UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

The Odyssey is one of the most iconic stories of all time, telling the tale of Odysseus' long and epic journey home from the Trojan War.  This engaging take on it from Dutch company Patchwork Theatre offers the chance to see the Greek tale in several new ways....

Few years in recent memory have included such a host of dramatic events, so it is perhaps no surprise that the turbulent time that was 2016 has been chosen as the subject of this new musical from Evolution Theatre....

Based on the 1984 cult movie of the same name and following a successful run at London's Southwark Playhouse, the rock musical comes to the Edinburgh Fringe prior to returning to London for a limited run at the Arts Theatre in autumn 2017....

Well, well, well. If it isn't Rhys James, the guy who said comedy shows are for losers and blurbs are for idiots. Back here with another comedy show, as explained in this blurb. Unbelievable....

Multi award-winning stand-up and absolute mess Harriet Kemsley has survived another year and returns with her best show yet....

The cult-favourite alternative comic humbly invites you to his brand-new, absolutely brilliant hour of extraordinary-absurdist-character-comedy-nonsense-sort-of-stand-up and hubris....

Starring Richard Oliver, Robert Picardo and Sylvester McCoy, A Joke depicts three men meeting in a void and attempting to figure out who they are and what has brought them together.  They swiftly realise that they are apparently the set up for an archetypal joke, and attempt to understand the natur...

Rob Drummond's new show is less a play and more a piece of storytelling with added participatory morality. The use of live technology gives it the feeling of a morality test for the social media age....

American theatre company Squeaky Wheelz Productions have brought a new play to Edinburgh set after a nuclear apocalypse has wiped out the United States.  The topic is certainly relevant considering current political rhetoric, though the play does not dwell on events leading up to the cataclysm, foc...

Cool kids, high school identity issues, a whole lot of singing and the starting of engines. Grease may have been the word, but hunty you are not in Rydell anymore. It is 2016 and while the world is in turmoil, the life of an American teenager is no smooth catwalk. Social outsider Matthew comes untuc...

Ed Gamble returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with his new show 'Mammoth'. A show that will have you laughing from beginning to end....

Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story is the shocking true story of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, two soon to be trainee lawyers who kidnap and murder a 14 year old boy in their desire to commit the perfect crime. Returning to the fringe for the first time since 2014 this production reunites the ...

'It Shoulda Been You' opened on Broadway in 2015, with a cast including Tyne Daly, Sierra Boggess and Lisa Howard in a production directed by David Hyde Pierce. It receives one of its first UK presentations here from new Edinburgh company Room 29 Theatre, and it's an inspired choice for their Fringe...

Recent graduates of the RADA/Birkbeck MA Text and Performance course have collaborated to create a story of dystopian abstraction; a tale of optimism that has the possibility to resonate with us all. Programmed as one of the pieces at this year's Camden Fringe, Nothing to Perform is a funny, blunt a...

Joe's NYC Bar is a show that really understands the Celtic concept of "craic" - the great pleasure of good company and good conversation.  Bringing a touch of Brooklyn to Edinburgh this August, the production is an immersive and often improvisational experience set in the eponymous New York waterin...

Edges is the first musical from Pasek and Paul, now better known for La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen.  More of a song cycle, it is a collection of numbers on the theme of coming of age, from growing apart from siblings via dating and breakups to parenthood....

The typically implausible G&S style plot involves two companies going to extreme lengths to secure good reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe with rival productions. Many of the usual Gilbertian elements are included: an abandoned baby, a sense of duty, love across ranks and an implausible, contrived fina...

How would you get through your day without being able to sing a full song, read a poem aloud or even debate at length which Fringe show to see? That's the premise behind Sam Steiner's award-winning play Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons , which returns to the Fringe this year in the lovely Roundab...

There is a profound darkness to Abigail Hood's new play, Dangling, both in look and in content. A bleak depiction of sexual abuse, mental illness and disturbing family secrets, it looks at stories of two girls who go missing, their circumstances and what happens to those left behind....

Brexit the Musical isn't the only show in this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe to be inspired by recent political goings-on, but it's likely to be the funniest....

Andrew Maddock explores a difficult family relationship marred by old issues and mental health in his new play. While Darren (Nebiu Samuel) believes he's going to beat Usain Bolt in the Men's finals, Simon (Rhys Yates) is dealt a heavy hand trying to maintain the ties with his estranged sister Abiga...

Featuring the majority of its original cast from the 2016 Finborough debut, Prasanna Puwanarajah's production tells a glorious story of hope and heartache. Focusing on the 'other', the play places focus on how we divide individuals within society, examining representation and prejudice in post 9/11 ...

A flamenco show is always easy to spot when you take your seat at the theatre. The stage is stark except for a few unevenly placed chairs. The performers are left to do all the work here and that includes 75 year old Paco Peña along with his small but effective ensemble of singers, dancers and musi...

Director, Amy Draper, packs plenty into realising writer Daniel Winder's ambitious take on the Grimm fairytale, but the show needs to be edited back to two hours maximum running time to succeed fully....

The colossal touring production of Miss Saigon takes up residency at Birmingham Hippodrome for an extended run as the theatre's annual summer musical. A potentially unusual choice in a slot usually filled by a more family-friendly musical, it is a treat to see the Hippodrome's huge stage filled by t...