Selected reviews by Dave Fargnoli, freelance theatre critic for publications including The Stage.
Dave Fargnoli is a Scottish playwright, artist, and theatre critic.
He writes for a number of publications including The Stage.
More about Dave Fargnoli:
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The Shape of Things at the Park Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Slick and sinister" "Committed performances empower this slick, unfussy revival" "LaBute has made slender tweaks to the text in preparation…
The Stage
Rose at the Ambassadors Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Maureen Lipman is precise and subtle" "Timely revival of Martin Sherman’s moving monologue describing a century of war, displacement and…
The Stage
The Comedy of Errors at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★★
"Frenetic and unapologetically shallow”" "Breezy and accessible take on Shakespeare’s classic farce of mischance and mistaken identity" "Bursting with exuberant…
The Stage
4000 Miles at the Chichester Festival Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Eileen Atkins gives a consummate performance" "Gripping performances energise this downbeat drama about social responsibility and intergenerational friendship" "Slow moving…
The Stage
August in England at the Bush Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Lenny Henry charms in his powerful debut play" "Poignant monologue explores the experiences of the Windrush generation with humour and…
The Stage
Cymbeline at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon (2023)
★★★★
"Breezy adventure" "Gregory Doran’s RSC swansong is lively, lavishly designed and full of uplifting warmth" "Marking former artistic director Gregory…
The Stage
Richard III at the Liverpool Playhouse / Rose Theatre Kingston (2023)
★★★
"Adjoa Andoh makes a formidable Richard" (Rose Theatre Kingston) "Adjoa Andoh’s vivid vision animates this flawed but thoughtful production" "Putting…
The Stage
Retrograde at the Kiln Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Ivanno Jeremiah is magnetic as Poitier" "Compact biographical drama examines repression and racism in the golden age of Hollywood" "Playwright…
The Stage
The Dry House at the Marylebone Theatre (2023)
★★
"Unfocused" "Powerfully performed but clumsily told story of a family caught in a downward spiral of grief and addiction" "By…
The Stage
Oklahoma! at the Wyndham's Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Captivating, offbeat and pulsing with sexual tension" "Stark, unsettling and wholly contemporary reimagining of the classic musical" "Less a revival…
The Stage
The Winter's Tale at the Shakespeare's Globe (2023)
★★
"Undeniably inventive" "Gimmicky and disjointed production straddles both Globe stages" "This glib and gimmicky version, helmed by Shakespeare’s Globe associate…
The Stage
The Walworth Farce at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant (2023)
★★★★
"Dark, absurdist comedy" "Committed performances carry this bleak revival of Enda Walsh’s dark farce" "Enda Walsh’s dark, absurdist comedy grapples…
The Stage
Grenfell: System Failure at the The Playground Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Stately, subdued power" "Understated and affecting interrogation of the causes of the 2017 fire" "Kent’s minimal staging lets the words…
The Stage
Winner's Curse at the Park Theatre (2023)
★★
"Funny but unfocused" "Overstretched comedy portraying the messy process of international diplomacy" "Though insightful and frequently funny, Taub and Patterson’s…
The Stage
Linck & Mülhahn at the Hampstead Theatre (2023)
★★★★
"Sparky chemistry, nuanced performances" "Compelling historical drama about gender-nonconformity in the 1700s" "Ruby Thomas’ ambitious, if somewhat overstuffed drama draws…
The Stage
The Unfriend at the Criterion Theatre (2023)
★★★
"Packed with pithy one-liners" "Strong performances energise this West End transfer of Steven Moffat’s light, likeable comedy" "Reece Shearsmith is…
The Stage
Watch on the Rhine at the Donmar Warehouse (2023)
★★★★★
"Rousing" "Urgent revival of a searing, 80-year-old wartime drama" "Equal parts wartime thriller, tart drawing-room comedy and rousing call to…
The Stage
Sons of the Prophet at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★
"Pensive and sharply observed" "Bleak tragicomedy struggles to rise above a thoughtful but leaden script" "Karam’s writing is pensive and…
The Stage
Henry V at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (2022)
