REVIEW: FAST (Park Theatre) ★★
I always enjoy a visit to the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park. It has a lovely atmosphere and presents a great range of productions which always have interesting staging. There are two theatres – the main Park200 downstairs and Park90 (a tiny space upstairs that is often used for new or experimental writing). As one […]
REVIEW: HAUNTED (Asylum Chapel) ★★★★
We are sat in the chilled air of the Asylum Chapel, bathed in darkness with our heads aloft, admiring the spectacular stained-glass windows and distressed interiors (this is certainly an apt location for a haunting) when in stumbles a terrified-looking man (Steve Fitzgerald) in search of his sister. He discloses that his family has been […]
REVIEW: ANNIE (Sunderland Empire) ★★★★
It was seeing Annie in the early 80’s that instilled in me a lifelong love of theatre, so I was very excited to be seeing the show at Sunderland Empire this week. It’s 1933, America is in the midst of a depression and little orphan Annie (Kiana Dumbuya, Mia Lakha and Ava Smith sharing […]
REVIEW: PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (New Wimbledon Theatre) ★★★★★
The iconic musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert opened at the New Wimbledon Theatre this week bringing sassiness, vibrance and colour. With strong performances and smiles throughout the audience, this show is definitely not a drag. Although many people will remember the 2009 West End show, this is a brand-new production by Mark Goucher in […]
REVIEW: GHOST STORIES (Ambassadors Theatre) ★★★★
Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s Ghost Stories opened at the Liverpool Playhouse in 2010 before transferring to the Lyric Hammersmith and Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s West End, where it ran for over a year. The play was so successful, it was re-mounted at the Arts Theatre in February of 2014 running until January […]
REVIEW: WE ANCHOR IN HOPE (The Bunker) ★★
Pubs used to be the centre of communities all around the country. A place of refuge, a place to forget your troubles and drown your sorrows and a place where regulars formed bonds. All over the country, pubs are closing as the economics have deteriorated from drinking and smoking laws, conversion to upmarket gastro pubs […]
REVIEW: A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG (Trafalgar Studios) ★★★★
Have you ever met someone who seems to have endless wit and a tongue as sharp as a gazelle, who never seems to run out of jokes but simultaneously appears to be hiding behind them? In ‘A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg‘, We meet Bri, the dark-humoured teacher who is father to disabled […]
REVIEW: NOISES OFF (Garrick Theatre) ★★★★★
After watching a performance of his 1970 farce ‘The Two of Us’ from backstage at the Garrick Theatre, celebrated playwright Michael Frayn commented “It was funnier from behind than in front and I thought that one day I must write a farce from behind.” His “farce from behind” started as the short one-act play ‘Exits’ […]
REVIEW: THE NICETIES (Finborough Theatre) ★★★★
The Niceties is an interesting, cleverly written, layered story that looks at race, racism and white privilege in America. Set in the final year of Obama’s presidency, this two hander stars Janie Dee as Janine, a successful college professor and author, and Moronke Akinola as Zoe, one of her students. Zoe has brought her final […]
REVIEW: Calendar Girls The Musical (New Wimbledon Theatre) ★★★★
Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s Calendar Girls The Musical began life at the Grand Theatre in Leeds at the end of 2015 before transferring to The Lowry, Salford in January of 2016. This production entitled simply The Girls then transferred to West End opening at the Phoenix Theatre in January of 2017 and ran until […]