REVIEW: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (New Wimbledon Theatre) ★★★★
2017 is certainly an interesting year for Wimbledon Panto. It is the first year that Pantomine giant Qdos Entertainment have taken over producing the annual Panto, so it would make sense for this year’s show to be Jack and the Beanstalk. In a year of firsts, Jack and the Beanstalk marks the first Panto performance […]
REVIEW: DICK WHITTINGTON (London Palladium) ★★★
After last year’s successful panto, Cinderella, the London Palladium this year brings Dick Whittington to the stage with a huge cast of celebrities ranging from Musical Theatre stars Elaine Paige, Gary Wilmot, Charlie Stemp and Emma Williams, to TV Talent Show winners Diversity and Paul Zerdin. Comedian Julian Clary and TV personality Nigel Havers complete the star […]
REVIEW: THE WIZARD OF OZ (Sheffield Crucible) ★★★★
Renowned for their spectacular seasonal musicals, Sheffield Crucible Theatre’s 2017 Christmas show is far from a break in tradition. The Wizard Of Oz is a story that reverberates across generations and is a family favourite loved by everyone and immortalised on film by the wonderful Judy Garland. Whilst keeping the cornerstones of the story, Robert […]
REVIEW: Wish – The Anderson and Petty Holiday Album ★★★★★
It’s that time of the year again! In a musical climate where everything is downloadable with a click, the market is laden in Christmas music. Composers Barry Anderson and Mark Petty bring us Wish – The Anderson and Petty Holiday Album to give us theatre-lovers – and otherwise something to sit up and take notice […]
REVIEW: THE BARRICADE BOYS (The Other Palace) ★★★★★
Musical Theatre boyband The Barricade Boys have taken over the studio at The Other Palace for a three week residency this Christmas. The boys (who have all starred in Les Miserables at one time or another) have been travelling around the world this year but are back in London spreading festive cheer and inviting some […]
REVIEW: BARNUM (Menier Chocolate Factory) ★★★
If you type Barnum into a search engine, you don’t have to scroll down very far before you come across an article asking if the eponymous character is the “Hardest part in theatre?”. Many of the UK’s most esteemed entertainers have tackled the role including Michael Crawford, Paul Nicholas and Brian Conley, who is quoted […]
REVIEW: The Box of Delights (Wilton’s Music Hall) ★★★
In the decked out and inherently beautiful Wilton’s Music Hall, Hero Productions present The Box of Delights. Adapted from the 1935 fantasy novel by John Masefield, the story follows a young boy, Kay Harker through a wild Christmas adventure. After meeting a magician on the way home for Christmas break, he is lent the ‘Box […]
REVIEW: The Hound of the Baskervilles (Jermyn Street Theatre) ★★★★
Plenty of fog, some criminal puns and rollicking physical comedy in this spirited adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic Sherlock Holmes mystery about the ancestral curse of a hellish hound on Dartmoor. It opens blood-curdlingly with the murder of Sir Charles Baskerville before retreading the well-worn tale with irreverent good humour, delivering a Holmesian romp […]
REVIEW: PRIVATES ON PARADE (Union Theatre) ★★★★
Privates on Parade follows the camp exploits of the fictitious Song and Dance Unit South East Asia (SADUSEA): a British military entertainment corps based in the Malay Peninsula. Lead by the fabulous Captain Terri Dennis, a leading man of Kenneth Williams-style campery and Wildean wit, the small ensemble of twirlies are charged with entertaining the troops […]
REVIEW: INSIDE PUSSY RIOT (Saatchi Gallery) ★★★
The first thing we see are the coloured balaclavas, once we’ve put our belongings into numbered lockers that correspond with the order in which we enter the room. There’s a frisson of excitement if you’re a fan of Pussy Riot, the Russian feminist collective that stormed a Moscow cathedral in 2012 with a 40 second […]