REVIEW: WHITNEY – QUEEN OF THE NIGHT (Savoy Theatre) ★★★★
Clock strikes upon the hour and the sun begins to fade as the audience descends into the glitzy cavern of the Savoy Theatre. Bathed in a soft fuchsia light, the auditorium sparkles with anticipation. As we find our seats, a selection of 80’s pop hits plays gently in the background before the five-piece band and […]
REVIEW: MICHAEL – the Michael Jackson tribute (Southampton Guildhall) ★★★
It is a very long time since I saw a show at the cavernous Guildhall, Southampton with its high ceiling and brick walls and not much has changed at the venue over the last forty-five years, even the carpet looked like it had been down that long! The only thing that noticeably had changed was […]
REVIEW: TOM GATES (Richmond Theatre) ★★★★
Neal Foster of the Birmingham Stage Company, the specialists in bringing children’s books to the stage, has taken on the challenge of adapting Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates stories and yet again hits his target audience’s humour with unerring accuracy. The Tom Gates books have been delighting children since 2011, with their cheeky humour and colourful […]
REVIEW: THE RUBENSTEIN KISS (Southwark Playhouse) ★★★★
The Rubenstein Kiss is inspired by the true story of Ethel and Julius Rosenburg, a Jewish American couple who were executed in 1953 having been found guilty of espionage, specifically of passing nuclear weapons’ designs to the Soviet Union. Their case became something of a public controversy in America, with many feeling that they were […]
REVIEW: THE LIFE I LEAD (Park Theatre) ★★★★
David Tomlinson’s face is probably very familiar to many people, having been in several Disney films during the 1960’s, most notably Mary Poppins. However, many people are not familiar with his career outside of these films, knowing him mainly as Mr Banks. ‘The Life I Lead’ sees Tomlinson (played by Miles Jupp), take the audience […]
REVIEW: Calendar Girls the Musical (Sunderland Empire) ★★★★
Has celebrating the naked female form ever been as much fun? Following on from the book, the movie, the stageplay (and obviously the calendar) the latest outing for the Knapely WI is now set to the music and lyrics of Gary Barlow and serves up another timely reminder that out of adversity comes strength. Most […]
REVIEW: Liza Pulman sings Streisand (The Lyric Theatre) ★★★
A gentle evening of light entertainment. Liza Pulman, on a break from her usual guise as one third of the brilliant Fascinating Aida, brings us her homage to the legend that is Barbra Streisand. The evening starts with a brief musical overture from the fabulous six-piece band before Pulman takes to the stage and opens […]
REVIEW: DIRTY DANCING (New Victoria Theatre) ★★★★
Did I had the time of my life? Not quite, but watching this touring interpretation of the fan favourite of 80’s movie Dirty Dancing come alive on stage, did not feel like a wasted 90 minutes. Having enjoyed two successful stints in London’s West End, Dirty Dancing has worked its way to Woking’s New Victoria […]
REVIEW: JOHN OWEN-JONES – SPOTLIGHT ★★★★
Renound musical theatre performer John Owen-Jones has made a name for himself by repeatedly playing lead roles in both Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. In 1998, he became the youngest person ever to play the role of Jean Valjean full-time when he took over in the London production at the age of 26, […]
REVIEW: Betrayal (Pinter at the Pinter) ★★★
Pinter’s forensic study of betrayal is a fitting 90-minute coda to Jamie Lloyd Company’s season Pinter At The Pinter, which looked back over the Nobel Prize winning playwright’s shorter works a decade after his death. The play is strongly autobiographical and based on a seven-year extramarital affair Pinter had with Joan Bakewell from 1962 to […]