Review: WHY AM I SO SINGLE?, Garrick TheatreSeptember 12, 2024Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss' new show Why Am I So Single? is billed as 'A big fancy musical'. Bright, bold and funny, it is unashamedly focused on the Gen-Z experience, but gets lost with indulgent in-jokes, repetition and an over-long running time.
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 65: HANDEL'S MESSIAH, Royal Albert HallSeptember 9, 2024The climax to the Proms' Choral Day could only be George Frideric Handel's majestic Messiah. This 1789 arrangement by Mozart was performed by The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, joined by an incredible six (yes six) choirs, conducted by an ebullient John Butt.
Review: THE SILVER CORD, Finborough TheatreSeptember 6, 2024There is a sharply observed and darkly comedic play inside this production, but it is stymied by overlong, melodramatic monologues and meandering subjects.
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 46: HOLST'S THE PLANETS, Royal Albert HallAugust 26, 2024If anyone were to worry about the future of classical music, Prom 46 would surely reassure them that we are in good hands. Students from the Royal College of Music Chamber Choir, Royal College of Music Symphony Orchestra and the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra came together for an incredibly powerful and accomplished programme.
Review: SHIFTERS, Duke of York's TheatreAugust 22, 2024An eloquent and very funny depiction of two young black British people, navigating their way through a waxing and waning relationship. It is a bittersweet, intelligent and exciting piece of theatre.
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 21: THE SINFONIA OF LONDON AND JOHN WILSONAugust 5, 2024John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London have rightly earned a reputation for holding audiences rapt with their vivid realisations of music. Last night, you could have heard a pin drop in the majestic Royal Albert Hall, as they returned to The Proms for a victorious fourth consecutive appearance, celebrating American classics.
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 18: SAM SMITH, Royal Albert HallAugust 3, 2024Auntie had no need to be worried. For Smith's only UK appearance of 2024, they were joined the BBC Concert Orchestra and the LJ Singers for an excellent (and very professional) evening, celebrating Smith as a singer, rather than a controversialist.
Review: RED SPEEDO, Orange Tree TheatreJuly 22, 2024The world of professional swimming has been dogged by stories of doping and Hnath's play seeks to explore the ethical aspects of this issue and how far someone will go to be a winner. So far, so intriguing, but Red Speedo feels unfinished and Hnath fails to either dig deep enough or offer any interesting commentary about these themes.
Review: HELLO, DOLLY!, The London PalladiumJuly 19, 2024Well, we got there in the end and thankfully, it was worth the wait. Initially due to open back in 2020, Dominic Cooke’s adaptation of Hello, Dolly! has finally arrived in the West End.
Review: THE LION KING IN CONCERT, Royal Albert HallJuly 6, 2024Back in the summer of 1994, Disney's latest animation film The Lion King raked in almost $1 billion at the global box office. After several sequels and long-running shows on Broadway and in the West End, the film is now celebrating its 30th Anniversary and the Royal Albert Hall is giving it the epic Films in Concert treatment.