REVIEW: WAR HORSE (Curve) ★★★★★
The National Theatre’s War Horse galloped in all its splendour into Curve last week. The production is based on the 1980s novel by Michael Morpurgo, who originally denounced a stage adaptation of his masterpiece as an act of madness (but thankfully was very wrong). Adapted by Nick Stafford and presented in association with the award-winning […]
REVIEW: BIG THE MUSICAL (Dominion Theatre) ★★★
Based on the 1988 film starring a young Tom Hanks, Big The Musical features music by David Shire and lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. Opening on Broadway in 1996, the show closed after 193 performances having not been received well and is known as one of Broadway’s costliest flops. The show then went through an […]
REVIEW: NOW AND THEN (Above the Stag Theatre) ★★★★
Now and Then is a new musical written by Ronnie Larsen, with original music and lyrics by Dennis Manning. We find ourselves in what can only be a country-and-Western setting, and we’re ready for some romancing. It’s 1978 and Greg, a university student and aspiring comic, is hosting one of his popular open-mic nights. Nervous […]
REVIEW: WHAT’S IN A NAME (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre) ★★★★
Having enjoyed Christopher Hampton’s translations of the French plays of Florian Zeller (most recently the excellent “The Son”) and seen the wonderful touring production of “Amelie” (based on the 2001 French film), I was intrigued to see how Jeremy Sams translated and directed an English version of the 2010 French play “Le Prenom”(also a French […]
REVIEW: HEARTBEAT OF HOME (Piccadilly Theatre) ★★★
Riverdance became the global phenomenon twenty five years ago, in a seven minute interval act on the Eurovision Sing Contest and has gone on to be staged in many incarnations ever since. This latest derivative version started in Dublin in 2013 and has enjoyed a sell out spell at the London Palladium before returning for […]
THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG at Duchess Theatre ★★★★★
Mischief Theatre’s hilarious The Play That Goes Wrong premiered at the Old Red Lion Theatre in London in 2012, before moving to Trafalgar Studios shortly after in 2013. After a successful run at Trafalgar Studios the show went out on tour throughout 2014 before settling at the Duchess Theatre in London where it remains today. […]
REVIEW: Conspiracy (New Diorama Theatre) ★★★
Conspiracy from Barrel Organ gets a London premiere at the New Diorama Theatre, following a sold out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and winning the Untapped Award. As the audience enters the room to take their seats, the cast are sitting at a table commenting on their observations; how many people are wearing glasses, […]
REVIEW: VISION OF YOU (The Other Palace) ★★★★★
I saw Bat Out of Hell four times at the Manchester Palace, Coliseum and the Dominion Theatre and was blown away by the energy and power of the cast. So it was an absolute pleasure to see Sharon Sexton and Rob Fowler create a cast reunion at The Other Palace, for a full blown Jim […]
REVIEW: THE FISHERMEN (Trafalgar Studios 2) ★★★
Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma‘s 2015 Man Booker prize nominated debut novel, The Fishernen, is by all accounts an epic powerful read, so it is quite adventurous to take this tale and convert it into a two hander seventy minute play. But that is exactly what Gbolahan Obisesan and production company, New Perspectives, have attempted to […]
REVIEW: THE STRANGE CASE OF JEKYLL AND HYDE (Jack Studio Theatre) ★★★
Writer and director Ross McGregor’s intriguing and original adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic horror story transplants the action from Victorian London to the 2020 US Presidential Election campaign but retains the original’s theme of duality and the darkness within all of us. McGregor and the Arrows and Traps team have been working their way […]