REVIEW: Snow White (Towngate Theatre) ★★★★★
Last year, I called the Towngate Theatre production of Aladdin ‘Possibly the best panto I have ever seen’ and so I went along this year with very high expectations and I wasn’t disappointed. Simon Fielding’s production of Snow White has everything a great panto should have. A hilarious script (that manages to never crosses the […]
REVIEW: Peter Pan (Richmond Theatre) ★★★★
I have yet to meet a single Scrooge in life who doesn’t love the story of Peter Pan and the wondrous place that is Neverland – who hasn’t thought about what it would be like to fly, be completely free from rules and never grow up? Certainly nobody sane! This year, Richmond Theatre have chosen […]
REVIEW: SWEAT (Donmar Warehouse) ★★★★★
Lynn Nottage’s gritty and emotional drama has been brought to the Donmar Warehouse by former Resident Assistant Director Lynnette Linton and is the perfect antidote to anyone who has had enough of the traditional Christmas fare. Sweat won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama after it’s debut in New York in 2015 and it is easy […]
REVIEW: ALADDIN (New Wimbledon Theatre) ★★★
Qdos Entertainment offers those in the Wimbledon surrounding area ‘Aladdin‘ this Christmas. Directed by Kerry Michael, (a pantomime pro) who has pulled off a spectacular job creating scenes which are enjoyable for the kids as well as often for the adults. Paul Merton plays the dame this year, and also makes his Pantomime debut! Not […]
REVIEW: A Christmas Carol (Lyceum Theatre) ★★★★★
There are some questionable shows around this season, some ingenious, some hilarious, some just plain bazaar. The commercialisation of Christmas makes for a competitive time as each theatre vies for you to spend your family outing, and your money, with them. Sometimes though, bells and whistles – or tinsel, puppets, animals, strippers… whatever gets you […]
REVIEW: A Gatsby Christmas (London Cabaret Club) ★★★★
The twenties were fun, there’s no doubt about it. The music, fashion and attitudes after the war were mischievous and fancy free. Combine this era with the festivities of Christmas and you just can’t go wrong. So expectations were high for A Gatsby Christmas – the seasonal offering from The London Cabaret Club – and […]
REVIEW: Rumpelstiltskin (Southbank Centre) ★★
This was my first visit to the Queen Elizabeth Hall, part of the Southbank Centre, since its refurbishment earlier this year. I think they have done a fabulous job of the work. The exterior architecture of the building is in the “brutalist” style and was opened in 1967 and was shortly thereafter labelled the ugliest […]
REVIEW: White Christmas (Curve Leicester) ★��★★★
Nikolai Foster‘s Christmas production of White Christmas is a bit like being given a giant hug and a massive bowl of chicken soup. You cannot possibly leave the auditorium feeling anything other than warmed and just slightly more content with the world (at least until you turn the news back on). An incredibly simple storyline, […]
REVIEW: Mary Poppins Returns ★★★
Mary Poppins Returns, directed by Rob Marshall and parading a drove of A-listers, is an almost uncanny reproduction of the original. The piece is set 25 years post the 1964 original, in Britain’s interwar depression in the 1930s. Little Michael (Ben Whishaw) and Jane (Emily Mortimer) Banks are all grown up and still remain as […]
REVIEW: The Messiah (The Other Palace) ★★
There is surely nothing more tempting for the average only-at-Christmas-theatre-goer, than watching familiar TV faces in a silly nativity extravaganza. Hugh Dennis (Mock the Week) and John Marquez (Doc Martin) lead us through the birth of Jesus in this unique multi-role piece, The Messiah. Oh, and Lesley Garrett is also there, for a spattering of […]