REVIEW: Swan Lake (London Coliseum) ★★★★
Swan Lake is one of the most beloved tragedies in the ballet. Love, jealousy, betrayal and magic are all brought together to bring beautiful but dramatic scenes that evoke a sense of an ‘other world’ full of enchantments and spells. Tchaikovsky’s score provides its own type of music that bewitches the audience who watch, spellbound […]
REVIEW: The Play That Goes Wrong (Curve) ★★★★
It’s quite rare that I venture into a production totally blind with no idea what I am letting myself in for, but this was very much the case with The Play That Goes Wrong. I vaguely knew that scenery falls down at some point and that it’s a ‘what it says on the tin’ production, […]
REVIEW: Hobson’s Choice (Jack Studio Theatre) ★★★
Harold Brighouse’s Manchester School classic comedy about class and gender is given a new spin at the Jack Theatre by director Matthew Townshend. The setting has moved from 1880 to 1958 embracing Rock’n’Roll but remains firmly rooted in working class Salford. Successful shoe shop owner Henry Hobson (John D Collins) is a pillar of the […]
REVIEW: SIX (ARTS Theatre) ★★★★
It would be very easy to describe ‘Six’ as an all-female Hamilton, and in many ways you can. However, there are alternative suggestions I’d come up with – an all-female Avengers, the rivals of Little Mix perhaps, or else an electro-pop hour long version of the Cell Block Tango. ‘Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.’ […]
REVIEW: Eugenius (The Other Palace) ★★★
The programme for Eugenius includes a review by Alun Hood of Whats On Stage, which references The Rocky Horror Show, Little Shop of Horrors and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, telling us that cult musicals can be about the strangest things. Herein lies the problem with Eugenius, cult musicals are not prescribed by the creators, […]
REVIEW: Black Cat Bohemia (Underbelly Festival) ★★★★
The self proclaimed cabaret trailblazers of Black Cat Bohemia are taking up residence in the Spiegeltent at the Underbelly Festival on the Southbank. Offering a “wild night at the circus” with “new high skills” featuring “world-class acrobats, aerialistes, fire-breathers and other gloriously talented reprobates.” The show promises much and just about manages to deliver. Laura […]
REVIEW: Guy The Musical (King’s Head Theatre) ★★
Every gay man in 2018 knows how it feels to scroll through endless profiles on dating apps, see pictures of people who look 10 times better than you do, get depressed, and eat chocolate. Guy The Musical attempts to explore these issues of body image and self-esteem, and the negative influence that these apps can […]
REVIEW: The King and I (London Palladium) ★★★★
It’s always interesting returning to a production. And when you get to see a character portrayed by a different performer, it makes the experience all the better, especially when it’s a Tony Award winner. It was therefore with enthusiasm that I returned to the London Palladium to see Ruthie Ann Miles play Lady Thiang in […]
REVIEW: Aliens Love Underpants (Underbelly Festival) ★★★
“Aliens love underpants of every shape and size; but there are no underpants in space so here’s a big surprise!” Aliens Love Underpants, the children’s book by Claire Freedman and Ben Cart, has been adapted and directed by Adam Bampton Smith to bring it to the stage for the first time in the Spiegeltent on […]
REVIEW: There Is Nothing Like A Dame (Cadogan Hall) ★★★★★
For quite a few of us theatregoers, there are few pleasures in life as thrilling as watching a West End leading lady effortlessly belting out a showtune. When those voices hit full throttle and the roof threatens to burst off the building, you’re in the presence of something pretty special. Multiply that by four, and […]