Mike Carter

Beautiful Little Fool looks great as a show. A mammoth multi-level set from Shankho Chaudhuri is lit exquisitely by Ben Stanton. There’s a killer band under the direction of Jerome van den Berghe. The cast sings gloriously, and, despite my misgivings, its creator and star, Hannah Corneau, deserves a huge amount of credit. (As does Amy Parker, who understudied on press night.) Musical theatre used to be about triple threats. Singing, dancing and acting. I now suspect we’re in an era of quintuple artists who add writing music and lyrics to the mix. It’s probably six, actually. There’s the sheer hustle needed to get your show produced in the first place. So, I’ll be in the queue to see what Corneau does next, but I hope it’s something more heartfelt that cuts a little deeper. Beautiful Little Fool, for all the effort put into it, and for all the emoting in song that goes on, ultimately feels uninspired and shallow.