UK / West End Theater Reviews Page 2

Review: HOUDINI'S GREATEST ESCAPE, King's Head Theatre
by Gary Naylor - June 05, 2024

New comedies are hard to get right and often land in a highly subjective space, but this one has to be called out as a bit of a dud...

Review: SARASOTA BALLET - PROGRAMME 1, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 05, 2024

'wit, charm and elegance' are the words used to describe the work of Royal Ballet founding choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton (1904-1988). English ballet, or rather style wouldn't exist without him, so The Frederick Ashton Foundation have understandably instigated the Ashton Worldwide (2024-2028) in...

Review: JAMIE FINN: NOBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE, Soho Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - June 10, 2024

Walking into the Soho Theatre Upstairs for Jamie Finn: Nobody’s Talking About Jamie, you are greeted by a bit of an unusual sight - an exercise bike. Finn enters wearing an outfit one might find someone wearing at the gym, with a Blondie t-shirt and bright green gym shorts, and the show begins with ...

Review: GANDINI JUGGLING'S SMASHED, Peacock Theatre
by Franco Milazzo - June 04, 2024

Juggling not only apples but comedy, dance and socio-sexual commentary, the troupe co-founded by Sean Gandini and Kati Ylä-Hokkala in 1992 bring back their signature production to London....

Review: VIOLA'S ROOM, One Cartridge Place
by Franco Milazzo - June 03, 2024

In a sudden lurch away from their epic 2022 creation The Burnt City, immersive specialists Punchdrunk’s next effort is a far more cosy affair. Small barefoot groups walk their way through the Nineties fairytale world of Viola’s Room with the story relayed over headphones by Helena Bonham Carte...

Review: A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, Theatre Royal Haymarket
by Louise Penn - June 05, 2024

The first major revival of Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge in a decade plays on the downfall of the 'Everyman'. Eddie Carbone is a hard-worker, popular, a man's man. But something deep and dangerous is gnawing at his heart....

Review: FUN AT THE BEACH ROMP-BOMP-A-LOMP!!, Southwark Playhouse
by Franco Milazzo - June 02, 2024

Advertised as “Grease meets Squid Game”, Fun At The Beach Romp Bomp A Lomp!! manages to go from the ridiculous to the sublime, even if it does lose its way every now and then....

Review: THE BOYS FROM THE BLACKSTUFF, National Theatre
by Gary Naylor - May 30, 2024

It's not a seamless transition from screen to stage, but it works well enough and, sadly, it still resonates with a truth albeit in a very different world...

Review: MAY 35TH, Southwark Playhouse Elephant
by Cindy Marcolina - May 31, 2024

It’s a sophisticated manifestation of human activism that’s unafraid to display shared trauma and address the threat of authoritarianism. An ode to dissidents and a celebration of the legacy of those who were brutally murdered during the demonstrations and whose deaths have been weaponised to furthe...

Review: STRATEGIC LOVE PLAY, Soho Theatre
by Franco Milazzo - May 30, 2024

Miriam Battye’s hilariously brutal and dark dissection of modern relationships - from tentative beginnings over a pint to their varied ends - returns to Soho Theatre for its second run in less than a year. ...

Review: ROMEO AND JULIET, Sadler's Wells
by Vikki Jane Vile - May 30, 2024

Leeds based Northern Ballet always pack a punch when they visit London every May, and this time was no different, with Massimo Moricone’s slick and captivating Romeo and Juliet. This year’s touring production held extra poignancy, with the costumes and set requiring full restoration and repair from ...

Review: FANNY, Watermill Theatre
by Mica Blackwell - May 31, 2024

With a captivating performance from Charlie Russell leading a fantastic ensemble and a well crafted script by Calum Finlay, this should mark your next visit to the Watermill Theatre in its amazing summer season....

Review: IZZARD HAMLET, Riverside Studios
by Cheryl Markosky - May 29, 2024

What did our critic think of IZZARD HAMLET at Riverside Studios?...

Review: HEATHERS THE MUSICAL, @sohoplace
by Abbie Grundy - May 29, 2024

A remarkably fresh take on the cult-classic musical....

Review: TOSCA, Opera Holland Park
by Gary Naylor - May 29, 2024

Opera Holland Park open the season with a faithful revival of a much loved classic...

Review: BLUETS, Royal Court
by Alexander Cohen - May 27, 2024

Katie Mitchell returns to the Royal Court with a curious but dense adaption of Maggie Nelson's poetry...

Brighton Fringe Review: BOY BAND, Presuming Ed's
by Kat Mokrynski - June 07, 2024

'Boy Band takes audiences into a meeting of the titular group, defined in the show’s description as “a top secret club where boys of any age, gender, and orientation meet in top secret to work on choreo and sing songs of unrequited longing, a celebration of all things squishy.”'...

Brighton Fringe Review: YES ANDERSON: TALES FROM THE TENT, Bleach
by Kat Mokrynski - June 06, 2024

Yes Anderson: Tales From the Tent, performed by the improv group Tiny Dynamite, is a show in which audiencces are invited into the world of the films of Wes Anderson, with the performers creating “an anthology of linked character portraits and story fragments” based on audience suggestions....

Brighton Fringe Review: A CIRCUS SIZED GAME SHOW, The Vault @ Fool's Paradise
by Kat Mokrynski - June 06, 2024

'A Circus Sized Game Show is exactly what it says it is - a giant game show. But, there’s a twist - the audience members are the ones determining how it will go! We are introduced to Morgan James, who is going to be performing his one-man circus - with a little help from us!'...

Review: DAVE BIBBY: BABY DINOSAUR, The Caxton Arms
by Kat Mokrynski - June 06, 2024

Dave Bibby: Baby Dinosaur starts with a simple concept - Dave Bibby is going to do a one-man show of the film Jurassic Park, putting on a mini movie for audience members. But, even when planning for a show, life finds a way, and Bibby finds himself unable to write the show due to the birth of his so...

Review: BRIGHTON FRINGE REVIEW: SUMMONING SONDHEIM at Bar Broadway, Brighton
by Caroline Cronin - May 26, 2024

Have you ever wished that you could bring your favourite musical composer back from the dead for just one day by means of a spooky musical seance? If so, then Summoning Sondheim is right up your street....

Review: GODZ, The Vault @ Fool's Paradise
by Kat Mokrynski - June 05, 2024

Judging from the content warnings alone, you can tell that you are in for a show with GODZ - audience interaction, strong language, nudity, haze/smoke effects, depictions and references to violence . . . The list goes on!...

Brighton Fringe Review: JOHN HINTON: WELL WELL WELL . . ., Komeida Studio
by Kat Mokrynski - June 05, 2024

John Hinton: Well Well Well . . . is a musical show that has Hinton using songs and the story of his own life to explore the science behind cancer, as he was recently diagnosed with diffuse large B cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma....

Review: EMERGING DANCER 2024, Sadler's Wells
by Vikki Jane Vile - May 25, 2024

English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer award returned to Sadler’s Wells after a two year absence, with a unique opportunity for the most junior members of the company to shine. With his feet now firmly under the desk, Artistic Director Aaron S. Watkin hosted the evening, the first of his tenure, ...

Review: CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD: SCARY TIMES, Soho Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - June 05, 2024

Christopher Macarthur-Boyd: Scary Times begins with Macarthur-Boyd telling us about a terrible gig he had recently, a charity gig in Glasgow for Freedom from Torture. For some, this might be a shocking way to begin a comedy show. But, as Macarthur-Boyd himself admits, we’re in London - it takes a lo...