Mark Lawson — Theater Critic

The review star system can struggle with shows that some might sell their house to see but others would be reluctant to leave home for. This feels like a five-star production for most devoted throners but a three-star for those who haven’t seen the TV series. Thereby, to channel this show’s infectious tones, the Judging One has trod a path between those stellar prophecies.

The performers are impeccable under the direction of RSC co-head Daniel Evans. Yet with the BFG and baddie giant Bloodbottler divided between an actor, a puppet and four on-stage puppeteers, coherent characterisation can be lost; Paddington: The Musical more seamlessly combines acting, animatronics and voices projected from backstage. Showing the complexities of theatrical funding now, The BFG is a co-production with Chichester Festival and Singapore Repertory theatres. Audiences will have enough fun but, while intermittently showing the RSC’s artistic power, this sadly doesn’t feel like the giant hit its finances need.

Ghosts exemplifies Ibsen’s creed that the key events of a play take place before it starts: everyone is either hiding, or having hidden, something from them. The actors grippingly chart the negotiation of these secrets and suspicions. Victoria Smurfit’s Helena shows how the greater agency of a modern Mrs Alving has not prevented moral compromises but also allows her contemporary solutions. Callum Scott Howells as Oz is sassy, sarcastic but ecstatic at the prospect even of dangerous love.