REVIEW: Hansel and Gretel (Open Air Theatre) ★★★★
Following last summer’s The Turn of the Screw, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and English National Opera collaborate once again to present Hansel and Gretel, an opera by Engelbert Humperdinck with libretto written by his sister, Adelheid Wette, based on the fairytale by the Grimm brothers. The show is sung in English and has two […]
MAMMA MIA! at the Novello Theatre
Mamma Mia! – the hit jukebox musical, based on the songs of Abba, has been delighting audiences in London’s West End for twenty years! But unlike many long running shows, the new cast (who started performances last week) breathe new life into the show and make it the strongest production I’ve ever seen of the […]
REVIEW: The Planets: An HD Odyssey (Royal & Derngate) ★★★★
For many of us space is many hundreds of thousands of miles away and we rarely give it a second thought. Yet, at one time we have perhaps considered what other planets are like; indeed the many space films provide little insight and more a surreal imagination of what the future could hold. But as […]
REVIEW: The Clockmaker’s Daughter (Cadogan Hall) ★★★★★
Following a successful run at the Landor Theatre in 2015, and on the back of a studio cast recording released earlier this year, “The Clockmaker’s Daughter” returned to London last week for a one-off concert performance at Cadogan Hall. Essentially a modern-day fairytale, “The Clockmaker’s Daughter” tells the story of Constance, a mechanical creation made […]
REVIEW: HEDGEHOG (Lion and Unicorn Theatre) ★★★★
Set in the late nineties in Barwell, a suburb of Leicester, this excellent (almost one woman) coming of age show written by Alexander Knott perfectly captures both the era and the feelings of teenage angst we can all recall only too well. It was a trip down memory lane for me, with highly relatable family […]
REVIEW: SWEAT (Gielgud Theatre) ★★★★
Set in 2000 against a background of George Bush’s face flickering on screens, booming declarations of economic decline, Sweat is a play which examines industrial disloyalty and the red-hot cinders of resentment and desperation it leaves behind. Running a bar in Reading, Pennsylvania we meet Stan, a friendly ex-factory worker who had to give up […]
REVIEW: ANNIE (New Victoria Woking) ★★★★
“THE SUN’LL COME OUT TOMORROW, BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR THAT TOMORROW, THERE’LL BE SUN” . Sorry Annie, but you owe me some dollars. A rain drenched journey to and from Woking’s New Victoria Theatre did not dampen mine or this touring cast of Annie The Musical’s spirits. Set in 1930s New York during the Great […]
REVIEW: The Pope (Royal & Derngate) ★★★★★
The world is changing. Attitudes have changed, as we move towards a society where everyone has the right to be themselves, without stigma: gay, straight, black, white, atheist, Christian… fundamentally we are all the same. Yet tradition is still important. And for an institution like the Church, which has been around for centuries and provides […]
REVIEW: Horrible Histories: Dreadful deaf (Bristol Old Vic) ★★★★
Deafinitely Theatre – the UK’s first professional deaf-launched and led theatre company, has joined forces with Birmingham Stage Company to present the world premiere of ‘Horrible Histories: Dreadful Deaf’, to create the first dedicated production for deaf children and their families. The show puts an overdue spotlight on the stories and culture of deaf people […]
REVIEW: GARRY (White Bear Theatre) ★★★
Graham Watts, director and producer of this “lost” play by prolific playwright Sophie Treadwell (credited with writing more plays than Shakespeare, including her most famous work “Machinal”) cites in the programme his admirable ambition to produce plays through the ages, by eminent female writers whose works have been ignored specifically for their author’s gender as […]