UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

Remi Rachuba moved to Glasgow from Poland in the late 90s to pursue his dreams and become an actor. A bright young man with stars in his eyes, he learns swear words at his teaching job in a special needs school. Mugged twice, he’s left severely traumatised. He constantly looks behind his shoulder ...

Some shows are great even when everything goes wrong. Some shows shine through missed cues, nerves, line prompts, and failing tech. Some shows are simply excellent trainwrecks. Simon David’s Dead Dad Show is one of those. With a personality the size of a football stadium and the effortlessness of ...

Zak Zarafshan’s debut play dives into playground politics and marital disputes, but with a touch of divine intervention, and some Britney Spears for good measure. The show follows two sets of parents meeting to discuss a kiss between their two nine-year-olds sons, and the glittery queer guardian ...

There are some shows that fit perfectly within the walls of The Vaults. Magic is made when old bricks and humidity meet the right production. Expial Atrocious’ Butchered is one of those that feel at home enveloped by the horrid architecture and the rumblings of Waterloo Station. The love child of ...

It’s equally funny and stimulating, opening up a broader conversation about people’s use of foreign cultures and experiences to further their own goals. Wang only gives a taste of the issue in The Lamb Disagrees, but we hope her budding career will explore the subject in more detail....

It’s a missed opportunity to explore young parenthood and the effects of thoughtless actions on a couple....

A vivid exploration of what it means to navigate life as a black woman in England ensues. From playground racism to workplace discrimination, we follow her as she rakes through her memory to find her unresolved trauma and heal from a bad breakup....

Peter Tate gives us a bullish Picasso, with his women projected on video, but they do need more of a voice to balance the narrative...

Sonali Bhattacharyya's Two Billion Beats beautifully captures the intricacies of a siblings' relationship as the pair navigate exam pressure, racism and social injustice. When Bettina asks for her sister's help, Asha's desire for the truth to be heard has consequences for both of them....

Quite why there aren’t more boundary-pushing, avant-garde, drag-slash-dance troupes around that appropriate film, TV and music to bring us satirically twisted versions of real-life and fictional historical figures, I really have no idea. So let’s treasure the ones that are around, eh?...

Impeccable and efficiently disquieting aesthetics don't lift a content that - while expertly made - is ultimately rather underdeveloped....

Villain, Interrupted is a fun show that gives the “villains” a chance to shine while also looking at the psychology in a world in which those who have powers are feared, separating the world into “us versus them”....

Criminally Untrue: An Improvised True Crime Documentary is a hilarious show that will leave you wanting more from PillowTalk Theatre. Oldfield and Treen have directed a fantastic cast of improvisers that will bring a little bit of “organised chaos” into your life, creating the crime story of the...

Sound of the Underground, co-created by Travis Alabanza and Debbie Hannan, unleashes queer chaos on the historic Royal Court. Over the course of three acts, a cast of real London drag performers use every weapon in their arsenal to shed light on the realities of the city’s dying queer nightlife sc...

Film Club - An Improvised Comedy is a show that may have been better with a more enthusiastic audience and a funnier genre of movie, as the “conmen thriller” really failed to get many laughs from the crowd. While the Film Club seemed enthusiastic, it also felt as though they failed to blend thei...

La Voisin is a fantastic prototype of what could be an incredible show. I was in awe of the acting abilities of all four performers, who are each given their moments to shine. Becca Chadder weaves together the individual stories of each character, giving each of them their own motivations while illu...

Locomotive for Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit is a quick and funny show that will have you laughing at jokes made up on the spot. While the beginning of the show takes time to be established, especially when speaking with audience members in order to build the characters, the rest of the show flie...

Queer Planet is a fun show that will leave audiences feeling proud to be a part of the strange species known as humanity. While it may not have had as many animal facts as I would have liked to see and a few strange guest performances, the show as a whole is delightful and a light of hope in this ch...

Caligula and the Sea blew my expectations out of the water, pun fully intended. It is an incredibly well-crafted show that will leave you speechless in the best way possible. Director and producer Yuxuan Liu has created a tale for the ages. Everyone will adore Caligula - And isn’t that, in a stran...

Mohan: A Partition Story is a beautiful solo show by Niall Moorjani that is a brilliant mix of their own story in the 21st century and their grandfather’s story from the Partitioning of India. The live music by Dibyo Mukherjee only enhances the incredible storytelling Moorjani displays throughout....

Gone to the Dogs is an interesting show, but difficult to understand at times, making it a struggle for me to fully enjoy what was going on on stage. It was tough to tell whether the performance was satire, poking fun at those who miss the “good old days” of England, or a genuine performance mou...

Even with my desire to learn and my love for immersive theatre, the show was confusing and left me frustrated. It is one thing to have purposeful confusion, in which the audience is meant to question what they are seeing - It is another thing entirely when your audience has no idea what to do or how...

Ultimately, The Buzztones Present “Now That’s What Someone Might Call Music!” is an absolutely delightful presentation of acapella from a group that is clearly passionate (while also being immensely talented)! You can bet that I’ll be humming their songs for the next few weeks....

Ultimately, Rendez-Vous Revue is a fun show with some great performances that could be a little more cohesive. Sometimes the performances felt a bit low-energy, but that may have been solo performers being on such a large stage, only accompanied by loud music and the cheering audience....

Katie Pritchard: Disco Ball is an absolute delight that will have you shaking from laughter, but it is also a powerful anthem to being yourself and not letting others tell you what to do. To quote Pritchard, “You’re a disco ball”!...