Mind at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Things get thrillingly weird" "Our understanding of mental health has changed hugely in the 37 years since Woman in Mind…
The Stage
Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] at the Park Theatre (2022)
★★
"An unrelenting stream of obvious jokes" "Harry Hill’s musical about the the former prime minister is overlong and obvious" "It’s…
The Stage
The Unfriend at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Tour de force of toilet farce" "Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss team up for a hilarious dark comedy…
The Stage
The Glass Menagerie at the Duke of York's Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Uncomfortable" "Amy Adams gives an understated performance in Jeremy Herrin’s restrained production" "It’s all quite self-consciously stylised. Herrin is keen…
The Stage
Legally Blonde The Musical at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Impossible not to have fun" "It’s a statement piece with a generously Gen-Z approach that celebrates diversity of gender, ethnicity,…
The Stage
Oklahoma! at the Young Vic Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Stark and sparse – Oklahoma with a snarl" "Curly’s relationship with Laurey – a captivating, unsmiling Anoushka Lucas with a…
The Stage
Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"It remains phenomenal" "Thirteen years on, Jerusalem remains an extraordinary experience anchored by an incredible performance from Mark Rylance." "Jerusalem…
The Stage
The Corn is Green at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Precision-tooled acting from Nicola Walker" "Nicola Walker leads a stunning cast in Dominic Cooke’s smart revival of Emlyn Williams’ autobiographical…
The Stage
Straight Line Crazy at the Bridge Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Big, lively characters" "Maybe the biggest flaw is the underuse of Helen Schlesinger as Jane Jacobs. Often mentioned in the…
The Stage
Maria Friedman & Friends - Legacy at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2022)
★★★
"Exudes energy like a firework" "An indulgence, she calls it, and that’s the nail on the head really. For anyone…
The Stage
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theatre) (2021)
★★★★★
"Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley are sublime" "But Frecknall’s direction doesn’t let style sideline substance. Perhaps her strongest play is…
The Stage
The Book of Dust at the Bridge Theatre (2021)
★★★
"A rollicking adaptation" "At the Bridge rather than the Olivier, on stage rather than in a book, Hytner and adapter…
The Stage
A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story at the Nottingham Playhouse (2021)
★★★
“Remarkable debuts" "Mark Gatiss adapts and stars in a joyful but messy adaptation of the Dickens classic" "The greatest consistency…
The Sun
Frozen The Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane (2021)
★★★★
"Stunning performances” "A huge determiner of Frozen’s success comes down to the casting of Anna and Elsa, the princesses of…
The Stage
Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (2021)
★★★
"Amusing, unexpected, enjoyable" "It’s the cast that carries the show: Carrie Hope Fletcher takes the lead and stomps around the…
The Stage
Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre (2021)
★★
"Distinctly lacking in magic" "When so many top-drawer creatives are trying to cast different spells, no wonder the enchantment doesn’t…
The Stage
Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre (2021)
★★★★★
"It's delightful, It's delicious. Sutton Foster makes her London debut in a sumptuous production of the classic Cole Porter musical"…
The Stage
Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre (2020)
★★★★
"Still spectacular" "It’s really quite magnificent. When you combine the new production with the renovated theatre, the experience is completely…
The Stage
& Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre (2019)
★★★★★
"The apotheosis of the jukebox musical" "Having covered all three Schuyler sisters in Hamilton, The Stage Debut Award winner Miriam-Teak…
The Stage
DEAR EVAN HANSEN at the Noel Coward Theatre (2019)
★★★★
"Powerful, moving and superbly performed" "As shown in The Greatest Showman, Pasek and Paul have cracked the formula for four-chord…
The Stage
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium (2019)
★★★★
"It’s a massive blast of joy" "Lloyd Webber and Rice wrote it for a school choir. It makes so much…
The Stage
The Starry Messenger at the Wyndham's Theatre (2019)
★★★
"Broderick and Eleazar are both brilliant, as is the always excellent Jim Norton, as a straight-talking old man on his…
The Stage
Waitress at the Adelphi Theatre, (2019)
★★★★
"Sweet as the best homemade pie" "It’s really wonderful, with the sweetness, crispness and comfort of the best homemade pie,…
The Stage
Fiddler On The Roof at the Meniere Chocolate Factory (2018)
"Trevor nunn's tight, trad revival" 'Nunn is a master of musicals, and one who knows the Menier space well. He…
The Stage
Billionaire Boy at the NST City, Southampton (2018)
★★★★
"Irreverent, funny new hit British musical" “Irreverent, fantastically funny and hit-heavy new musical based on David Walliams’ monster-selling novel” "Walliams’…
The Stage
Hadestown at the National Theatre (2018)
★★★★
"Stunning new folk opera" "Anais Mitchell’s folk musical is much more than just the love story." "Dialogue melts imperceptibly into…
The Stage
Company at the Gielgud Theatre (2018)
★★★★★
"An astonishing reinvention" "Stephen Sondheim and Marianne Elliott unite for an astonishing reinvention of a classic musical. Marianne Elliott has…
The Stage
Killer Joe at the Trafalgar Studios (2018)
★
"An unpleasant revival of a nasty play" "Despite Bloom’s protestations, one thing is for sure: there is nothing remotely feminist,…
The Stage
Julie at the National Theatre (2018)
★★★★
"Provocative and profound" ”Provocative and profound update of Strindberg’s classic with a blinding central performance from Vanessa Kirby. August Strindberg’s…
The Stage
Tina - The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre (2018)
★★★★
"Incredible" "Yes, it’s a jukebox musical. And no, it’s not imaginatively told, galloping straightforwardly through Tina Turner’s life and works…
The Stage
Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre (2017)
★★★★★
"World-shattering" "Brought across the Atlantic by impresario Cameron Mackintosh to a lavishly refurbished theatre, this show doesn’t feel like the…
The Stage
📷 Main photo: Critics - Tim Bano
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