REVIEW: VENUS IN FUR (Theatre Royal Haymarket) ★★★
Sadomasochism. It’s not a common topic, although more so since EL James romanticised it in her fan fiction trilogy. What few people know however, is that the term comes from Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, author of Venus in Furs. This 19th century novella explores one man’s obsession with cruel women and how he asks to be […]
REVIEW: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Garrick Theatre) ★★★★
As Hallowe’en approaches, everyone starts feeling ghoulish and as the night’s draw in, curling up with a good horror film seems like the perfect night in. Mel Brooks‘ horror film parody Young Frankenstein came out in 1974 and was one of the highest grossing films of the year, So, for fans of musicals and freaky […]
REVIEW: BEAUTY AND THE FEAST (The Vaults) ★★
Beauty and the Feast, a blend of theatre performance and supper club from designers Darling & Edge, is the latest offering from The Vaults, loosely based on the well-known fairy tale (and recent hotly received Disney live action film). The Vaults space is versatile and has a history of providing a good home to this […]
REVIEW: HAIR (The Vaults) ★★★★★
Years before Dear Even Hansen, American Idiot, Spring Awakening and Rent spoke to a generation, Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical was unleashed upon the world. This musical, with book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot, is a creature of 1960s counter culture and sexual revolution. When Hair […]
REVIEW: HEISENBERG: THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE (Wyndham’s Theatre) ★★
If you’re reuniting with the team behind seven-time Olivier Award winning The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and your production features acting icons like Kenneth Cranham and Annie-Marie Duff, naturally there are some exceedingly high expectations to be made. A tiresome debut for Elliott Harper Productions then comes in the form of […]
REVIEW: CHILD OF THE DIVIDE (Polka Theatre) ★★★
For those not familiar with the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon, I recommend you have a little Google or pop down south of the Thames and see for yourself why it’s described as one of the best children’s theatres in the country. It’s truly family friendly front of house (not the faux family orientation of some […]
REVIEW: Deathtrap (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre) ★★★★
Deathtrap; a truly satisfactory spine-chiller……. So without giving too much away, Deathtrap tells the story of a once-successful playwright Sidney Bruhl, who tries to kill the author of a brilliant new whodunit in an attempt to claim the story as his own. As with most thrillers, This is a tricky one to review as there are […]
REVIEW: Barber and Benson Sketch Show (Bread and Roses Theatre) ★★★
Faye Barber and Paula Benson exploded into the room on wooden-broom horseback, crying out with vigour as they galloped on to the stage, where they stood, engaged in a fight of gloves and wits, whilst insulting each other with politically-charged slurs. Meanwhile, we in the audience sat completely baffled but undeniably amused. Picture this: you […]
REVIEW: WHAT SHADOWS (Park Theatre) ★★★★
There is something incredibly chilling about seeing Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech performed in its entirety as part of What Shadows. The speech, in which Powell told of his sense of ‘foreboding’ about the impacts of mass immigration – a bleak picture of race riots and civil unrest – framed the British immigration […]
REVIEW: THE TERRIBLE INFANTS (Wilton’s Music Hall) ★★★★★
A tumbling, twirling ragtag band of storytellers bustles into Wilton’s Music Hall this autumn with The Terrible Infants, a fantastical anthology of twisted tales. A show filled to the brim with moments of sparkling irreverence and charming caricature, it is a feast of masterful puppetry, live music and beautifully crafted poetry. Spinning together seven original […]