REVIEW: DOCTOR DOLITTLE (New Theatre Oxford) ★★★
Hugh Lofting’s 1920 children’s book, Doctor Doolittle is on permanent re-order in Waterstones’ across the country and remains up there in popularity alongside the classics of Lewis Carroll and A A Milne. The good-natured and zany Doctor Doolittle character has extended to many films over the years as well as musical productions. This particular revival, […]
REVIEW: A Modest Little Man (Bread and Roses Theatre) ★★★
Journalist Francis Beckett has adapted his biography of the post-war Labour Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, into a short play that offers a humorous take on Atlee’s unique and understated leadership style. Told mainly from the perspective of Atlee’s wife, Violet, the play focuses on the events following the Second World War when Atlee’s Labour Party […]
REVIEW: Notre Dame de Paris (London Coliseum) ★★★★★
Based upon the acclaimed 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, Notre Dame de Paris originally premiered at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, 1998. With music composed by Richard Cocciante and lyrics by Luc Plamondon, the production was praised in the millennium edition of the Guinness Book of World Records for its record […]
REVIEW: VIOLET (Charing Cross Theatre) ★★★★
Violet is a multi award-winning musical with music by Jeanine Tesori (Tony Award winner for Best Original Score with Lisa Kron for Fun Home and Tony-nominated for Caroline, or Change and Shrek the Musical) and Book & Lyrics by Brian Crawley (The Little Princess). Developed as apart of Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Music Theatre […]
REVIEW: THRILLER LIVE – 10th Anniversary Performance (Lyric Theatre) ★★★★★
Whatever you choose to believe of the softly spoken icon, Michael Jackson’s global prominence is irrefutable and his music, unmatched. The star’s legacy still sells millions of records to this day and has been imagined and played out in Thriller Live on the Lyric stage for a whole decade to audiences adding up to over […]
REVIEW: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL – TOTEM (The Royal Albert Hall) ★★★★★
Cirque du Soleil: A circus troupe whose globally acclaimed reputation of excellence supersedes every flip, balance and rollerblading-neck-spin-on-a-tiny-podium they make. Initially named Les Échassiers (‘The Waders’), this Canadian theatre company aren’t as old as their prestigious notoriety suggests. The troupe formed in 1980 to tour Quebec and their success has effervescently soared since, becoming the […]
REVIEW: Extra Virgin (Above the Stag Theatre) ★★
When the lights go up, we interrupt the most intimate of acts occurring between Noah and Elliot: a Grindr hookup in full swing. For a casual affair, the pair seem to be very relaxed with one another, and Noah (James Farley) takes the opportunity to broach the possibility for an ’emotional’ hookup. What if, for […]
REVIEW: ASPECTS OF LOVE (Southwark Playhouse) ★★★
Although not premiered until 1989, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Aspects of Love’ was first conceived in 1979, when he and Tim Rice were approached to write some songs for the movie version of the David Garnett novella. The movie was shelved but this initial spark began the ten year journey to the fully staged musical (with […]
REVIEW: Benidorm Live (Sunderland Empire) ★★★★★
The move from the beloved TV series to stage play has gone seamlessly for Benidorm, due in no small way to the brilliant writing of Derren Litten. He has given life to all the characters he knows so well. In the fine tradition of farce, the story is based on a series of misunderstandings. Posh […]
REVIEW: ANOMALY (Red Lion Theatre) ★★★★
Anomaly is the debut play from Liv Warden, showing at the Old Red Lion Theatre. Warden began writing at the Soho Writers Lab in 2016; this play was first conceived in conjunction with the National Theatre playwriting course and finished at the Arcola Theatre ‘Introduction to Playwriting’ course at the end of last year. Warden […]