REVIEW: SUNSET BOULEVARD (English National Opera)
It is always lovely to see historical moments in theatre history recreated. Recently we had Marti Webb reprise the role she originated in Tell Me On A Sunday (thirty years after the fact) and now we have Glenn Close reprising the award winning role of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard at the ENO. Norma Desmond […]
REVIEW: AMERICANA IN CONCERT (Theatre Royal Stratford East)
It’s not often that you want to leave the theatre ninety seconds after the lights go down. ‘Americana in Concert’ is sadly one such instance. ‘Americana’ is about growing up queer as a young American at High School. Sound familiar? Think ‘Rent’ or ‘Bare’ or ‘Xanadu’ or any of the other countless musicals that deal […]
REVIEW: How the Other Half Loves (Theatre Royal Haymarket)
Awkward situations. Perhaps one of the worst case scenarios for the stereotypical British person. We don’t handle them well and if we do find ourselves in said awkward situation, we tend to ignore it. However, in the theatre we adore them, especially the humour that arises from them. Alan Ayckbourn writes awkward scenes extremely well […]
REVIEW: BONNIE LANGFORD (Hippodrome Casino)
Bonnie Langford is one of those households names that everyone, of any age just seems to know. Her career has spanned fifty years and she doesn’t show any sign of slowing down yet, currently appearing the BBC Eastenders as Carmel Kazemi for the past year. From Doctor Who, to the original film of Bugsy Malone and in […]
REVIEW: Calculating Kindness (Camden People’s Theatre)
Lydia Adetunji’s new play, which was co-devised by director Laura Farnworth, is based on the life of George Price, an American scientist and polymath who had worked on the Manhattan-Project, taught himself the basics of evolutionary genetics and formulated an equation widely acknowledged as the mathematical explanation for the evolution of altruism. The production is […]
REVIEW: AMERICAN IDIOT (Churchill Theatre Bromley)
American Idiot isn’t your average musical and from the opening number, it has plenty of energy and most of all, noise that most certainly packs a punch! The show tells a tale of a post 9/11 America which uses the music from the popular American band, Green Day and their 2004 album, which gave the […]
REVIEW: FABLES FOR A BOY (The Lost Theatre)
Are you tired of Jazz hands? Sick of the predictable eleven o’clock number? Do tap shoes and sequins leave you thirsty for something else? Then Fables For A Boy, which boasts to be a “Different Kind of Musical”, is for you! The new musical aims to answer the question, “What happens when the stories from […]
REVIEW: THE WITCHES (Rose Theatre Kingston)
When a little boy unknowingly stumbles into the annual meeting of witches, he overhears their horrible plan to get rid of all the children in the world. Witches detest children and are planning to wipe them out like weasels; by turning them all into mice! With the help of his grandmother, he must use all […]
REVIEW: THE CHILDRENS HOUR (Rosemary Branch Theatre)
Hidden in a little black room above the jovial and unassuming Rosemary Branch pub, a dark secret uncurls and writhes, stretching itself against the imagination of its keeper. This secret, however, is completely fictitious and slithers out of the mouth of a fiery tempered schoolgirl and sinks its teeth into those looking to protect and […]
REVIEW: REASONS TO BE HAPPY (Hampstead Theatre)
Neil LaBute’s Reasons to Be Happy (sequel to Reasons to Be Pretty) follows a group of friends in an awkwardly complex love square. Since separating from Steph, protagonist Greg is now tentatively venturing into an auspicious relationship with Carly. Carly has recently split up with adulterous Kent, with whom she has a daughter. Steph and […]