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 […]
REVIEW: Orpheus and Eurydice (Bridewell Theatre) ★★★★★
Is it possible to take the overblown art form that is opera and present it stripped back and (whisper it) in ENGLISH??!! The Time Zone Theatre Company’s production of Orpheus and Eurydice at the Bridewell Theatre shows not only is it possible, it is imperative! The classic Gluck opera of the heart broken Orpheus descending […]
REVIEW: Madagascar The Musical (Sunderland Empire) ★★★★
It’s not every show where a monkey warns you not to take photos or else it will throw poo at you. But it made the many children in the audience laugh and laid the tone for the rest of the show. Based on the Dreamworks film of the same name, Selladoor’s production of Madagascar tells […]
REVIEW: Queens of Sheba (Underbelly Cowgate) ★★★★
Following huge success at Edinburgh Fringe, Queens of Sheba returns to London at the New Diorama Theatre for the start of September. It is an entertaining, powerful and ambitious exploration of black women’s experiences of racism and sexism. Threading through the centre of the performance is the story of four women going on a night […]
REVIEW: Next Lesson (Above The Stag Theatre) ★★★★
2018 marks 30 years since Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government launched its controversial legislation that came to be known as ‘Section 28’, which banned the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality by local authorities and in schools across Britain. ‘Next Lesson’ is the poignant creation of playwright Chris Woodley, a play set over a number of years following the […]
REVIEW: Sister Mary’s Playtime @ Teatime (Frankenstein Pub) ★★★
Some shows only make sense at the Edinburgh Fringe; think ‘Cat photos set to music’, ‘Shitfaced Shakespeare’ and ‘Chasing scenes’. Sister Mary’s Playtime @ Teatime is one of these shows. It is a fringeful mash-up of a hairy nun in a medieval tavern leading the audience in everything from Mary Poppins to rap between comedic […]
REVIEW: Daughter (CanadaHub @ King’s Hall) ★★★★★
Raw, unsettling and far too close for comfort, Daughter forces its audience to look darkness in the eye. Adam Lazarus centres as the unnamed father in this solo performance, produced by Quiptake and supported by Canada Hub. Sporting fairy wings and a pink bandana, Lazarus opens as a loving, good-humoured and, at points, vulnerable father. […]