Our UK / West End Critics
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Aliya Al-Hassan
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Cindy Marcolina
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Debbie Gilpin
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Donald Hutera
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Franco Milazzo
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Gary Naylor
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Michael Higgs
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Vikki Jane Vile
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Review: PROM 33 - THE PLANETS, Royal Albert Hall
With themes such as life, death, reflection and the nature of humanity, there’s a risk that a Prom could end up feeling a touch on the heavy side – or overly gloomy – however, the pieces combine to provide as much light as shade across the course of the night. ...
Review: THE BLACK CAT CABARET PRESENTS HALCYON NIGHTS, Crazy Coqs
Few people looking back at this season of scorching heatwaves, political upheaval and financial crisis would label it “halcyon” but, in a small room under Piccadilly Circus, an idyll of music and cabaret can be found thanks to this welcome slice of old school Hollywood pizzazz....
Review: BILL BAILEY: EN ROUTE TO THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE, Royal Opera House
Only Bailey could fit Polynesian tree snails, pulling a plastic bag from his dog’s bottom and singing Coldplay’s “Yellow” in Turkish into one show so seamlessly....
Review: TWO UKRAINIAN PLAYS, Finborough Theatre
Important plays that make demands on the audience, but also demand to be seen....
Review: THE WEST, COLAB Tavern
The experience toes the line between hen-do fun and delightfully over-the-top kitschiness.Will we edge towards a life of gun-slinging crime or become a prim and proper hometown hero during our mission to heal and rebuild?...
Review: HMS PINAFORE, Opera Holland Park
The Charles Court Opera company team up with Opera Holland Park in a co-production that that is just what we need right now...
Review: AN UNEXPECTED TALE IN SMOKY MIDTOWN, Canal Café Theatre
Amanda Elizabeth Rischel writes a scratchy comedy infused with typically noir tropes. Directed by Rosie Frecker, it’s the debut of Stage Noir, a group of East 15 alumni who set off to increase neurodiverse representation in theatre....
Review: KINKY BOOTS - THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Boy, has the West End missed the wit and sparkle of Kinky Boots! As part of the concert series at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, last night saw the first in two special concert-versions of the show, that served to remind audiences just what they had been missing....
Review: SIEGFRIED & GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG, Hackney Empire
This bare-bones production lacks the theatrical flesh to bulk up the sense of grandeur....
Review: FOX-LIGHT, The Hope Theatre
It’s unfortunate how numb and aimless this piece is. Described as a “tar-black dramedy”, it sadly lacks humour and the quality of the narrative is the only tragedy in it. It’s a first play and definitely not a death sentence, so onwards and upwards....
Review: MIDSUMMER MECHANICALS, Globe Theatre
Whether you’re bored by the Bard or a dedicated groundling, taking children to see Shakespeare is a daunting prospect. But be not afeard; for this summer the Globe premieres its first full-scale production for families. And it’s an absolute dream....
Review: SOUTH PACIFIC, Sadler's Wells
The show is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Tales of the South Pacific and made its Broadway debut in 1949; it is surprisingly progressive, despite its age, making it a relatively unproblematic revival. It also helps that it contains some of musical theatre’s most recognisable songs, incl...
Review: ALL OF US, National Theatre
A play that reminds us of theatre's power to entertain us, to affect us and, one hopes, to stir us to action...
Review: SCRUFFY, The Hen & Chickens Theatre
As the audience step through the doors at The Hen & Chickens Theatre, they're no longer in a theatre - they're in 9-year-old Maisie's bedroom. But don't worry, she's been expecting guests -after all, why else would she have her 3 best pairs of sunglasses lined up for show and tell?...
Review: PHANTOM PEAK, London
Phantom Peak, a Wild West-themed town with robots and no shortage of mysteries, may sound a tad like Westworld – but that’s where the comparison ends....
Review: TURN AROUND AND TAKE A BOW: MY MUSICAL LIFE by Mike Dixon
Mike Dixon is undoubtedly one of the British music industry's giants. He has brushed shoulders with some of the elite artists of the 20th (and 21st) centuries, including Dame Shirley Bassey, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, and Queen (to name but a few). Despite this roaring success, Dixon's biography, 'Turn Ar...
Review: TWELFTH NIGHT, Kew Gardens Theatre
What could be more charming than watching a Shakespearean comedy in the heart of Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew as the sun sets? Peter Hamilton Dyer’s Twelfth Night is a light-hearted romp through one of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies....
Review: BLACK, EL PAYASO, THE CLOWN, Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre
Grimeborn delivers another little gem with this pared back version of a somewhat obscure Spanish zarzuela...
Review: THE SUN, THE MOUNTAIN, AND ME, Union Theatre
The Sun, the Mountain, and Me is an equally dark and vibrant look at men's mental health, tactfully showing the path to recovery for those who need it....
Review: HORRIBLE HISTORIES - TERRIBLE TUDORS, Garrick Theatre
If you grow up and go to school in England, you will definitely know about the Tudors – and yet we seem to have a completely insatiable appetite for this set of monarchs that merely spanned three generations....
Review: CHESS - THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Nick Winston stages less of a concert and more of an almost-fully-formed production with clear-cut vision....
Review: TASTING NOTES, Southwark Playhouse
Just like some meetings should have been emails, some musicals should have been plays. It wouldn’t save Charlie Ryall and Richard Baker’s new production right away, but it would be a start. The concept and structure of Tasting Notes is compelling and original, but the final result is a bit of a ...
Review: THE TEMPEST, Shakespeare's Globe
Love Island meets Below Deck in Benidorm in this OTT aestival pastiche. Prospero dons a speedo. Questionable tattoos cover a few of the cast. The most unpredictable of twists stretches the limits of copyright infringement. It’s absolutely bonkers, but it works! Holmes delivers a modern, refreshing...
Review: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, Gillian Lynne Theatre
Amid a summer season positively snowed under with escapist fare, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe fits right in. Admittedly, dipping into the wintery landscape of Narnia just after a British heatwave is a bit of an ask for the imagination but, if any production could do it, this is it....
Review: TOM, DICK AND HARRY, Alexandra Palace Theatre
Whether we need another wartime tale of very decent Allied blokes escaping not at all decent Nazi blokes, isn't really answered in this new take on The Great Escape's inspiration....
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