REVIEW: RIOT ACT (Kings Head Theatre) ★★★★
The Kings Head Theatre is playing host to Riot Act, a collection of monologues weaving together six decades of transatlantic queer history and activism. Playwright and performer Alexis Gregory interviewed one of the only remaining Stonewall survivors – the 1969 NYC riot that began the gay rights movement; Lavinia Co-Op, a member of a 1970’s […]
REVIEW: ALLELUJAH! (Bridge Theatre) ★★
When Alan Bennett’s name is uttered, the man’s sing-song northern intonations tend to hum through one’s mind. Often blunt and acerbic, it is the voice which narrates the 2015 motion picture adaptation Lady in the Van and one which ultimately runs as a nervous system through every play he writes. Bennett is a dramatic style […]
REVIEW: Carmen La Cubana (Sadlers Wells) ★★★★
If there’s one show that suits this current heatwave we’re experiencing, it’s Carmen La Cubana. Based on Oscar Hammerstein’s 1943 musical Carmen Jones (itself based on Georges Bizet’s 1875 opera Carmen), his subtitled production, performed entirely in Spanish, takes us to the heady, steamy days of 1958 Cuba. Revolution is coming, and Carmen is on […]
REVIEW: Madagascar the Musical (New Wimbledon Theatre) ★★★★
As someone whose favourite animal is a lemur and who has always planned to travel to Madagascar, I was very excited about the film, which has become one of mine and my dad’s favourite movies. When I discovered there was a musical version, I eagerly awaited its arrival (although my dad was not interested – […]
REVIEW: The Simon & Garfunkel Story (Lyric Theatre) ★★★★★
There are a lot of musicals currently, that create a story using a band’s hits to break up a story about their lives. Sometimes, in the case of Jersey Boys, this succeeds; sometimes it does not. It’s always a risk. However, The Simon & Garfunkel Story (written and directed by Dean Elliott) isn’t trying to […]
REVIEW: Bluebird (The Space) ★★
This revival of an early work from Olivier Award winning playwright Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time), Bluebird captures a single night in the life of troubled minicab driver Jimmy (Jonathan Keane) as he navigates the streets of London in his Nissan Bluebird. The first act sees Jimmy pick up […]
REVIEW: SPAMILTON: AN AMERICAN PARODY (Menier Chocolate Factory) ★★★
For 30 years, Gerard Alessandrini has ripped into Broadway and the West End with his satirical and hilarious Forbidden Broadway musical revues. Having received critical acclaim for his previous runs at the Menier, Alessandri returns to the factory for his new spoof on the little-known fringe favourite Hamilton – now wittingly titled here as Spamilton. […]
REVIEW: FLASHDANCE (Milton Keynes Theatre) ★★★
Another classic 80s film dances onto the stage, this time the turn of Flashdance, directed by Hannah Chissick. It’s another movie I keep meaning to watch, but have never got around to. Girl meets boy… boy and girl have ‘different lives’ but she has a talent and that’s worth more than money. General 80’s spin. […]
REVIEW: WHITE ROSE (Jack Studio Theatre) ★★★★
Can a small group of young people reclaim the country they love from the edge of the abyss and can they find the courage to try when it could cost them everything? Writer and director Ross McGregor’s new play explores this moral dilemma by telling the true story of a brother and sister, Hans and […]
REVIEW: THE JUNGLE (Playhouse Theatre) ★★★★★
This is the place where people suffered and dreamed. Meet the hopeful, resilient residents of the Jungle – just across the Channel, right on our doorstep. The thing I love most about theatre is that for a couple of hours it allows you be transported in to another world, where you can leave your troubles […]