The End of Longing review
More and more, commercial theatre is becoming a playground for producers who prefer stunt-casting over inventive productions that push boundaries and surpass expectations. Sure, Matthew Perry wrote as well as stars in The End of Longing, but the sheer fact that he supposedly penned the script in a...
Hangmen review
The opening scene of Hangmen takes place in a 1963 prison cell, minutes before the execution of a man hysterically proclaiming his innocence. Despite the desperate protestations the chief hangman, Harry Wade, played by David Morrissey, commands his team to proceed, and so concludes a truly...
Harlequinade review
Under the title of “Playbill”, Rattigan’s comedy Harlequinade was originally the companion piece to his more serious drama The Browning Version. Here, Kenneth Branagh presents his own Rattigan double-bill as Harlequinade plays alongside the rarely performed monologue All on Her Own....
Cats review
Cats is a show that has long been thrown about in musical theatre circles as one of the “classics” of the West End. With its 1981 London debut at The New Theatre, a Broadway transfer only a year later, and two wins for “Best Musical” the cat of all Cats really got the cream. But fast...
Sunny Afternoon review
It wasn’t exactly a Sunny Afternoon on a rainy November day in London earlier this week as I headed up to the Harold Pinter Theatre to catch The Kinks musical of the same name, but coming out of the underground I found myself humming the masterpiece that is Waterloo Sunset and I knew that...
Elf! The Musical review
When it was announced that popular 2003 Christmas film Elf was being made into a glitzy West End musical, the show quickly became the most expensive ticket in town and sparked a debate amongst theatre fans. Whilst the price of tickets remains a dubious subject, you cannot help being taken in by the...
The Play That Goes Wrong review
First performed above a pub, Mischief Theatre’s The Play That Goes Wrong has come a long way and is enjoying a run at the Duchess Theatre, which has been extended to September 2016. It seems that the West End has a hankering for an overtly slapstick comedy that is quite unlike anything else...
review
Whilst Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton takes Broadway by storm, his other smash-hit Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights has come to the King’s Cross Theatre for a well-deserved run in the West End. Set in one of Manhattan’s most lively and diverse communities, In the Heights draws...
The Father review
It is likely that most people will know or have known someone who has been affected by dementia, the disease that destroys memories; from the mundane domestic routines to precious, unique moments. Arriving at Wyndham’s Theatre after a successful run at the Theatre Royal Bath, Florian Zeller’s...
Close To You - Bacharach Reimagined review
After a hugely successful run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Kyle Riabko’s love letter to all things Burt Bacharach has now transferred to the Criterion Theatre, taking over a theatre so long occupied by The 39 Steps. It’s also had a name change, from What’s It All About? to Close To You:...