UK / WEST END THEATER REVIEWS

While last week's snow may have melted away, there will still be a White Christmas in Liverpool thanks to the touring production of Irving Berlin's beloved Holiday classic....

Well, we may not know how we got here, but here we are - December 2022. Somehow, we are nearly at the end of the insane year that has been 2022. In this article, I take a look back at some of the highlights of my time in the theatrical worlds of New York and London these past twelve months....

Just over a year after the opening of its West End run at the Duke of York’s Theatre, the critically acclaimed production remains a singularly thrilling piece of storytelling....

From the London commute and edgy social media spoken word to dramatic orange-lit flashbacks, Kingsman presents us with a fully-formed show-within-a-show that’s a parody of itself. She squeezes every last drop of funny from every single line of her script. It's a fast-paced takedown of the chaotic ...

After two years of absolute doom and uncertainty, 2022 began with a sprinkle of glimmer on the horizon. Masked up and cautious, we came back to theatres properly. Admittedly and unfortunately, I found the return underwhelming and gave very few glowing 5-star reviews. I still loved a good number of p...

Christmas time at the Royal Albert Hall is always magical - and what better way to get in to the festive spirit than with a big band singing classic Christmas and swing songs, fronted by none other than eighties star Rick Astley. ...

As the wrangles continue over the funding of the arts in general – and London opera in particular – up pops David McVicar’s The Magic Flute to show just what the fuss is all about. @royaloperahouse #opera...

Some highlights of the last year and some hopes for an uncertain future...

Rumpelstiltskin as you've never seen (nor heard) it before...

There’s not much to say about Wayne Ealing’s 2010 Nutcracker from English National Ballet that has not already been said. It’s left to the dancers to keep the production a lively Christmas treat, and fresh from Tamara Rojo’s departure as Artistic Director, how are the company shaping up? It�...

Anthony Sher, the British actor, writer and theatre director of Jewish, South African origin exclaimed ‘ You constantly have to question who you are, what you are and whether you have the courage to be who you are’ which collectively nourishes the essence of this play....

Ultimately, it's a show about human connection. Whether you trust your eyes or you don't, whether his deceptions work on you or don't, or if you simply take the evening as a fascinating social experiment or couples therapy, it's all about a shared experience. After the lockdowns, the face masks, the...

Presented in the round with the inclusion of closed-captioning at every performance and a few BSL-signing characters, it’s probably the most accessible, most gender-fluid show currently running in London....

Dickens’ tale gets a Tennessee twist in an all-new musical with a soundtrack written by the Queen of Country herself. What did the critics think?...

How much does the world love Dolly Parton? Let us count the ways. She gave $1m to help fund the Moderna vaccine which has saved around two million lives, she started up in 2007 the Imagination Library which every month now donates more than 40,000 books across the UK and she wrote “Jolene” and �...

In the spirit of their popstar namesake, comedy duo Britney are bringing their hit Fringe show back one more time.  For one hour, best friends Charly and Ellen poke fun at gender reveals, Boris Johnson, and, most importantly, their teenage selves, showing us why they did so well in Edinburgh....

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is one story that most audiences, young and old, are familiar with. After all, it's dusted off every year to mark the festive season - encouraging audiences to step into the Christmas spirit....

It all starts with a friend request out of the blue. Welcome to Paradise, the latest multi-level marketing scheme for every girl boss in need of a financial lift. Who could argue a £250 start-up fee and enough essential oils to fill a swimming pool when you’re so close to paving the way to self-e...

An atonal family tragicomedy that descends into sitcom silliness...

Actions can speak louder than words - a proverb that's especially relevant with the new release of Deafinitely Theatre's final two films of its Talking Hands series....

2022 started with the UK fighting with Covid's Omicron variant, which was not really conducive to much theatrical mingling. However, much of the theatre world ralied, as it always does, to bring us some juicy shows and sparkling performances....

A lovely little show for ages 2-5 which explores the special relationship between children and their grandparents....

As a self-professed panto enthusiast, Mother Goose has never been a favourite of mine...until now. This high profile production written by Jonathan Harvey is a super smart interpretation which has been updated sympathetically for 2022 without losing the original intent. ...

To paraphrase Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, when Mandela is good, it’s very, very good, and when it’s bad, it’s almost unwatchable....

What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to indulge in arguably Charles Dickens’ best known tale, A Christmas Carol. You might think you’ll be spending the evening watching Ebenezer Scrooge redeem himself after realising the error of his ways, but Mr Swallow’s A Christmas Carol-is...