Phil Willmott
04 Apr
Reviews 
Review: POSH at the Pleasance Theatre
By Phil Willmott Tuesday, April 4 2017, 15:26
Posh was a breakthrough hit for playwright Laura Wade in 2010 when a general election put the spotlight on to the Bullington Club, an organisation for privileged Oxford students which counted the prime minister of the time, David Cameron and the anticipated next Prime minister, Boris Johnson as former members.
03 Apr
New Shows
Are You Ready to Meet THE BAND?
By Phil Willmott Monday, April 3 2017, 14:13
One of Saturday Night TV’s most watched shows over recent months has been Let it Shine, a pumped up talent contest with which pop star Gary Barlow (of group Take That) selected a new boy band to feature in his new musical The Band.
But when will London audiences get to meet the guys?
03 Apr
Reviews
Review: HONK at the Union Theatre
By Phil Willmott Monday, April 3 2017, 13:55
A delightful family show, Honk, has just opened at the Union Theatre, where I often direct.
It’s 20 years since this early musical by George Styles and Anthony Drewe was the unexpected choice for a major production at the National Theatre and an even more unexpected choice to win the Olivier award for best musical, defeating the newly opened Lion King and Mamma Mia. All this was unexpected not because it isn’t a very good show, it is, but because on the surface it’s such a sweet unassuming little piece; however beneath the slight story of a lost ugly duckling who discovers he’s a swan is a powerful anti-bullying message.
03 Apr
News
A beginners guide to Hamlet
By Phil Willmott Monday, April 3 2017, 10:36
With the Almeida’s acclaimed production of Hamlet about to transfer to the West End there’s never been a better time for first timers to discover this fascinating play.
Some people are intimidated by the prospect of Shakespeare’s dense text and this production is nearly four hours long, but don’t be. There’s seldom been a production that’s clearer and easier to follow than this one plus you get to see one of our best young actors, Andrew Scott (Moriarty in TVs Sherlock) at his best.
03 Apr
News
INCIDENT AT VICHY at The Finborough Theatre: How Arthur Miller and Seven Samurai help us understand Trump
By Phil Willmott Monday, April 3 2017, 09:37
In the season of two plays and a musical I’ve directed this winter I’ve attempted to programme work in which great writers have reflected on similar issues to those we face today. This January, at the Union Theatre, with many of us feeling politically impotent in the face of dismaying election results, Chekhov’s play Three Sisters felt unusually immediate in its depiction of the obsolete intelligentsia of 1900. This was followed by a rare revival of Sondheim's expressionistic musical Anyone Can Whistle in which one half of the electorate regard the other as dangerously insane, the topicality of which speaks for itself.
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