Selected reviews by Alice Saville, freelance theatre critic for publications including TimeOut and the Financial Times
Alice Saville is a freelance arts and culture writer for publications including Time Out, the Financial Times, The Independent, Exeunt and more.
Alice is also Head of Engagement at Stagedoor.
Previous roles including Deputy Theatre Editor at TimeOut.
More about Alice Saville:
TimeOut Bio & Articles | FT Bio & Articles | The Independent Bio & Articles | Twitter | LinkedIn
Further than the Furthest Thing at the Young Vic Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"a fascinating exploration of the tides of change" "This revival of Zinnie Harris’ play that premiered in 2000 reveals much…
The Evening Standard
Marjorie Prime at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2023)
★★★
"Anne Reid anchors this overly cosy AI play" "Jordan Harrison’s gentle vision of an android-filled future feels too even-handed" "It’s…
The Independent
The Great British Bake Off Musical at the Noel Coward Theatre (2023)
★★
"A rich aroma of pointlessness wafts off this musical homage to the TV show" "Where most art forms strive for…
TimeOut
Shirley Valentine at the Duke of York's Theatre (2023)
★★★★★
"Sheridan Smith is a transcendent one-woman Shirley Valentine" "... it’s Willy Russell’s original 1986 one-woman play we’re dealing with here,…
The Financial Times
Oklahoma! at the Wyndham's Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Transferring to the West End, this radical take on Rodgers & Hammerstein is a dark, wild, sexy ride" "It turns…
TimeOut
The Winter's Tale at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★★
"A quixotic take that gives us two shows in one" "Sean Holmes serves up silliness and wonder in the first…
The Independent
Women, Beware The Devil at the Almeida Theatre (2023)
★★★
"A drama of witchcraft and desire in ‘Women, Beware the Devil’" "The drama that ensues is an unclassifiable one: part…
The Financial Times
Romeo and Julie at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Gary Owen’s Welsh working-class response to ‘Romeo & Juliet’ is thoughtful but muted" "Gary Owen’s down-to-earth ‘Romeo and Julie’ wears…
TimeOut
Medea at the @sohoplace (2023)
★★★★
"Sophie Okonedo has a moving dignity in this triumphant production" "Dominic Cooke’s subtle staging of this Greek myth makes Medea’s…
The Independent
Sylvia at the The Old Vic Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Beverley Knight's formidable vocal talents aren't enough to rescue this staid suffragette musical" "In the wake of mega hits ‘Hamilton’…
TimeOut
Phaedra at the National Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Janet McTeer is riveting in a wry, stylish take on sexual obsession" "Six years after ‘Yerma’, director Simon Stone puts…
The Independent
2:22 A Ghost Story at the Lyric Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Cheryl nails the laughs but not the terror in her West End debut" "Can she act? Sort of. The former…
i News
Jack and the Beanstalk at the London Palladium (2022)
★★★
"Julian Clary remorselessly steals the show – again – as London’s biggest panto returns" "For the love of god don't…
TimeOut
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre (2022)
★★★
"The country music legend’s take on Dickens will well and truly warm your heart, even if there aren’t enough rhinestone"…
i News
Sons of the Prophet at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Stephen Karam’s eccentric comedy about two brothers struggling with their dad’s bizarre death is a real gem of a play"…
TimeOut
Disney's Newsies at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Disney’s cult classic musical about striking finally hits the UK – and it’s a delight" "If you haven't yet heard…
TimeOut
Hex at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Entertaining but somewhat baffling" "‘Sleeping Beauty’ is a love story. ‘Hex’ hasn't quite decided what it is. It's got a…
TimeOut
Best of Enemies at the Noel Coward Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"James Graham’s monumental ’60s drama transfers, with tremendous performances from Zachary Quinto and David Harewood" "The great thing about a…
TimeOut
Blackout Songs at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Joe White’s drama about an alcoholic couple spiralling out of control is best at its bleakest and weirdest" "Joe White’s…
TimeOut
Super High Resolution at the Soho Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Blanche McIntyre directs this impassioned new drama about NHS burnout" "Ellis's rave-reviewed previous play, 'work.txt', felt like a real moment:…
TimeOut
@sohoplace at the @sohoplace (2022)
"@sohoplace's intimate, bright, in-the-round auditorium is the perfect venue for 'Marvellous', filling a niche that more charming but less flexible…
TimeOut
Marvellous at the @sohoplace (2022)
★★★★
"New West End theatre @sohoplace opens with this charming bio-play about the irrepressible Neil Baldwin" "It's a pretty leftfield decision…
TimeOut
The Boy with Two Hearts at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Slick, moving adaptation of Afghan refugees Hamed and Hessam Amiri’s hit book" "Long before the Calais Jungle was forcibly dismantled,…
TimeOut
Blues For An Alabama Sky at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Giles Terera and Samira Wiley are tremendous in this stylish revival of Pearl Cleage’s drama about the Harlem Renaissance" "'Orange…
TimeOut
The Crucible at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"A clever revival that shows the perils of self-righteousness" "‘The Crown’ star Erin Doherty dispels all memories of Princess Anne…
The Independent
The P Word at the Bush Theatre (2022)
★★★★★
