‘Political theatre at its finest’: JN Benjamin writes on Samuel Bailey’s exploration of empathy, set in a young offenders’ institution.
J N Benjamin
Articles by J N Benjamin
7 October 2019
Reviews • West End & Central
Review: ‘Master Harold’… and the Boys at National Theatre
By J N Benjamin
Men of magnitude: J N Benjamin writes on Athol Fugard’s semi-autobiographical story of prejudice in a failing South African tea room.
4 September 2019
Reviews • West End & Central
Review: Appropriate at Donmar Warehouse
By J N Benjamin
A cryptic racism: J N Benjamin writes on Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ haunting story, set on a cicada-ridden plantation.
12 June 2019
Reviews • West End & Central
Review: Bronx Gothic at Young Vic
1-29th June 2019
By J N Benjamin
A mighty body quake: J N Benjamin writes on Okwui Okpokwasili’s pulsating experimental dance piece.
6 June 2019
Features
Rebekah Murrell: “It is becoming less OK to not acknowledge the greatness of Blackness”
By J N Benjamin
Rebekah Murrell is directing J’Ouvert, a tale of carnival culture at Theatre503. Here, she talks unconventional career paths, ticket prices, and the renaissance in Black theatre.
27 May 2019
Reviews • OWE & Fringe
Review: King Hedley II at Theatre Royal Stratford East
17th May - 15th June 2019
By J N Benjamin
“A snapshot of life”: J N Benjamin writes on August Wilson’s multi-faceted interrogation of Black American life in 1985 Pittsburgh.
16 May 2019
Reviews • OWE & Fringe
Review: Dido at Unicorn Theatre
11 May - 2 June
By J N Benjamin
‘I have never enjoyed a single opera I have ever seen’: JN Benjamin writes on English National Opera and the Unicorn’s production of Dido for young audiences.
14 May 2019
Features • Q&A and Interviews
Recasting Death of a Salesman
By J N Benjamin
“We’re not asking the audience not to see the colour of their skin – we are specifically asking them to look at it” – Miranda Cromwell, Marianne Elliott and Wendell Pierce discuss the impact of casting black actors in Miller’s play.
29 March 2019
Reviews • OWE & Fringe
Review: The Phlebotomist at Hampstead Theatre
19th March - 20th April
By J N Benjamin
‘The actors flounder about in the bagginess of the space’: JN Benjamin writes on Ella Road’s dystopian play exploring the ethics of biotechnology.
25 February 2019
Features
Are community choruses exploitative?
By J N Benjamin
J N Benjamin explores the ethical issues around casting unpaid ‘community’ performers alongside professional actors.
18 February 2019
Reviews
Review: The American Clock at The Old Vic
By J N Benjamin
The roaring twenties: J N Benjamin writes on Arthur Miller’s suspenseful drama of an America in decline.
25 January 2019
Reviews
Review: Dear Elizabeth at the Gate Theatre
17th January - 9th February
By J N Benjamin
‘Dear Jade and Jonjo’: JN Benjamin writes a letter to the performers of Ellen McDougall and Sarah Ruhl’s experimental exploration of Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell’s epistolary friendship.
17 December 2018
Reviews • West End & Central
Review: The Convert at Young Vic
7th December to 26th January
By J N Benjamin
Who runs this house? Danai Gurira’s play is a brilliant exploration of the clashes between cultural traditions and colonial influences.
3 December 2018
Features
Misty’s Understudy Run
By J N Benjamin
“The change is small but the difference is mighty” – J N Benjamin writes on how Misty was transformed in the hands of Arinzé Kene’s female understudy, Kibong Tanji.
24 September 2018
Reviews • West End & Central
Review: The Prisoner at National Theatre
Until 4th October
By J N Benjamin
Excruciating silences: Peter Brook’s drama is an exercise in painfully slow abstraction.