REVIEW: PRISCILLA FOLLE DU DESERT (Casino de Paris) ★
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert is the much loved cult classic film about three Australian drag queens who buy a clapped out old bus, paint it fluorescent pink and attempt to drive it 3,000km from Sydney to Alice Springs, in the centre of Australia, to perform at a run down casino. As they drive deeper […]
REVIEW: SOME MOTHERS DO ‘AVE ‘EM (Richmond Theatre) ★
The 1970’s was an era famous for ABBA, handlebar moustaches and revolutionary television sitcoms that set a standard for years to come. Amongst such classics as ‘Are You Being Served?’, ‘Fawlty Towers’ and ‘Porridge’ was the creation of ‘Frank Spencer’ in ‘Some Mothers Do ‘Ave Em’. A programme about a hapless, loveable yet idiotic character […]
REVIEW: SHERIDAN (Sheridan Smith) ★★★
Sheridan Smith has been lighting up the stage and screen for the last twenty years and has won a whole host of awards for her television and theatre work. From Two Pints of Larger and a Packet Of Crisps, Gavin and Stacey and more recently Cilla to Legally Blonde and Funny Girl in the West […]
REVIEW: Natasha Barnes may not consider herself a ‘Supermodel’ but she is a REAL superstar ★★★★★
Full disclosure; when musical theatre actors release albums and fill them with original songs, I sometimes roll my eyes. I like musical theatre performers to release albums of musical theatre songs. So when Natasha Barnes‘s album REAL fell through the letterbox, I scanned the track listing and was disappointed that the only musical theatre song […]
REVIEW: THE STRONGBOX (Vault Festival) ★★★★
I trudged through the snow and freezing wind on Thursday 1st March to watch The Strongbox as a part of the acclaimed Vaults Festival – and I wasn’t disappointed. The play is not for the fainthearted – a bleak study of the symbiotic nature of abusive relationships, all set in one room over a period […]
REVIEW: DAS FEST (The Vaults) ★★
Philipp Oberlohr walked away with the People’s Choice Award at last year’s Vaults Festival. This year he returns with his newest spectacle Das Fest. The title translates to ‘party’, or as he puts it, a celebration – of the audience’s past and future. However, a party it is not. Oberlohr only alludes to this supposed […]
REVIEW: HIDDEN FIGURES (The Colab Factory) ★★★★
Having previously seen some fantastic immersive theatre performances and having no idea what to expect from each, I waited outside The Colab Factory, as instructed, until seeing a ‘Civil Defence Volunteer’ in full 1940s period dress. Passwords exchanged, I was admitted … so far so usual (for immersive events. The apparent civil defender, Paul King […]
REVIEW: LOVE FROM A STRANGER (Royal & Derngate) ★★★
There’s no doubt that Agatha Christie is one of the great crime writers of the 20th century. She weaves a tale of intrigue and mystery, with twists and turns that shock and confuse even the most dedicated amateur detective. Yet she is also a master playwright, successfully taking her suspense from page to stage. Far […]
REVIEW: TREADING WATER (Vault Festival) ★★★★
Treading Water, written by Kathryn Gardner, comes to the Vault Festival for a short run, bringing the seaside to the rumbling vaults beneath Waterloo Station. Sue and Carol are beach lifeguards. They spend their days making sure the visitors to the beach stay safe. They watch the world go by while discussing important topics such as […]
REVIEW: MONSTER (Kings Head Theatre) ★★★★★
A strong script and a stellar performance, from the multi-talented writer and actor Joe Sellman-Leava, Monster tells the part-true-part-fiction story of boy meets girl – but this is no ordinary boy. ‘Joe’ is an actor rehearsing for a new role that calls on him to uncover and explore his own ability to channel extreme violence. […]