REVIEW: THE SPANISH TRAGEDY (Old Red Lion Theatre)
The Spanish Tragedy has been a massively influential play since Thomas Kyd wrote it in 1587. It inspired Shakespeare to write Hamlet, and created an entire new genre: the revenge play. Dan Hutton’s edgy, modern production uses a clinical, abattoir-like set and a pared-back version of Kyd’s script to tell its bloody tale. In Lizzy […]
REVIEW: THE RINSE CYCLE (Charing Cross Theatre)
The Rinse Cycle is the latest offering from Unexpected Opera. Artistic Director Lynn Binstock wants to make opera fun and accessible. This this time she’s taking on Wagner, condensing the sixteen hours of The Ring Cycle’s four operas into a two hour show in two acts, “conveying the crucial elements of the story and offering […]
REVIEW: BLOOD BROTHERS (Churchill Theatre Bromley)
I remember seeing Blood Brothers when it originally played in the West End more than 15 years ago at The Phoenix Theatre. I recall being mesmerised by the entire story and how two brothers could have be come separated at birth, to have their lives cut so tragically short in a bitter twist of events. […]
REVIEW: CHICAGO THE MUSICAL (New Wimbledon Theatre)
One of my all-time favourite musicals, Chicago, is back for a UK tour and I couldn’t be happier. Since closing in London’s West End back in 2012 (after 15 years), I have had to go all the way to Broadway to get my fix of merry murderesses but not anymore. Chicago tells the true story […]
REVIEW: The Mousetrap (St Martins Theatre) ★★★★
The Mousetrap is the worlds longest running theatre production, having been playing for almost sixty-four years in London’s West End. A murder mystery ‘who dunnit’ crime thriller written by the legendary crime novelist Agatha Christie, which premiered in London in 1952. The original terms of the play state that the film rights can not be […]
REVIEW: FOUR PLAY (Theatre 503)
Rafe and Pete, both in their mid-twenties, have been together for seven and a half years. They are content enough, even contemplating marriage, but their relationship seems to be in a rut. Could it be the lack of sexual experience with a different partner? They decide to meet up with mutual friend Michael, a handsome […]
REVIEW: TRAINSPOTTING (Kings Head Theatre)
A fully immersive adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s shockingly grotesque Trainspotting… sound frighteningly intense? I assure you, the reality of this production is far worse. Following a run at the Kings Head Theatre, and huge success at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year, this In Your Face Theatre and Kings Head Theatre collaborative production has […]
REVIEW: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (Dominion Theatre)
When H.G. Wells’ radio play was first broadcast, people panicked because they thought it was actual news. The Martians have landed and England is under attack! While nowadays people are desensitised to this sort of thing, we are still vulnerable to several things: love and music. The War Of The Worlds has come to London’s […]
REVIEW: BAD JEWS (Theatre Royal Haymarket)
Bad Jews, by Joshua Harmon has been on quite the journey since it debuted off-broadway in 2012. It’s UK premiere was at Bath’s Ustinov Studio in 2013, before transferring to London’s St James Theatre in 2014 and then the Arts Theatre in the West End in 2015. Continuing its success, 2016 has seen yet […]
REVIEW: MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS (Noel Coward Theatre)
Mrs Henderson Presents… one of the most uplifting British musicals to grace London’s West End in recent years. Get tickets here Based on the 2005 Oscar-nominated film, the Noël Coward Theatre is transformed into the Windmill Theatre for this old-fashioned but uplifting ‘revudeville’ about the beginning success of the theatre and its naked female performers. The […]