The Dresser review
While the Second World War rages around the globe, personal dresser Norman is fighting his own battle in the backstage rooms of a regional theatre. Nothing - not the falling Nazi bombs, the air raid sirens, the scarcity of suitable male actors, nor the precarious mental state of their leading man -...
Murder Ballad review
Traditionally “a narrative describing the events of a murder”, Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash's Off-Broadway musical version of a murder ballad is bound to be somewhat predictable. Without giving away too much of the devilish details, it is, but Murder Ballad promises much more than a simple...
The Libertine review
Everyone knows the story of the raucous, debauched Earl of Rochester – everyone, that is, apart from apparently Stephen Jeffreys. The Libertine opens with a brooding Dominic Cooper proclaiming “you will not like me”, and although he's not far off the mark, it's the play that sets you at odds....
The Entertainer review
Once again Kenneth Branagh treads the path of Laurence Olivier, topping the bill of his Season at the Garrick with a role in John Osborne's melancholy The Entertainer. After a year of plays, it only seems right that Branagh headlines the final farewell, in a role that sent his acting idol...
Breakfast at Tiffany's review
At a time when new writing is blossoming on the West End, it's actually quite refreshing to hear that a classic is being brought back to the stage. Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's is well-known for starring the iconic Audrey Hepburn, and now modern popstar Pixie Lott dons the black gloves...
The Bodyguard review
Jukebox musicals are no longer a rarity on the West End, what with Thriller, Sunny Afternoon, Mamma Mia and Let It Be all paving the way to a new brand of musical that can be enjoyed by a very particular audience. In 2012 we saw a musical adaptation of the hit 1992 film The Bodyguard, starring...
Funny Girl review
It's a wonder that Jule Styne's beloved Funny Girl is not one of the most revived musicals in London. It has a sparky female lead and sumptuously dreamy score, much like Styne's other masterpiece Gypsy; the real challenge is finding an actress who can take on Barbra Streisand's iconic...
Hobson's Choice review
Harold Brighouse’s Hobson’s Choice was first shown in London in June 1916, and almost exactly 100 years later, the comedy has stormed back in to the Big Smoke at London’s Vaudeville Theatre. Laughs and cheers echoed around the auditorium during this witty revival, with beloved British actor...
Aladdin - Disney's New Musical review
It’s often performed as a village hall panto, with sub-standard sets and sneering villains peering from behind the curtain, but Casey Nicholaw’s spectacular Aladdin is a big-budget extravaganza that quite literally outshines every other West End production. Bob Crowley’s wondrous sets are so...
The Go-Between review
It seems that British musicals are the current West End fad, first with Mrs Henderson Presents and now with a long-awaited arrival of LP Hartley's 1953 novel-turned-musical The Go-Between, which recently received a charming page-to-screen debut with the BBC. But although there are moments of...
