"The best theatrical read of the year." - British Theatre Guide A book of selected theatre reviews from 1992 to 2020 from one of the foremost authorities on British theatre. Each chapter starts with a brief commentary on the developments of that era and the social, political and cultural context within which British theatre was being produced. Key obituaries and letters in response to reviews written are also included, providing a rich collection of curated archival material. Following on from his first collection, One Night Stands, Michael Billington's chronicle offers a rich, authoritative insight into British theatre over the last 3 decades from his unique professional perspective. It begins with Tony Kushner's UK premiere of Angels in America at the National Theatre in 1992 and culminates with Inua Ellams's celebrated adaptation of Chekhov's Three Sisters at the same venue almost 30 years later. En route, we're exposed to the fallibility of theatre criticism through his much-regretted original criticism of Sarah Kane's Blasted and its role in identifying major talents at the first opportunity. Having recently retired from his 48-year position as the Guardian newspaper's drama critic during which time he wrote around 10,000 theatre reviews, Michael Billiington was Britain's longest-serving theatre critic. Through his work, he was present at an eye-watering number of premieres during this time and witnessed first-hand the exciting developments in British theatre over the past 30 years and the substantial pressures it faced - never more so than today.

MICHAEL BILLINGTON is a theatre critic and has written several biographies of well-known playwrights. Having worked as a publicist and director for Lincoln Theatre Company in the 1960s, he was employed by The Times newspaper as a theatre critic in 1965, before joining The Guardian in 1971. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to the theatre. His books include The 101 Greatest Plays: From Antiquity to the Present (2016), State of the Nation: British Theatre Since 1945 (2009) and Harold Pinter (2007).

"The best theatrical read of the year." - British Theatre Guide

A book of selected theatre reviews from 1992 to 2020 from one of the foremost authorities on British theatre.

Starting each chapter is a brief commentary on the developments of that era and the social, political and cultural context within which this theatre was being produced. Also included are key obituaries and letters in response to reviews written, providing a rich collection of curated archival material.

Following on from his first collection, One Night Stands, Michael Billington's chronicle offers a rich, authoritative insight into British theatre over the last 3 decades from his unique professional perspective. It begins with Tony Kushner's UK premiere of Angels in America at the National Theatre in 1992 and culminates with Inua Ellams's celebrated adaptation of Chekhov's Three Sisters at the same venue almost 30 years later. En route, we're exposed to the fallibility of theatre criticism through his much-regretted original criticism of Sarah Kane's Blasted and its role in identifying major talents at the first opportunity.

Having recently retired from his 48-year position as the Guardian newspaper's drama critic during which time he wrote around 10,000 theatre reviews, Michael Billiington was Britain's longest-serving theatre critic. Through his work, he was present at an eye-watering number of premieres during this time and witnessed first-hand the exciting developments in British theatre over the past 30 years and the substantial pressures it faced - never more so than today.

Acknowledgements xi

Introduction

1. Towards the End of the Millennium: 1992-9

1992
Angels in America
Faith Healer
Moby Dick
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

1993
Is there Life after Deptford? 400 Years since the Death of Christopher Marlowe
Arcadia
Moonlight
Cabaret

1994
The Atheist's Tragedy
Footfalls
John Gielgud: a celebration of his 90th birthday
The Queen and I/Road
Measure for Measure
Pentecost
The Life and Legacy of John Osborne

1995
Blasted
Letters to the Editor about Blasted
Dealer's Choice
Skylight
The Importance of Being Earnest/ Private Lives
Mojo

1996
Shakespeare on Screen
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Divine Right
Hedda Gabler
Ashes to Ashes

1997
Bird and Fortune
Ivanov
A Six-Point Plan for Theatre
Playhouse Creatures
Blue Heart
The Weir

1998
An Experiment With An Air Pump
Naked
Cleansed
Copenhagen
The Merchant of Venice/As You Like It
Via Dolorosa

1999
The Colour Of Justice
Lift Off 71
House and Garden
Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants
Mnemonic
Noel Coward Centenary

2. Hopes of Renewal: 2000-9

2000
The Island
Celebration/The Room
Richard II
Blue/Orange
4.48 Psychosis
The Bogus Woman
Is there a Crisis in Black Theatre?

2001
A Raisin in the Sun
Alive From Palestine
Mother Clap's Molly House
The Seagull
No Man's Land

2002
The York Realist
Up For Grabs
The Marriage of Figaro
Frozen
The Coast of Utopia
Joan Littlewood
A Number

2003
Iphigenia
Henry V
Fallout
The Elephant Vanishes
Iain Duncan Smith's Leader's Speech at the Conservative Party Conference
The Sugar
Syndrome
Cut-Price Shakespeare
Lear's Daughters

2004
The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?
When Harry Met Sally
Endgame
Festen
Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads
Guantanamo
Stuff Happens
Thou shalt not cough
Don Carlos

2005
Professor Bernhardi
Mammals
Is the Fashion for the 90-minute Play suffocating Dramatists?
Elmina's Kitchen
Talking to Terrorists
Death of a Salesman
Blackbird
The Wild Duck

2006
Nights at the Circus
Resurrection Blues
The Clean House
Rock 'N' Roll
Frost/Nixon
A Moon for the Misbegotten
Krapp's Last Tape

2007
The Seagull
Black Watch
King Lear
Macbeth
The Crisis in West End Theatre
Noughts and Crosses

2008
Tribute to Paul Scofield 1922-2008
Gone With the Wind
The English Game
The Pitmen Painters
Her Naked Skin
Hamlet
Breaking the Rules: Leading Article on Harold Pinter
Tribute to Harold Pinter

2009
Be Near Me
Death and the King's Horseman
The A…