REVIEW: SOLDIER ON (Playground Theatre) ★★★★★
Solider On is a new play by Jonathan Lewis, currently on a small tour of the UK (next stops: Oxford and York). But, it is so much more than ‘another new play with a message’ – it is a masterpiece and a sure-fire box office hit. An extended run, a West End residence, even a […]
REVIEW: JERSEY BOYS (Sunderland Empire) ★★★★★
New Jersey, the 4th smallest state by area but possibly the greatest for musical influence, has spawned some of the world’s most iconic performers – Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Count Basie, Debbie Harry, Jon Bon Jovi, Dionne Warwick and Whitney Houston all hail from this, the US’s most densely populated province, but it is perhaps […]
REVIEW: ASSASSINS (Pleasance Theatre) ★★★★
Having never seen Assassins and with a penchant for all things ‘murder’ and an appetite for true crime, I rocked up to the Press Night of this production full of anticipation and I wasn’t disappointed. The Pleasance Theatre (once you get used to its out of comfort zone location) is warm and welcoming and the perfect […]
REVIEW: DOLLYWOULD (Soho Theatre) ★★★
DollyWould, the latest show from Sh!t Theatre, is a funny and timely reminder that it’s okay for theatre to be silly, and it’s okay for audiences to expect silly theatre to be created and performed to a high standard. Becca and Louise wanted to make a show about something they love. So they made a show about […]
REVIEW: LOVE?! (Old Red Lion Theatre) ★★★
‘Love?! A Catastrophic 21st Century Guide on Relationships’ is certainly one the longest titles for any play I have seen recently. The play itself, by Chloé Wipraechtiger, is short, unsatisfyingly so, and I would have liked more time to allow further character development, which could have better evolved the intertwined mini-playlets into a rounded piece. […]
REVIEW: THE RAT PACK (Sunderland Empire) ★★★★
It will be 20 years ago in May that the world lost one its most beloved and revered entertainers – Frank Sinatra is instantly recognisable, not only for his super smooth voice but his style and stage presence. Fans of Frank are some of the most loyal and vociferous in the world so any production […]
REVIEW: WHO PUT BELLA IN THE WYCH ELM? (The Space) ★
Tales of true crime are an obsession for the nation, and indeed, the world. From the latest Netflix documentary to the walking tours of Kray-land London and Ripper’s streets of Whitechapel, the macabre and often brutal side of life intrigues us all. And, it is certain this production, by Pregnant Fish Theatre, has delved deeper […]
REVIEW: MATILDA THE MUSICAL (Curve Leicester) ★★★★★
I had the pleasure of attending the opening night of Royal Shakespeare Company‘s masterpiece, Matilda the Musical, at Curve Leicester last night as the curtain raised on its highly anticipated UK tour. Resident at the Cambridge Theatre, Matilda the Musical now embarks on its first venture around the country since it opened at Stratford Upon […]
REVIEW: BAYSIDE THE MUSICAL (The Other Palace) ★
Michael Neri Productions stages a stripped back, self-aware musical based on the hit 90s TV show, Saved By The Bell. The show claims ‘Whether you’re a Saved By The Bell buff or not quite sure what all the hype is about, this lively and cheeky Musical promises to entertain.’ This statement is categorically incorrect. Those […]
REVIEW: THE CALENDAR GIRLS (Original Cast Recording) ★★★★★
Formerly titled ‘The Girls‘, Gary Barlow and Tim Firth‘s new musical, based on the 2003 film The Calendar Girls, opened in London’s West End in January 2017 where it ran for six months.The show is now getting ready to embark on a UK Tour, beginning in August 2018 in Leeds before continuing around the country. […]