School of Rock the Musical review
If you sit in the Gillian Lynne Theatre and close your eyes for just a moment, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the real Jack Black on the stage - you know, the one from the film. It may not be Jack Black himself, but Craig Gallivan, who plays the character of Dewey Finn, is every inch as...
The Lover / The Collection review
Those intent on attending every play in the Pinter at the Pinter season will relish The Lover/The Collection as a very watchable, relatively light and quick-paced pair of comedies, showcasing the playwright’s playful sense of the absurd. This complementary doublet has plenty to say on sex, game...
The Woman in Black review
As shows get bigger and more grandiose, crammed with special effects and theatrical wizardry, The Woman in Black can seem like an anomaly in the West End landscape of late. A short play with just two actors and a small, intimate set. However, there’s beauty in its simplicity. Terrifying...
Strictly Ballroom review
Every so often, a show arrives in the West End that is simply heaps of fun. That’s what Drew McOnie’s reworking of his 2016 adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom is; a sweeping, gaudy, bright and outright hilarious couple of hours of entertainment. Pairing his signature stylish...
The Jungle review
You’d be forgiven for expecting The Jungle, Good Chance Theatre's immersive play about the Calais refugee camp, to be a bleak and miserable affair. Inspired by real people and events from within the encampment and interspersed with all-too-familiar news footage, it’s a truthful account. Yet the...
Consent review
Nina Raine’s Consent was a big success for the National Theatre this time last year, so it is little surprise to see this play be revived in the West End. And in its new home in the Harold Pinter Theatre with a mostly new cast, it proves to be as deeply considered and thought-provoking as ever,...
Bat Out of Hell The Musical review
A lone skyscraper looms over an urban wasteland where Falco, his wife and daughter live in nervous exile. In the streets of this dystopian Manhattan, a gang of eternally 18-year-old mutants rule the land with rock music, motorbikes and uninhibited sexuality. Raven, the newly adult only child of the...
Chicago review
A show that opens with the marvellous Josefina Gabrielle singing "All That Jazz" surely has to be good. And a show that puts strong female characters like Roxie Hart, Velma Kelly and Mama Morton front and centre has to be a good thing, right? That said, the return of Kander and Ebb’s mega-hit...
Quiz review
James Graham and Daniel Evans prove a winning combination with Chichester Festival Theatre's latest West End transfer. Based on the infamous coughing scandal on popular game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Quiz is the incredibly fun quest into mob mentality, greed, bias and ultimately Britain's...
Ruthless! The Musical review
They were right – Ruthless! The Musical is a true laugh-a-minute. Making its London premiere at the shabby-chic Arts Theatre, the off-Broadway smash-hit is the all-female parody of Broadway hits including Gypsy, Mame and All About Eve. It's a super-entertaining night out, but it misses the mark...
