BWW Reviews: THE QUEEN'S KNICKERS, Southbank Centre, February 18 2013February 19, 2013Nicholas Allan's best-selling children's book, The Queen's Knickers, has been adapted for the stage as part of the Southbank Centre's Imagine children's festival. With lots of witty ideas, a healthy dose of clowning, and a great storyline, it's perfect for ages 3+.
BWW Reviews: FIESTA, Trafalgar Studios, February 8 2013February 9, 2013Alex Helfrecht's adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises opens in Paris and ends in Pamplona, where complex human relationships blister under the heat of the Spanish sun. Physical performances and live music conjure up all the ex-pat decadence of the 1920s, and tell a truly gripping story.
BWW Reviews TONGUE FU, Rich Mix, January 10 2013January 13, 2013Tongue Fu is one of the hottest tickets on the spoken word calendar: a regular collaboration between performance poets, musicians and film. The mix of live, improvised music with poetry and stand-up, in a cabaret-style evening, is slick and funny, and the set-up is attracting big names - such as old hand John Hegley whose career was launched with John Peel Sessions in the 1980s - in this, admittedly slightly niche, field.
BWW Reviews PRIVATES ON PARADE, Noël Coward Theatre, December 10 2012December 15, 2012Privates on Parade is the first in a season of five plays at the Noël Coward Theatre, where the newly-formed Michael Grandage company has set up camp. Getting the season off to a cracking start, Simon Russell Beale plays the witty, warm-hearted drag queen, Acting Captain Terri Dennis, in this classic play by Peter Nichols.
BWW Reviews: MYDIDAE, Soho Theatre, December 6 2012December 8, 2012This latest play by Jack Thorne, specially commissioned by new writing company DryWrite, is about a couple in their late twenties. It takes place entirely in their bathroom where, beneath the gleaming porcelain and easy companionship, a tension builds
BWW Reviews: WITHOUT YOU, Menier Chocolate Factory, September 9 2012September 9, 2012Adapted from Rapp's New York Times best-selling memoir, Without You tells the story of the early days of what became the Broadway phenomenon Rent, from the perspective of this original cast member, complete with songs from the show as well as fresh music coolly performed by a five-piece rock band.
BWW Reviews: MACK & MABEL, Southwark Playhouse, July 11 2012July 12, 2012Sometimes when directors revive old plays you wonder why they've done it. Mack & Mabel, currently playing at Southwark Playhouse, is not a classic crying out to be brought back to life, though being about the early days of cinema it is rather on trend.