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Aliya Al-Hassan
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Caroline Cronin
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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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Vikki Jane Vile
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Review: LIFE WITH A LITTLE 'L', Riverside Studios
This heartfelt show would benefit from a tighter focus and a harder edge...
Review Roundup: What Did The Critics Think of Carrie Cracknell's Adaptation of THE GRAPES OF WRATH?
Carrie Cracknell (Julie, The Deep Blue Sea) directs Frank Galati’s award-winning adaptation of John Steinbeck’s masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath, now open at the National Theatre....
Review: DEATH OF ENGLAND: DELROY, @sohoplace
Some actors can play a role. Sure. Only a handful can inhabit it living and breathing. Even fewer are so convincing that you can’t imagine anyone else in their shoes. Paapa Essiedu is the latter. Without a doubt. Not even a second of doubt....
Review: DEATH OF ENGLAND: MICHAEL, @sohoplace
The guns fire loud and sonorous for the opening salvos of Clint Dyer and Roy Williams’s Death of England trilogy. A staggered premiere over four years at The National Theatre from 2020, new kid on the theatreland block @sohoplace (it’s really called that) have collated the trilogy (Michael, Delr...
Review: THE GRAPES OF WRATH, National Theatre
The piece is heavy in topic and method, but Carrie Cracknell’s quiet direction smooths out the nearly three hours of running time. It’s by any means not an easy-breezy show to experience, but it sinks into your soul in a way that only an epic does. The problem is that it’s so, so slow. ...
Review: MISCHIEF MOVIE NIGHT, The Other Palace
After a run at the Vaudeville theatre and on livestream during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Mischief Movie Night returns to London with a run at The Other Palace. The show, which started as Lights! Camera! Improvise! at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, brings the original Mischief Theatre troupe mem...
Book Review: RECIPES AND REJECTION by Karen Cecilia
Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning Saul Bellow had this to say about rejections: 'I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, 'To hell with you.''...
Review: THE PROMISE, Minerva Theatre, Chichester
'To promise nearly fifty million people truly universal health care - ‘cradle to the grave’ - is crackers.' Despite this quote featuring quite prominently in promotional material, and the poster image showing a pair of midwives, The Promise isn’t wholly about the founding of the NHS. Paul Unwi...
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 13, SARAH VAUGHAN: IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW, Royal Albert Hall
A lively, varied and yes, sassy night celebrating a groundbreaking artist. If only a few of the audience headed off to listen to Vaughan's original recordings, that is a bonus.
As Sarah Vaughan 'married operatic grandeur with the coolness of jazz', so this concert digs deep to showcase her range, p...
Review: ROUGH MAGIC, Shakespeare's Globe
At Rough Magic prepare to enter Shakespeare’s wondrous world to become a Guardian of Destiny. The audience interaction is aimed at children in the audience, who choose which department they wish to join. Options include Fairy, Ghost, Spirit or Witch. The playful atmosphere is instantly set at The ...
Review: FANTASTICALLY GREAT WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, The Other Palace
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World presents bold beats from HERstory's trailblazers with a catchy soundtrack, a message of belief in capability and ultimately finding your voice....
Review: SHREK THE MUSICAL, Eventim Apollo
Shrek the Musical, with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, has arrived in London. Directed by Samuel Holmes, this adaptation of the iconic 2001 movie stars Antony Lawrence as Shrek, a lonely ogre who ends up falling in love with the unusual Princess Fiona (Joanna Cl...
Review: NAMASTE BAE, Riverside Studios
Namaste Bae, performed by Rob van Vuuren, a South African comedian, brings us into the world of the titular character who has gone viral around the world for his “power of comedic catharsis.” Being guided by the Mother Scoby, whom he claims to be an oracle of, “Namaste Bae is the guru you both...
Review: AFRIQUE EN CIRQUE, Queen Elizabeth Hall
There’s been a number of skill-based shows in London of late, and joining the current trend is Afrique en Cirque created by Yamoussa Bangoura, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
...
Review: GO! THE MUSICAL, Upstairs at the Gatehouse Theatre
New musical runs into familiar structural issues but has strong singing and pleasing songs...
Review: OLIVER!, Chichester Festival Theatre
Matthew Bourne brings sensational dance routines to the stage, adding a cherry to the cake of one of the greatest scores in musical theatre history...
Review: BANGERS, Arcola Theatre
Bangers, written by Danusia Samal was first performed at the Soho Theatre in 2022, and in Edinburgh in 2023. It returns for a third stint at the Arcola Theatre and one can understand why. ...
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 6 – VERDI'S REQUIEM, Royal Albert Hall
“I believe in nothing.” Listening to Verdi’s Requiem would certainly suggest otherwise, its 85-minute journey from “Introit and Kyrie” and “Dies irae” - via “Offertory”, “Sanctus”, “Agnus Dei” and “Lux aeterna” - to “Libera me” explores a wealth of emotions, and is ...
Review: FANGIRLS, Lyric Hammersmith
Australian smash hit Fangirls encapsulates everything it is to be a mega fan of something. A sequin-embellished crusade of obsession and desperation, Yve Blake’s musical stretches from euphoric highs to gutting lows, without ever losing its sense of fun....
Review: RED SPEEDO, Orange Tree Theatre
The world of professional swimming has been dogged by stories of doping and Hnath's play seeks to explore the ethical aspects of this issue and how far someone will go to be a winner. So far, so intriguing, but Red Speedo feels unfinished and Hnath fails to either dig deep enough or offer any intere...
Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 2, EVERYBODY DANCE! THE SOUNDS OF DISCO, Royal Albert Hall
Never to shy away from embracing new genres, BBC Proms introduced its first ever Disco Prom at a glitter ball-bedecked Royal Albert Hall. Everybody Dance! The Sound of Disco was a heady mix of infectious grooves, slick vocals and dynamic floor-fillers that shook the venue to its very foundations....
Review: THE WITCHING HOUR, Bridewell Theatre
It’s haunted by a script that’s as creaky as the house investigated by the characters, but it’s captivating enough here and there. After a fascinating lecture held by Professor Dubois, Erin sets off to find out why people keep disappearing at Torhill Wood. ...
Review: SAM WU IS NOT AFRAID OF GHOSTS, Polka Theatre
Sam Wu Is NOT Afraid of Ghosts, directed by Emily Ling Williams, is an adaptation of the popular book of the same name. Written by Kevin and Katie Tsang and adapted for the stage by Julie Tsang, we are introduced to Sam Wu (Sam Liu), a young boy who insists that he is NOT afraid of ghosts....
Review: SECONDS TO MIDNIGHT, Riverside Studios
Queer friendships and the end of the world. It’s an unusual, but exciting, premise that underscores Love Song Productions’ new show Seconds to Midnight. Both concepts hold challenging, complex, and interesting pathways for exploration. However, in only 50 minutes and despite the effort of its ca...
Review: ACIS AND GALATEA, Opera Holland Park
Opera Holland Park’s staging of Handel’s beloved Acis and Galatea is a smashing success that finds just the right balance between musical finesse and tongue-in-cheek comedy....
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