UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

Gary Naylor sees the revival of an old favourite from Saturday night television in the years long before it was captured by Simon Cowell and his clones - for whom no number of raspberries can be too many!...

Gary Naylor sees a fine selection of Sondheim's extraordinary songs delivered by an all-star cast for two very good causes in the magnificent setting of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane....

The latest Made in Northampton production from Royal and Derngate is Patrick Hamilton's GASLIGHT, starring Tara Fitzgerald and Jonathan Firth. Verity Wilde was there for Broadwayworld....

With nine number one songs, forty-eight top 10 and seventy top 40 hits, Burt Bacharach is unequivocally one of the greats....

After its very successful run at the Southwark Playhouse last year, Lin Manuel Miranda's In the Heights has returned to London....

Gary Naylor sees a brilliant revival of Tooting Arts Club's 2012 production of Barrie Keeffe's three mid-70s plays about lads growing up slowly in the mean streets of a London in the throes of huge social changes....

This new, dark-humoured play takes us to the murkier regions of public relations....

Following a sold-out run at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe earlier this year, Claire van Kampen's first play, Farinelli and the King, has transferred to the Duke of York's for a limited run this autumn. Starring Mark Rylance as King Philippe V of Spain, it tells the story of Farinelli, an ...

Gary Naylor sees a show that looks back at over sixty years of remarkable songs written by Leslie Bricusse, the Londoner who conquered Hollywood and Broadway....

'Tipping The Velvet' brings back the collaboration between playwright Laura Wade and director Lyndsey Turner. Last seen with the successful 'Posh', this is clearly a duo to be reckoned with and their adaptation of Sarah Waters' popular novel is playfully re-imagined with a masterful design....

Gary Naylor enjoys an show that defies description, but features as talented an ensemble as he can recall seeing on a London stage....

There's a little bit of heartwarming joy at the Adelphi Theatre now that Kinky Boots has moved in....

Anna Ziegler's new play Photograph 51 is one of this year's more anticipated theatrical events, in part due to its star-studded cast: Nicole Kidman and Stephen Campbell-Moore take the lead, under the wonderful direction of Michael Grandage. This production seems to be all I have come to expect from ...

Almost nine years after its amateur UK premiere, See What I Wanna See is back - with the same director, Adam Leson. Having previously directed the show at his university, Lenson now brings us See What I Wanna See's long-awaited professional European debut....

Gary Naylor sees a one-woman show that tracks the life of Maria Anna Mozart, the sister, not the brother, the one forever referred to as The Other Mozart....

Following a successful sell-out run at the Almeida earlier this year, Robert Icke's reworking of Aeschylus's Oresteia has transferred to the West End, making its home at the Trafalgar Studios. Bringing the story into the 21st century, the production portrays Agamemnon (Angus Wright) as a modern day ...

One year ago, I was 2,682nd in an online queue to purchase tickets for The Barbican Theatre's 'Hamlet.'  Of course, it is now common knowledge that the entire three-month run completely sold out in less than four hours, so I count myself very lucky to have snagged seats....

Whether you're in Holland, Germany, the UK or the US, Willemijn Verkaik should need no introduction. Donning the Wicked green make-up in all four countries, Verkaik's credits include Donna in Mamma Mia, the Killer Queen in We Will Rock You and most recently Kala in Stuttgart's Tarzan....

Gary Naylor enjoys a wonderful evening's entertainment lit up by Bizet's music and a central performance that is as hot as its tropical setting....

A product of the 1933 Warner Brothers film, 42nd Street didn't hit the stage until 1980. It was then that the production won the Tony Award for 'Best Musical' and is currently Broadway's 14th longest running show. Since, it has had success all over the world and last night saw a cast of sixty young ...

I was invited to the exciting West End launch of Stiles and Drewe's latest, The Three Little Pigs - but as customary when I'm reviewing shows that are primarily aimed at a younger audience, I'll emphasise that what I thought about it doesn't really matter......

The 3 Little Pigs is currently enjoying a short pre-West End run at the beautiful Town Hall venue in Birmingham. With music by George Stiles and the book/lyrics by Anthony Drewe, this classic tale is given a fresh re-telling that will appeal to young children and parents alike....

Bakkhai is the second of the Almeida's trilogy of the Greeks, following on from Oresteia and coming before Medea. Euripides' 5th century BC play has been boldly recreated by Robert Icke, translated by Anne Carson and is directed by James Macdonald....

It's a joyous little show in the Park this summer, with this revival of the rather old-hat Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - never quite in the calibre of the Golden Age of Hollywood Musicals, but a traditional favourite and staple of am-dram nonetheless....

'Mack and Mabel' could possibly be Jerry Herman's greatest score. It's certainly the score with the most resonance for a British audience (the programme notes for this Chichester production even highlight how fondly the music is thought of in the UK thanks to Torvill and Dean's adoption of it). And ...