Bitter Wheat
Garrick Theatre, 7th June to 14th September
It is over 30 years since John Malkovich scorched the London stage, but he’s not too busy making movies and designing clothes to return as Barney Fein, a depraved Hollywood mogul who, like the Minotaur, devours innocents he has lured to his cave. The play is written and directed by David Mamet, who writes better dialogue for shysters than almost anyone, but don’t expect the boot to land where it hurts most. His last play about sexual harassment, 1992’s Oleanna, would have trouble being revived in the current climate.
Present Laughter
Old Vic, 17th June to 10th August
Andrew Scott, above, was a fine Hamlet but the new star is best known for acclaimed television roles as Moriarty in the BBC’s Sherlock and the hot priest in Fleabag. He’s already re-defined the term “matinée idol” and will test that claim against the gold standard: Noël Coward’s autobiographical lounge lizard and wit merchant, Garry Essendine. Ladies fall at this character’s feet to admire the stitching on his hand-made shoes.
Hamlet
Shakespeare’s Rose, York, 25th June to 1st September
The pop-up Elizabethan theatre by York’s medieval Clifford’s Tower was a huge success last summer and returns with a new repertoire—Hamlet, Henry V, The Tempest and Twelfth Night. In July, the 13-sided structure, modelled on the original Rose, which pre-dated the Globe, will move to Blenheim Palace. There is covered seating and an open courtyard for the groundlings. Outside is a “Shakespearean village.”
Garrick Theatre, 7th June to 14th September
It is over 30 years since John Malkovich scorched the London stage, but he’s not too busy making movies and designing clothes to return as Barney Fein, a depraved Hollywood mogul who, like the Minotaur, devours innocents he has lured to his cave. The play is written and directed by David Mamet, who writes better dialogue for shysters than almost anyone, but don’t expect the boot to land where it hurts most. His last play about sexual harassment, 1992’s Oleanna, would have trouble being revived in the current climate.
Present Laughter
Old Vic, 17th June to 10th August
Andrew Scott, above, was a fine Hamlet but the new star is best known for acclaimed television roles as Moriarty in the BBC’s Sherlock and the hot priest in Fleabag. He’s already re-defined the term “matinée idol” and will test that claim against the gold standard: Noël Coward’s autobiographical lounge lizard and wit merchant, Garry Essendine. Ladies fall at this character’s feet to admire the stitching on his hand-made shoes.
Hamlet
Shakespeare’s Rose, York, 25th June to 1st September
The pop-up Elizabethan theatre by York’s medieval Clifford’s Tower was a huge success last summer and returns with a new repertoire—Hamlet, Henry V, The Tempest and Twelfth Night. In July, the 13-sided structure, modelled on the original Rose, which pre-dated the Globe, will move to Blenheim Palace. There is covered seating and an open courtyard for the groundlings. Outside is a “Shakespearean village.”
