Swan Lake Reloaded
Rating **** Reviewed by Tony Peters People have toyed around with Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake before, from tweaks to the original ending — mostly notably the triumph of evil over good in the 1986 Rudolph Nureyev version for the Paris Ballet — to Matthew Bourne’s now legendary all-male version, which premiered in 1995. And now Swedish […]
Saucy Jacks and the Space Vixens
Wilma’s Rating *** Saucy Jacks and the Space Vixens is a cross between The Rocky Horror Show and We Will Rock You. With a cult following, twisted characters and a setting in space, the show has all the right ingredients for a fun, lighthearted night out. The Leicester Square Theatre Lounge is the perfect, intimate, […]
The Pitmen Painters
Rating **** Reviewed by Roz Carter Having debuted at the National Theatre in 2007 and subsequently been revived on the West End, The Pitman Painters has built up quite the reputation of being one of those plays people say “you simply have to see.” And they’re not wrong. Dramatising William Feaver’s biography of northern pitmen […]
Wardens
Rating – *** Reviewed by Alex Foott Wardens – Schadenfreude Productions Limited Written and directed by Garrett Millerick Performance date – Sun 4th Aug 2013 Traffic wardens. Is there a more detestable marriage of words? If, like me, the very thought of them has you shrieking wildly with fury then Garrett Millerick’s latest satire will […]
The Autumn of Han
Rating ** Reviewed by Alex Foott The Autumn of Han – Red Dragonfly and Grist To The Mill Adapted and directed by Ross Ericson Performance date – Sat 3rd Aug 2013 There is always an awkward presence of traditional theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe. The Festival is notorious for spawning the avant-garde and unexplored and […]
Life – Grist To The Mill
Rating ** Reviewed by Alex Foott Written and directed by Ross Ericson Performance date – Sat 3rd Aug 2013 Considering the title of the piece and the impressive biographies stamped across its programme, I walk into Life expecting a gritty and feministic satire. What actually lies in store is another beast entirely. Very quickly, we […]
Pipe Dream
Wilma’s Rating **** Friday night saw the London stage premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1955 Broadway musical Pipe Dream at the Union Theatre. Pipe Dream comes from the writers of hit show Oklahoma and Carousel but was never a success itself on Broadway. Perhaps a run at one of London’s most loved theatres (The Union) […]
Rachel Tucker – The Reason
Wilma’s Rating **** Rachel Tuckers long awaited solo album comes only 8 months after the West End actress left the hit musical Wicked. Fans have been clambering around for scraps of this upcoming release and 12th August can’t come soon enough for a lot of people. Starting with a beautiful version of Ed Sheerans ‘Small […]
Le Gateau Chocolat – I heart Chocolat
Rating ***** Reviewed by Alex Foott Performance date – Fri 2nd Aug 2013 A frisson of nervous giggling shimmers around the audience as Le Gateau Chocolat sweeps into the darkened auditorium. Beaming from beneath a glossy wig that would have the likes of Donna Summer and Diana Ross writhing with envy, he sashays on to […]
Ben Hart – The Outsider
Rating **** Reviewed by Alex Foott Directed by Anthony Owen Performance date – Fri 2nd Aug 2013 Ben Hart is, in his own words, ‘not your normal kind of magician’. He is revolutionary. Altogether a new species of conjurer, Hart is ready to ascend the throne. Gone are the days of the socially awkward illusionist, […]