Phil Willmott
22 Oct
Reviews 
Reviews of East is East and The Trials of Oscar Wilde
By Phil Willmott Wednesday, October 22 2014, 20:20
The Whitehall Theatre around the corner from 10 Downing Street has always been a bit of a white elephant since the 1960s when the farces for which it was once famous went out of fashion. Then about ten years ago it was converted into two theatres, The Trafalgar Studios, one which seats around 300 and a tiny little basement studio that seats fifty. Last week I had the chance to see shows in both spaces.
Upstairs, director Jamie Lloyd is in his second year of artistic directing great productions of interesting plays usually with a star in the cast. Martin Freeman had just finished a run there in Richard III and for the first time a guest director, the rather brilliant Sam Yates, had taken the reins and revived a hit comedy from 1997, East is East by Ayub Khan-Din.
06 Oct
Reviews
The James Plays at the National Theatre
By Phil Willmott Monday, October 6 2014, 12:42
If you love big stories, as I do, then the National Theatres of England and Scotland have a treat for you. They’ve combined forces with this year’s Edinburgh Festival to create an epic trilogy of plays that tell the stories of James I, II and III of Scotland, one king per play.
The trilogy of plays by Rona Munro has already been performed north of the border and it now pitches up at the National Theatre in London for a short run. I was lucky enough to see them all in one day, one after the other, between midday at 10.30pm and it made for an unforgettable experience. Unfortunately, for some reason, the venue haven’t scheduled another opportunity to do this so if you want to see the lot you’ll need to book each play on separate evenings.
29 Sep
Reviews
Review of Otello
By Phil Willmott Monday, September 29 2014, 13:14
This much anticipated new staging of Verdi’s masterpiece is directed by David Alden, a veteran of many fine productions who enjoyed a particular success recently with his haunting and startling revival of Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britain, at this same address.
I call it a masterpiece to give Verdi due reverence but if I’m honest I didn’t find the music anything like as powerful as Grimes.
It all starts well enough with a gripping storm scene in which a vast crowd of chorus singers hurl themselves around bellowing chunky harmonies to magnificent crashing music as they watch a ship wreck. This is one of a number of powerful group scenes which bring much needed excitement to proceedings. Otherwise it’s all a bit dry and static.
14 Aug
Reviews
Review of Dessa Rose at Trafalgar Studios
By Phil Willmott Thursday, August 14 2014, 08:27
Trafalgar Studios 2 is the West End’s smallest theatre. In fact the stage is so small the director of this musical is fond of saying it’s about the same size as his bedroom, and it has 50 or so seats banked steeply around it. You’ll find it beneath Trafalgar studios, where Hobbit star Martin Friedman is currently playing Richard III, just off Trafalgar Square, around the corner from 10 Downing Street. I don’t know if David Cameron has ever dropped in but this critically acclaimed production in this tiny space might well tempt him.
31 Jul
Reviews
Review of the National Theatre's Medea
By Phil Willmott Thursday, July 31 2014, 15:37
There’s good news and bad news about this National Theatre production of an ancient Greek drama, starring Helen McCrory.
The good news is McCrory herself who gives a gripping performance as an exiled queen driven to murder; the bad news is the adaptation by Ben Power, who makes some odd choices which in my opinion weakens this critically acclaimed revival.
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