★★★★
"Subversive interpretation that doesn't play by the rules" "Moody reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s patriotic history play" "From its opening moments, it’s…
The Stage
A Christmas Carol at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Timely, lavishly designed revival of David Edgar’s didactic adaptation of the Dickens classic" "David Edgar’s strident 2017 adaptation aims to…
The Stage
Mary at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Fiercely relevant" "Fascinating reframing of the downfall of Mary, Queen of Scots continues Rona Munro’s epic history cycle" "Written by…
The Stage
Elephant at the Bush Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Heartfelt musical-monologue" "Musical monologue gently unpicks complex issues around identity, class and Britain’s imperial legacy" "Handling weighty themes with the…
The Stage
King Hamlin at the Park Theatre (2022)
★★
"Frequently moving" "Uneven but powerfully performed drama exploring poverty and gang violence" "There’s a sense of grim inevitability saturating King…
The Stage
The Caucasian Chalk Circle at the The Rose Theatre Kingston (2022)
★★★★
"Boisterous energy" "Visually striking revival of Brecht’s sprawling wartime parable" "... Brecht’s epic parable of war, justice and the venal…
The Stage
Jews. In Their Own Words at the Royal Court (2022)
★★★
"Undoubtedly ambitious" "Illuminating but inconsistent verbatim piece centres the experiences of Jewish people in contemporary Britain" "Despite the sensitivity of…
The Stage
The Wonderful World of Dissocia at the Theatre Royal Stratford East (2022)
★★★★
"Exuberant riff on Alice in Wonderland" "Energetic and engaging revival of Anthony Neilson’s surreal, irreverent exploration of mental illness" "First…
The Stage
The Two Popes at the The Rose Kingston & UK Tour (2022)
★★★★
"Compelling" "Consummate performances from stars Nicholas Woodeson and Anton Lesser lift Anthony McCarten’s cerebral character study" "... The Two Popes…
The Stage
The Snail House at the Hampstead Theatre (2022)
★★
"Dramatically flat" "Plodding, unpolished drama of family dynamics and intergenerational tensions" "Dramatically flat and struggling to cohere around a central…
The Stage
Into The Woods at the Theatre Royal Bath (2022)
★★★★
"Glossy, stylised vision" "Terry Gilliam and Leah Hausman’s opulent, if overstuffed, production of Sondheim’s musical fable" "There’s a rich vein…
The Stage
The Trials at the Donmar Warehouse (2022)
★★★★
"Gripping" "Timely and troubling speculative drama imagines the grim repercussions of our current climate emergency" "Though the dialogue’s sometimes bogged…
The Stage
Billy Elliot The Musical at the Curve Theatre Leicester (2022)
★★★★
"Powerfully relevant" "Ambitious revival of Lee Hall’s coming-of-age musical bursting with energy and heart" "Artistic director Nikolai Foster handles the…
The Stage
Patriots at the Almeida Theatre (2022)
★★★
"Unsettling political drama from Peter Morgan”" "In this slow-burning overview of Russian politics through the 1990s to the early 2010s,…
The Stage
The Seagull at the Harold Pinter Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Striking" "Nuanced, quietly radical ensemble piece strips Chekhov’s dark comedy to the barest bones" "Anya Reiss’ bleakly comic take on…
The Stage
Richard III reviews - RSC Stratford at the Stratford Upon Avon (2022)
★★★★
"Strong and diverse cast" "Striking performances lend power to this bloody, melodramatic conclusion to the RSC’s civil war play cycle"…
The Stage
Mad House at the The Ambassadors Theatre (2022)
★★
"Dark and punchy" "Offbeat black comedy loses focus despite meaty performances from David Harbour and Bill Pullman" "Rebeck’s characters are…
The Stage
That Is Not Who I Am at the Royal Court Theatre (2022)
★★★★
"Knotty interrogation of truth in fake news era" "Urgent, unsettling thriller stands up to scrutiny despite the questionable artifice of…
The Stage
Best of Enemies at the The Young Vic (2021)
★★★★
"Compelling" "Taut political docudrama showcases thrillingly combative performances from leads David Harewood and Charles Edwards" "Director Jerremy Herrin – who…
The Stage
The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the Duke of York's Theatre (2021)
★★★★
"Darkness and dreamlike strangeness" "Capturing the darkness and dreamlike strangeness of Neil Gaiman’s bestselling 2013 novel, The Ocean at the…
The Stage
📷 Main photo: Dave Fargnoli
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