The Killing of Sister George review – cruel comedy is an uncomfortable watch
Should we sympathise with Hayley Carmichael’s irascible radio soap star as she risks being axed, or condemn her as she bullies her young vulnerable young lover?
August 2021
West End producer David Pugh: ‘My guiding principle was always: will mum like it?’
He turned Art and The Play What I Wrote into smashes. Now he’s handing out flyers for Charlie and Stan. But will pandemic-shy audiences come and see it?
October 2018
All You Need Is LSD review – Doctor Who meets Timothy Leary
Departing from convention and reality, Leo Butler’s simulated psychedelic experience crashes around with jolly abandon
September 2018
Leo Butler, playwright: ‘I want to take the audience on a trip’
The Sheffield-born writer tells how taking part in a clinical trial on LSD gave him the chance to relive his youth – and the subject for his new play
February 2016
I Am Thomas review – freedom of speech theatrics
The fascinating story of Thomas Aikenhead – the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy – is marred by a mix of theatrical styles
I Am Thomas review – singalong-a-blasphemy in Simon Armitage show
With lyrics from Armitage and showstopping arrangements by Iain Johnstone, Told By An Idiot fashion an irreverent musical about a 17th-century atheist
Gallows humour – Simon Armitage on his comedy about the last man hanged for blasphemy
How does the fate of a student executed in 1697 fuel the freedom of speech debate today? Simon Armitage and Told By An Idiot talk about their brutal new comedy exploring the life and death of Thomas Aikenhead
May 2015
The Ghost Train review – off the rails on a comedy detour
The Ghost Train – all aboard for the world’s scariest play
March 2014
Never Try This at Home: staging the dark and anarchic world of 70s kids' TV
For Told By An Idiot's new show, actor-director Paul Hunter decided to write about his childhood appearance on Tiswas. And then Jimmy Savile hit the news…
December 2013
Get Happy – review
Children just want to laugh at this type of play,or at least believe in the characters, but there's not much chance of either here, writes Lyn Gardner
July 2013
Too Clever by Half – review
This 60s-set revival of Aleksandr Ostrovsky's satire is more comic caper than social critique, and ends extremely well, writes Lyn Gardner
January 2012
You Can't Take it With You – review
Not even the dazzling visual effects can disguise a revival showing its age, writes Clare Brennan
December 2011
You Can't Take It With You – review
This makes hard work of the easy life portrayed in the Broadway classic, says Lyn Gardner
April 2011
And the Horse You Rode in on – review
While I applaud the intention, I have mixed feelings about the result, says Michael Billington
January 2011
The Firework-Maker's Daughter – review
Told By an Idiot's second stab at dramatising Philip Pullman's novella lets young imaginations run free, writes Lyn Gardner
June 2010
Dr Faustus
New Diorama, London This is a devilishly good night out in London's newest theatre venue, writes Lyn Gardner
October 2009
The Fahrenheit Twins
Drum, Plymouth Adam and Eve meet Hansel and Gretel in a deliciously dark play based on Michel Faber's story, finds Lyn Gardner
