
Louise Penn
Theatre Critic Louise Penn has written 131 articles for BroadwayWorld since 2020, covering UK / West End Theatre.
Louise is a poet and librarian turned critic who started consuming theatre from an early age. Now settled in London she is keen on drama, musicals, dance and comedy, and is a passionate supporter of fringe theatre. She runs the arts website loureviews.blog.
Most Popular Articles


Review: BBC PROMS: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, Royal Albert Hall
August 20, 2026

Review: CATS, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
August 7, 2026

Review: BBC PROMS: BOND AND BEYOND, Royal Albert Hall
August 26, 2026

Review: BBC PROMS: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, Royal Albert Hall
August 20, 2026

Review: THE CODE, Southwark Playhouse Elephant
September 18, 2025
Latest Articles

Review: BBC PROMS: RATTLE CONDUCTS SCHUMANN at Royal Albert Hall
September 9, 2026
This is not easy material to perform: there is a definite sense of the man behind the music cracking open his soul in sharing his compositions.

Book Review: SEETHING LANE, by Jack Jewers, Moonflower Books
September 2, 2026
Jewers returns to Samuel Pepys as a subject of fiction following his debut novel, The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys (2022).

Review: BBC PROMS: BOND AND BEYOND, Royal Albert Hall
August 26, 2026
This celebration of the scores and songs from the James Bond's film franchise leaves us stirred, not shaken, with a surprise appearance from Lulu.

Review: BBC PROMS: MILES DAVIS CENTENARY, Royal Albert Hall
August 21, 2026
American jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire joins the BBC Concert Orchestra and Miho Hazama for a celebration of jazz legend Miles Davis on the centenary of his birth.

Review: BBC PROMS: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, Royal Albert Hall
August 20, 2026
This production, direct from Glyndebourne, is a delight from start to finish, with laughter and glorious voices leading to a true emotional climax to send us soaring into the summer night.

Review: BBC PROMS: ELGAR'S CELLO CONCERTO, Royal Albert Hall
August 17, 2026
With a trio of 20th century classics, this Prom is competent and enjoyable, but lacking that touch of something special.

Review: BBC PROMS: BERLIOZ'S ‘SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE’, Royal Albert Hall
August 9, 2026
The National Youth Orchestra, with musicians aged 14-19, delivers a complicated and devilish programme with great style, joy, and enthusiasm.

Review: CATS, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
August 7, 2026
Cats makes a highly-anticipated return in a brand-new production for the Open Air Theatre stage.

Review: BBC PROMS: FROM THE ALPS TO THE AUVERGNE, Royal Albert Hall
July 28, 2026
The thene of the evening is the great outdoors, with the LEO'S blending of the old and new making the audience stamp their feet for more.

Review: BBC PROMS: BLACK DYKE BAND, Royal Albert Hall
July 20, 2026
Black Dyke Band brings its popular programme of classics and movie music, written or arranged for brass, to the BBC Proms.

Review: COMPAŇÍA MARCO FLORES - RAYUELA, Sadler's Wells East
June 30, 2026
In Reyuela, Flores and his collaborators see flamenco as a game of risk, mischievousness, and arrogance.

Review: ZOONATION YOUTH COMPANY, Royal Ballet And Opera
June 29, 2026
ZooNation Youth Company presents two shows as part of the Next Generation Festival 2026 - a showcase for dancers under 21 to engage with the music, dance styles, and personal attitudes they enjoy most.

Review: DANCE DIGITAL, Sadler's Wells
June 8, 2026
The Lilian Baylis Theatre and associated spaces next door to Sadler's Wells is full of chatter and excitement on day 2 of the Dance Digital film festival.

Review: THE DANCE FACTORY - DADA MASILO’S HAMLET, Sadler's Wells
May 26, 2026
If you know the Shakespeare play this dance version is inspired by, you'll be on board with this truncated romp through the key scenes - murder, marriage, mousetrap, nunnery, church, closet, madness, death.

Review: JETTE PARKER ARTISTS: TALES OF LOVE AND LOSS, Royal Ballet And Opera
May 2, 2026
Ana Inés Jabares-Pita's set feels familiar and clearly defines time and place: The Departure remains in the 1960s; Making Arrangements moves into the 1970s, where a woman could choose to live independently; Four Sisters is in the materialistic 1980s, where 'greed is good'.

Review: SCOTTISH BALLET - MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, Sadler's Wells
March 6, 2026
Mary, Queen of Scots, is a remarkable piece of work, offering pointed comment on the place of women in the sixteenth-century court and on the mythology that casts Mary as a martyr.

Review: TO MAURY WITH LOVE, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
February 23, 2026
To Maury With Love at Theatre Royal Drury Lane celebrated composer Maury Yeston’s 80th birthday with songs from Titanic, Nine, and Grand Hotel.

Review: SAUL at LONDON HANDEL FESTIVAL, Sinfonia Smith Square
February 19, 2026
Opening the London Handel Fetsival, this flawless presentation of Saul was a celebration of Handel that set the tone of the performances to follow.

Review: CLASSICAL MIXTAPE: A LIVE TAKEOVER, Southbank Centre
February 6, 2026
Classical Mixtape: A Live Takeover is part of the Southbank Centre's 75th anniversary programme.

Review: BIGRE / “FISH BOWL” COMPAGNIE LE FILS DU GRAND RÉSEAU, Peacock Theatre
January 29, 2026
BIGRE/'Fish Bowl' is a glorious, inventive display of comedy clowning with the ability to engage and surprise.
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