REVIEW: The State vs John Hayes (King’s Head Theatre)
One often reads that Death Row inmates receive love letters, even marriage proposals. What attracts people to murderers? Could it be that they have violated the ultimate taboo by taking a human life, thereby placing themselves outside of society? Or are they cunning manipulators who succeed in making people believe they do not deserve to […]
REVIEW: Grounded (Park Theatre)
Grounded was written by George Brant as a one-woman show. Telling in monologue the tale of a female fighter pilot removed from her solitary blue skies to the grey of the ‘chair force’. This is a meaty role, recently performed by Anne Hathaway in New York who pursued the role after reading a review of […]
REVIEW: The Phantom Raspberry Blower (St James Theatre)
This comedy has quite a history stretching back to 1969 when Spike Milligan conceived the idea as a possible vehicle for television for his former fellow Goons Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe. Sellers’ filming commitments meant that never happened and the script was eventually taken up by Ronnie Barker in 1971 for a one-off episode […]
REVIEW: Piaf (The Bridewell Theatre)
Edith Piaf would have turned 100 this year so it seems fitting to perform Piaf, the tale of her life written by Pam Gems in 1978. The cast of multi- talented actors and musicians bring to life the laughter, loves, tragedies and most importantly the songs of Piaf’s world. Piaf’s life was full of drama […]
REVIEW: The Magic Hour (Grand Royale Hyde Park)
After all the obvious stuff like love, friendship, good health and chocolate, magic ranks very highly on my list of Favourite Things. As I strolled into the Grand Royale hotel last night, I was concerned that The Magic Hour wouldn’t live up to my ridiculously high expectations but my concerns quickly vanished in a […]
REVIEW: Cats (London Palladium)
As a theatre-kid, growing up on the other side of the world in New Zealand was tough. I never got to discover shows by seeing a live performance. Instead I would use dial-up internet (when my parents didn’t want to use the telephone) to research the composers and musicals of the day. Early […]
REVIEW: KATHY KIRBY: ICON / I PLAY FOR ME (White Bear Theatre)
In the heart of The White Bear Theatre in Kennington comes a two act musical based on two different stories. The first act- ‘I Play For Me’ is based on the fictional story of 1960’s musician Elliot Figueroa whose temperamental side comes hand in hand with his raw talent. When Elliot clashes with his […]
REVIEW: Crushed (The King’s Head Theatre)
The King’s Head Theatre in Islington is celebrating the end of its 45th year with a festival of new writing. #Festival45 gives twenty three young companies the opportunity to showcase new work. Crushed by Tim Cook won Best New Play at Brighton Fringe 2015; Cook is joined by Hatty Jones and Amani Zardoe in this […]
REVIEW: Peter Pan (Adelphi Theatre)
Peter Pan, one of the greatest fairy tales of all time, made its return to the London stage at the Adelphi Theatre on Sunday 25th October for a matinee and evening performance. Music by George Stiles and lyrics by Anthony Drewe, this concert version of the classic tale was truly magical and an evening of […]
REVIEW: HEY, OLD FRIENDS: An 85th Birthday Tribute to Stephen Sondheim
Something familiar, something peculiar, something for everybody: A gala tonight! What a wonderful way to celebrate one of theatre’s musical legend Stephen Sondheim, with a star-studded glittering gala, singing some of his most memorable classics. In celebration of his 85th birthday, The Sondheim Society, in conjunction with The Silver Line, put together the show-stopping spectacular […]