Our UK / West End Critics
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Aliya Al-Hassan
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Amber-Rae Stobbs
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Caroline Cronin
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Cheryl Markosky
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Cindy Marcolina
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Debbie Gilpin
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Franco Milazzo
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Gary Naylor
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Kat Mokrynski
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Matthew Paluch
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Mica Blackwell
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Michael Higgs
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Vikki Jane Vile
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Review: GUYS AND DOLLS, Bridge Theatre
Gina Beck is a tremendous new Sarah Brown in London's must-see musical revival...
Review: HUGH PANARO: THE MAN WITHOUT THE MASK, Crazy Coqs
Possessing a booming yet silky tenor voice and a natural charm, it’s clear why Panaro’s career has been so successful. Even when accustomed to performing in thousand-seater theatres and working with heavyweights like Barbra Streisand and Elton John, his humbleness shines in this concert as he re...
Review: 23.5 HOURS, Park Theatre
Leigh’s husband was arrested for inappropriate sexual conduct with a minor. A teacher once loved by students and parents alike, he’s now out of prison and facing the casualties of his violent fall from grace. Playwright Carey Crim explores the effects of these serious allegations on the ones who...
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 65: HANDEL'S MESSIAH, Royal Albert Hall
The climax to the Proms' Choral Day could only be George Frideric Handel's majestic Messiah. This 1789 arrangement by Mozart was performed by The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, joined by an incredible six (yes six) choirs, conducted by an ebullient John Butt....
Review: LA TRAVIATA, Royal Ballet And Opera
Heavily reliant on strong vocals...
Review: OLIVER LEITH: WRITTEN IN SWAMP AND GOLD, Bold Tendencies
“Visionary British composer Oliver Leith makes music that brings people together” seems like a very good place to start. Judging by the massive crowd at Bold Tendencies on September 7 he does just that....
Review: ZOONATION: THE MAD HATTER'S TEA PARTY, Royal Ballet And Opera
It's not often one comes across theatre that's transformative; but when you do, you know. Case in point: ZooNation’s The Mad Hatter's Tea Party....
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 62: RATTLE CONDUCTS MAHLER'S 6TH, Royal Albert Hall
There were no phone screens, no sotto voce conversations, no fidgeting, as a packed Hall watched the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in rapt appreciation.
Each instrument had its moment. The dual harps added a cool clarity, the double basses a morose touch, the trombones a sweet elegance. This wa...
Review: THE SILVER CORD, Finborough Theatre
There is a sharply observed and darkly comedic play inside this production, but it is stymied by overlong, melodramatic monologues and meandering subjects....
Review: FRANK'S CLOSET, Wilton's Music Hall
Frank’s Closet is a paean to queerness. With a variety of beautifully performed earworms and a never–ending stream of jokes, it’s a tongue–in–cheek show that may not glitter with a steamy plot, but still enchants with its musical numbers....
Review: VITAMIN D, Soho Theatre
Having to move back with your parents after a failed marriage is raising all types of questions that Larki can’t or doesn’t want to answer. Aunties and fake friends are all up in her business while her life is crumbling around her. Saher Shah’s playwriting debut is a bittersweet look into indi...
Review: THE REAL THING, The Old Vic
Hard going with characters largely bereft of sympathetic virtues, delivering dialogue long on ideas, but short on heart...
Review: SPIES ARE FOREVER: THE WEST END CONCERT, Gillian Lynne Theatre
As a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Tin Can Bros, the group finally brought one of their most popular shows, Spies Are Forver, to London in a new format with a new cast. Spies Are Forever: The West End Concert, a one-night-only performance, took place on 3 September at the Gillian Lynne Thea...
Film Review: THE CRITIC
The Irish writer Brendan Behan described critics as “eunuchs in a harem; they know how it’s done, they’ve seen it done every day, but they’re unable to do it themselves”. Quite a damning characterisation. Anand Tucker introduces an ageing critic, Jimmy Erskine, whose name and ruthlessness ...
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 58 – MÄKELÄ CONDUCTS SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE, Royal Albert Hall
“Can you tell me what it is, this capacity for emotion, this force of suffering that is wearing me out?” The focal point of Prom 58 was Hector Berlioz’s 49-minute “Episode in the Life of an Artist”, his Symphonie fantastique; written while he was still in his twenties and at the mercy of h...
Review: THE MAGNETIC FIELDS: 69 LOVE SONGS, Barbican Hall
Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the name of American metal band Goatwhore, Stephin Merritt and his Magnetic Fields bandmates arrived in London last weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of genre-blending 69 Love Songs....
Review: THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Royal Ballet and Opera
Mozart, music and mayhem in a tale of an outfoxed aristocrat brought down to earth...
Review: WING CHUN, Sadler's Wells
Presented as a side-by-side narrative by the Shenzen Opera and Dance company, Wing Chun tells the story of kung fu grandmaster and Bruce Lee mentor Yip Man as well as that of a film crew making a movie about his life....
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 54: BEETHOVEN FOR THREE, Royal Albert Hall
With soloists Leonidas Kavakos, Emmanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma on violin, piano and cello respectively coming together to form a mighty trio of classical musicians, audiences are in for a treat, regardless of what is being played. Indeed, I found myself thinking that the musicians could have just performe...
Review: THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, Shakespeare's Globe
Chaos and confusion reign in this laughter-filled production....
Review: G, Royal Court Theatre
Magical realism is hard to come by in the theatre. Playwright Tife Kusoro dips into urban legends and creepypasta to deliver a fascinating coming-of-age piece. With stunning direction by Monique Touko, G is a brilliant supernatural cautionary tale - a description that’s, admittedly, not entirely a...
Review: A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN THE MUSICAL, Peacock Theatre
Who wouldn’t want to spend a night with Janis Joplin? Despite barely hitting the charts on this side of the pond, the American singer still symbolises the best (and worst) of the Sixties over fifty years before she joined the 27 Club. Not that you would know from this show....
Review: DEATH OF ENGLAND: CLOSING TIME, @sohoplace
It only premiered last October, but Death of England: Closing Time, the final chapter in Roy Williams and Clint Dyer’s state of the nation triptych, not only retains its spine-frosting freshness, but feels more dangerous than ever....
Review: THE FIFTH STEP, Pavilion Theatre
Thirty something Luka is new to Alcoholics Anonymous and looking for a sponsor. James is older, has been in the programme for years, surely he’s the perfect person to shepherd the younger man through each of the twelve steps on the road to recovery. Or maybe life just isn’t that simple....
Review: THE LITTLE DEATH, King's Head Theatre
**** THE LITTLE DEATH at Kings Head Theatre unveils and encourages shamelessness, this is a bold play concerned with the relentless pursuit of seeking pleasure @littledeathshow @grimlittleberry @justin.atkins...
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