REVIEW: Samantha Barks Live In Concert (Mayflower, Southampton) ★★★★★
After first grabbing the public’s attention as one of the final three contestants on the BBC talent show I’d do Anything, Samantha Barks has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame. Her critically acclaimed performance as the waif Eponine in the film adaptation of Les Misérables further cemented the singer as a member of musical theatre […]
REVIEW: A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (Curve Leicester) ★★★★
This week audiences at Curve Leicester have been treated to A Clockwork Orange, staged by students from De Montfort University. A Clockwork Orange, originally penned by Anthony Burgess, is a dystopian masterpiece set at a time when extreme violence and hatred among the youth subculture is rife and a totalitarian, repressive super-state presides. The story […]
REVIEW: OTHELLO (Wilton’s Music Hall) ★★★★
Previously presented by “Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory”(STF) and the “English Touring Theatre” (ETT) to critical acclaim, this is a modern dress, retelling of Shakespeare’s, dreadfully sad, tragedy. It was written almost exactly a thousand years after the death of Mohammed and the formation of the Muslim religion, but it is even more relevant today, […]
REVIEW: 110 IN THE SHADE (Ye Olde Rose & Crown) ★★★
What better way to spend an evening following a muggy day in London, than a little saunter to Walthamstow to see the humid 110 in The Shade, produced by All Star Productions, who are the theatre company-in-residence at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Pub Theatre. Their mission is to champion unusual and rarely-performed works, which […]
REVIEW: JUDY! (Arts Theatre) ★★★★★
The words ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ are often banded around when we refer to celebrities. Few would deny their application when referring to Hollywood Star Judy Garland however, whose undeniable resilience in the world of show business gave her an enduring appeal. As such, we have long been regaled with stories about the actress, including her […]
REVIEW: OUR LADIES OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR (Duke Of York’s Theatre) ★★★★
Our Ladies Of Perpetual Succour won the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy earlier this year, tying in nicely with it’s West End transfer after a sell out run at the National Theatre. The show has opened at the Duke Of York’s Theatre and is receiving huge critical acclaim but is proving a little […]
REVIEW: THE ADDAMS FAMILY (New Wimbledon Theatre) ★★★★
I feel quite smug being able to say this if the fourth time I have seen The Addams Family musical, given that this is its UK premiere. I managed to catch it on Broadway back in 2010 and have also seen a couple of am-dram productions in London. This new version lives up to all […]
REVIEW: BALLROOM (Waterloo East Theatre) ★★
It’s perhaps a clue to the success of a musical when the most notable thing about it is that it came after a big hit: Ballroom is one such show. Opening three years after original director and choreographer Micheal Bennett’s hit ‘Chorus Line’ in 1978, the show is similarly dance focused, but it’s there that […]
REVIEW: CREAM (Canal Cafe Theatre) ★★★
Following on from the hugely successful NewsRevue, the Canal Cafe Theatre have launched a new show Cream, celebrating songs from lesser known musical theatre shows, that failed to make much of an impact either in the West End or on Broadway (essentially, the cream of the crap). I was expecting Cream to be a celebration […]
REVIEW: THE MISER (Garrick Theatre) ★★
It is fair to say that theatre is at its most likeable when it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Sean Foley’s modern revival of The Miser, Moliere’s 1668 comedy, takes things one step further. That is to say, this play is only remotely likeable when it is openly mocking its own failings. The Miser is […]