Mamma Mia! review
Mamma Mia! has long been a West End veteran, opening at London’s Prince Edward Theatre back in 1999. Fast forward eighteen years and how does this jukebox musical compare to more recent theatrical offerings that delve into the oeuvre of musical greats such as Cyndi Lauper and Bob Dylan? To be...
Kinky Boots review
Based on the 2005 feature film starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Joel Edgerton, Kinky Boots tells the tale of shoe factory Price and Son in England's Northampton, which is at risk of being closed down because they've been out-marketed by cheaper alternatives. The only way Charlie Price (David Hunter)...
I Loved Lucy review
“You really have to love yourself to get anything in this world done” – it’s true, and Lee Tannen’s newish play I Loved Lucy proves that Lucille Ball, one of comedy’s greatest clowns, got plenty done through a whole lot of self-love. A charming homage to the late star, created by...
review
Before it had even officially opened, the new adaption of A Tale of Two Cities at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park had seen controversy in its previews, with a sex scene and a lot of the strong language being removed by press night due to complaints and walk-outs. It did seem relatively tame...
Queen Anne review
It's curious as to why there is such little documentation of Anne’s monarchy. We've seen the BBC's The Tudors and The Virgin Queen, as dramas frequently rehash the lives of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots – but never, or rarely, Anne Stuart. Perhaps it’s because, despite...
The Mentor review
There’s real pleasure in being able to see an actor of the calibre of F Murray Abraham on the London stage. Depending on your cultural references, you may know him as the shadowy Dar Adal from the TV show Homeland, or the Oscar-winning Salieri from the film Amadeus, either way he’s a hugely...
The Wind in the Willows - Palladium review
After undergoing several workshops and a tryout tour across the UK, Stiles and Drewe's brand new musical The Wind in the Willows poop-poops into the West End for limited summer fun. It's the well-known story adapted from Kenneth Grahame's classic riverside tale, following Mr Toad and his insatiable...
Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill review
Sometimes the hype is entirely justified. Six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald has the incredible record of winning in all possible categories whether lead or supporting, play or musical, the only actor to ever do so, and so it is a little appropriate that her long-awaited UK stage debut comes...
Bat Out of Hell The Musical review
It's easy to be cynical about the trend of jukebox musicals, which arrive in the West End in chirpy droves, but it would be wildly inaccurate to paint Jim Steinman's venture with the same brush. Bat Out of Hell the Musical is no ordinary musical theatre; it's a stadium rock concert come epic...
Annie review
Last seen touring the country starring diva Craig Revel Horwood as the harridan Miss Hannigan, Nikolai Foster's jazzed-up rendition of the 1970's musical lands in London, starring TV personality and comedienne Miranda Hart. Billed to bow one stop away from the end, Hart is simply a cog in the very...
