REVIEW: CONSTELLATIONS (Hen & Chickens Theatre) ★★
Nick Payne’s unforgettable parallel-universes love story Constellations was first performed in 2012 at the Royal Court with Sally Hawkins and Rafe Spall as the romantic couple whose relationship is explored through the what-ifs of quantum multiverse theory. As high-concept as they come, the play nonetheless forces an audience onto the ropes emotionally, making you consider […]
REVIEW: The Penetration Play (Above the Stag) ★★★
In the past, Above the Stag has played host to almost entirely male-focused gay plays, which of course drew attention to the fact that there weren’t many lesbian plays walking through its doors. Well, with a fabulous new location and returb comes a change in the wind: Winter Miller‘s dark comedy, ‘The Penetration Play‘, has […]
REVIEW: WEST SIDE STORY (Bishopsgate Institute) ★★★★
Earlier this week I was treated to The Bishopsgate Institute’s own amateur production of West Side Story, presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International. With lyrics written by the unrivalled Stephen Sondheim, this production also celebrates the centenary of the births of the musical’s composer, the legendary Leonard Bernstein, and Jerome Robbins, the show’s original […]
REVIEW: Sh*t Faced Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet (Leicester Square Theatre) ★★★★
It turns out that if a group of young classically trained actors get sh*t faced and do Shakespeare, they make it infinitely funnier, pacier and more feminist without insulting the original. The Sh*t Faced Shakespeare gang have been a fringe hit for years with their improvised retellings of Shakespeare’s most well-known works before making it […]
REVIEW: Shebeen (Theatre Royal Stratford East) ★★★
The Theatre Royal Staratford East, despite its boarded-up appearance due to refurbishments, is certainly still open as usual. Writer Mufaro Makubika, winner of the Alfred Fagon for best play 2017, brings us ‘Shebeen’. Set in 1950s Nottingham, the play follows Pearl and George, a Jamaican couple who hold secret, illegal parties in their house to […]
REVIEW: DOUBLE ACT (Polka Theatre) ★★★★
Vicky Ireland’s charming adaption of Jacquline Wilson’s Double Act lights up the stage at the Polka Theatre once more as the popular children’s book is brought to life. Double Act follows the various adventures of identical twins Ruby and Garnet as they deal with the death of their mother, their ageing gran (Erika Poole) moving […]
REVIEW: Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella (New Victoria Theatre) ★★★★★
Having never been to the Ballet, I warned my mother that if I fell asleep, she needed to wake me up. She didn’t need to bother. The most striking aspect of this production for me was the setting – the London Blitz in 1940. Lez Brotherston’s set is truly a thing of magic and splendour, […]
REVIEW: Legally Blonde The Musical (New Wimbledon Theatre) ★★★★
Omigod You Guys, Legally Blonde The Musical is back! Having premiered on Broadway in 2007, it opened to rave reviews and was nominated for seven Tony Awards and received ten Drama Desk nominations. Following this breakout success the production was filmed for MTV and a reality television programme was created showing the audition process for […]
REVIEW: It’s Only Life (Union Theatre) ★★★★★
I laughed, I cried but most importantly I thought. It’s Only Life at the Union Theatre is a powerful celebration of life and living the journey. John Bucchino’s lyrics are witty and touching. The songs speak to real people, he has a raw and simple way of putting things that make you catch your breath. […]
REVIEW: Beirut (Park Theatre) ★★★
This 1986 play by American writer Alan Bowne is an intense two-hander starring Louise Connolly-Burnham as Blue and Robert Rees as Torch. Torch is living in a squalid room on the Lower East Side; an area nicknamed Beirut. A lethal blood disease is spreading through New York City, a viral infection spread through all bodily […]