REVIEW: Hamilton (Lewis) (Kings Head Theatre) ★★★
A rather clever but very silly musical parody of the hit show Hamilton, tracing the rise of Lewis Hamilton has come to the Kings Head Theatre. The company of four actors introduce us to the show, advising us it is good for Hamilton fans and good for Formula 1 fans and questioning why anyone would […]
REVIEW: WICKED (Sunderland Empire) ★★★★
My return visit to Wicked was made all the more enjoyable by attending with a friend who had never seen the show before. Seeing it through different eyes renewed and refreshed my enjoyment of this show. Based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire Wicked’s success has a lot to do with originality and playfulness; […]
REVIEW: KINKY BOOTS (Adelphi Theatre) ★★★★
Kinky Boots is celebrating its third birthday at London’s Adelphi, and what a celebration – resplendent with enough high-kicks, slut-drops and stilettos for everyone. This is the musical I was always vaguely in the business of getting around to seeing, but never quite prioritising. Yes, it looked brashly fun and glittery, but like a high-camp […]
REVIEW: Sh!t-Faced Showtime: Oliver With A Twist (Leicester Square Theatre) ★★★★★
There’s always something delicious about adding a modern twist to a classic; the success of Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare over the past few years has proven that mixing “dost thou cometh” with “yeah mate I’m not gonna lie” works brilliantly well. Born of the same creators, Sh!t-Faced Showtime has reached the stage, this time with a spin […]
REVIEW: Going Places (King’s Head Theatre) ★★★
Going Places is a short play written, directed and performed by Jane Ryan and Billie Collinson that looks at the roles women play in the workplace and their attempts to escape their reality. Helen (Collinson) and Claire (Ryan) work together in an office surrounded by computers, papers, shredders and printers. It’s not clear what they […]
REVIEW: The Lovely Bones (Royal & Derngate) ★★★★
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. It’s late and your child isn’t home… you call the police and wait. And then you get the news you’ve been dreading… Alice Seybold’s The Lovely Bones is a book that stays with you. As a child I was always warned of the dangers of strangers, but in this story […]
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.’ […]