"Two very different gay Pakistani men cross paths in Waleed Akhtar’s tremendous new play" "Waleed Akhtar’s gorgeous, devastating new play…
TimeOut
Antigone at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Inua Ellams gives Sophocles‘s ancient tragedy a bracingly contemporary spin" "There are bolts of brilliance in Inua Ellams' twenty-first-century rewrite…
TimeOut
Silence at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★★
"A powerful and painful Partition drama" "The play is a welcome introduction to events that many would rather forget" "Although…
The Evening Standard
Who Killed My Father at the The Young Vic (2022)
★★★★
"Ivo van Hove’s Édouard Louis adaptation is bleak but loving" "Hans Kesting’s brilliant physical performance anchors this gripping one-man show"…
The Evening Standard
Chasing Hares at the Young Vic (2022)
★★★
"Sonali Bhattacharyya’s drama about the erosion of workers’ rights in Bengal and Britain is powerful once it hits its stride"…
TimeOut
Jack Absolute Flies Again at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"A cheerful farce at the National Theatre" "New knockabout comedy updates Sheridan’s The Rivals to a second world war setting"…
The Financial Times
The Seagull at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Emilia Clarke is charismatic in her West End debut" "Clarke is undeniably charismatic, but her presence is far from the…
The Evening Standard
Disney's Beauty and the Beast at the London Palladium (2022)
★★★★
"An extravagant, memorable update on a tale that’s as old as time, but as exhilarating as ever." "Director Matt West…
The Evening Standard
Mad House at the The Ambassadors Theatre (2022)
★★★
"David Harbour is tremendous fun in this old-fashioned comedy" "It’s a fine showcase for the talents of Harbour and Bill…
The Independent
That Is Not Who I Am at the Royal Court Theatre (2022)
★★★
"A slippery thriller" "Davies and Kelly have a winning chemistry, their physical passion for each other glueing them together even…
TimeOut
Britannicus at the Lyric Hammersmith (2022)
★★★★
"Atri Banerjee’s production takes us to 'Succession' territory" "Like ancient Greek dramas, Racine's play has an arch, declamatory quality, its…
TimeOut
The Glass Menagerie at the Duke of York's Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Amy Adams makes a likeable but underpowered West End debut" " Amy Adams’s interpretation is sympathetic, free of the trappings…
The Independent
My Fair Lady (2022)
★★★
"This fractionally tweaked Broadway production of the classic musical is pleasant but won’t win over any doubters" "Amara Okereke plays…
TimeOut
Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Mark Rylance returns for a dark, potent revival of Jez Butterworth’s 2009 play" "There’s a real cruelty to the Englishness…
The Independent
The Corn is Green at the National Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Nicola Walker is tremendous as an inspirational schoolteacher in this classy revival for Emelyn Williams’s slightly dated Welsh classic" "Cooke’s…
TimeOut
Scandaltown at the Lyric Hammersmith (2022)
★★★
"Mike Bartlett’s faux-Restoration comedy is good fun but a bit weak as satire" "It takes guts to try and satirise…
TimeOut
The Collaboration at the The Young Vic (2022)
★★★★
"Bettany is a neurotic Andy Warhol in this fantastically enjoyable play" "Anthony McCarten’s Young Vic pacy production is an exercise…
The Independent
Bring It On: The Musical at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (2021)
★★★
"This cast are quadruple threats" "There’s a puppyish energy to this early musical from Lin-Manuel Miranda, with a brilliant performance…
The Evening Standard
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) at the Criterion Theatre (2021)
★★★★
"There’s bite to this fluffy cucumber sandwich of a show" "Austen is a master of understatement and carefully shaded little…
The Independent
Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre (2021)
★★★
"This Disney musical looks and sounds magical – even if it’s a few shades weirder than the much-loved movie"
TimeOut
DEAR EVAN HANSEN at the Noel Coward Theatre (2019)
★★★★
"A fragile high schooler’s lie spins dizzyingly out of control as this smart Broadway musical smash finally hits the West…
TimeOut
Vassa at the Almeida Theatre (2019)
★★★
"Bartlett's adaptation is very, very funny" "Playing the title role (after Samantha Bond withdrew following injury), Siobhan Redmond squeezes her…
TimeOut
Come From Away at the Phoenix Theatre (2019)
★★★★★
"This 9/11-set musical is a gently miraculous masterpiece" "Musicals don’t come much more low-key, wholesome or Canadian than ‘Come from…
TimeOut
9 to 5 The Musical at the Savoy Theatre (2019)
★★★
"Dolly Parton's somewhat hallucinatory musical is a wilfully preposterous crowd-pleaser" "The plot, when it shows up, is about as ridiculous…
TimeOut
📷 Main photo: Critics - Alice Saville
PATRIOTS written by Peter Morgan and directed by Rupert Goold 2022 Almeida Theatre
I saw it last night and have urged friends and family to get a return if possible. Tom Hollander’s performance as Boris Berezovsky was sublime. Will Keen plays Putin whose character’s metamorphosis into a cold blooded psychopath was tangible. Abromovich, played by Luke Thallon, was a likeable, quietly opportunistic sociopath. Berezovsky was driven by manipulative greed only to see the light of the life he could’ve had, had he chosen the different path of academia. He was ultimately a misplaced genius.
The quality of both dialogue and direction were undeniably top notch.
As a “layperson,” I would’ve given it a five star rating. The reviews however were less generous.
I do hope it ultimately transfers..
Denise Peters (author) – a wannabe “Peoples’ Choice” theatre critic!
Great you enjoyed it Denise, and thanks for the review