REVIEW: RAMIN KARIMLOO (London Palladium) ★★★★
Ramin Karimloo is one charismatic performer and he didn’t fail to charm the entire audience at his one night only concert at the London Palladium on 16th of July. Fusing musical theatre standards with Bluegrass and Country to create a unique sound he calls ‘Broadgrass’, Ramin and his band, which includes other musical theatre alumni […]
REVIEW: FACE THE CAMERA AND SMILE (Above The Arts Theatre) ★★★★
Face the Camera and Smile, written by Dan Horrigan, was shortlisted for The Kings Cross Award for New Writing in 2009. This play, about the impact of war on the individuals involved seems very relevant in the month when we finally hear the contents of the Chilcot Report. The tale is told by four characters […]
REVIEW: THE SCARECROW’S WEDDING (Leicester Square Theatre) ★★★★★
The Scarecrows’ Wedding is the latest children’s book by long term collaborators Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, creators of The Gruffalo and many other favourites. The tale has been adapted by Scamp Theatre, best known for their stage adaptation of Stick Man, and makes its West End debut at the Leicester Square Theatre in time […]
REVIEW: AMERICAN IDIOT (Arts Theatre) ★★★★★
As a musical theatre fan growing up in New Zealand, I was fairly limited in what I could actually see on stage. Amateur theatre groups were doing shows such as Oliver!, The King and I and the ever popular… Guys and Dolls. Professionally, we were treated to the big Lloyd Webber shows such as Cats […]
REVIEW: Rebel Wilson in GUYS AND DOLLS (Phoenix Theatre) ★★★★★
The 1950, Tony Award winning Musical, GUYS AND DOLLS, is back in London for the fourth time (1953, 1982, 2005) and recently re-opened at the Phoenix Theatre after a successful run at the Savoy Theatre. Known for it’s classic musical theatre songs ‘A Bushel and a Peck’, ‘Take Back Your Mink’, ‘Sit Down You’re Rockin’ […]
REVIEW: CHRISTINE PEDI – GREAT DAMES (Crazy Coqs) ★★★★
If you’ve ever felt disheartened by the notion of never being able to see the most notable and celebrated divas of stage and screen in one place, then worry no more. Christine Pedi whirls into London this summer with her newest show Great Dames, presenting a fabulous repertoire of cabaret, caricature and commemoration to remind […]
REVIEW: The Kreutzer Sonata (Arcola Theatre) ★★★★
Banned in Russia and the United States right after its publication, The Kreutzer Sonata is a late work by Leo Tolstoy dissecting the roles of sex and marriage in society on a personal and universal level. A man on a train shares his memories and confesses to a shocking crime, which he blames on Ludwig […]
REVIEW: THE STRIPPER (St James Studio) ★★★★
Based on the Carter Brown pulp fiction novel of the same name, Rocky Horror Show creator Richard O’Brien’s musical The Stripper was originally produced by Sydney Theatre Company in 1982. Using much of the original Rocky creative team, Richard O’Brien wrote lyrics, Richard Hartley wrote and arranged the score while Brian Thompson designed and directed […]
REVIEW: HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES (Duke Of York’s Theatre) ★★★★
“This is hardly a subject for mirth, darling!” Frank Foster exclaims, as a ludicrous web of deceit and misunderstanding collapses around him. Oh, but it is. Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy about adultery and alibis may be getting on a bit but it’s still fearsomely funny. Three couples are thrown together by a love affair and the […]
REVIEW: THE GRUFFALO (Lyric Theatre) ★★★★★
I’d never seen The Gruffalo before but managed to squeeze it in this time around just before I jet off to Spain for some sun, sand and sangria. I wasn’t expecting much from a show made for three year olds but it is probably the best children’s show I have ever seen and left me […]