RE-REVIEW - BUGSY MALONE - ALEXANDRA PALACE -

“Anybody who is anybody will soon walk through that door,” as Bugsy Malone remarks, making its mark at the Alexandra Palace Theatre for the festive season.

Bugsy Malone, currently touring the UK, is taking a brief pit stop and entertaining audiences nightly at Alexandra Palace Theatre. The show, based on the cult classic movie, is set in 1920’s New York and parodies the mobster era of the time, taking adult situations and morphing them into family-friendly fun. Bullets become cream, people are smacked with pies, kisses on the cheek are scandalised, and juice is on the rocks.

This classic tale is perfect for a family night out with jokes that will fly over the children’s heads and make the adults laugh alongside classic slapstick humour and over-acting for audience reaction. The plot is simple enough: Fat Sam and Dandy Dan head rival gangs against each other and want each other gone; however Dandy Dan has something that Fat Sam doesn’t – splurge guns! This is the overarching plot alongside Bugsy Malone’s attempts of wooing the upcoming star Blousy Brown. With a side plot every now and then, the plot does have much to be desired, but it is still there. Many points in the show could be ironed out and delved into deeper or resolved, but that is where the humour of show comes from. The absurdity of the show is what the audience thrives on and appreciates the most, and the writers know this. Containing many fourth-wall breaking moments such as Fat Sam having do a scene change all by himself, the show knows what it is doing and for what audience, which is extremely commendable.

The dancing in the show is very impressive, especially from the adult ensemble. Many moments of dance stay in your mind after leaving the venue. A personal standout is ‘So You Wanna Be a Boxer’ which is an intense number filled with energetic dance moves, boxing skills, and props. The way that Drew McOnie perfectly mixes the boxing moves into the choreography is very impressive, and the execution by the adult ensemble is even better. They work so hard during the entire show, from dance number to cameos. They truly shine in this show and all look like they are having the time of their life on that stage.

A standout performer of the night has to be Albie Snelson as Fat Sam. He absolutely steals the show every time he appears on stage, and he puts everything into his performance. He wins everyone’s hearts from his very first scene, and from then on, he has the audience in the palm of his hand. His interactions with his ‘gang’ are some of the funniest scenes, and his comedic timing is impeccable. Mia Lakha’s vocals as Blousy Brown are truly phenomenal, especially for her age. She manages to sound so mature and truly finds the emotion in every song she sings, especially ‘Only A Fool.’ Her acting could have used a bit more heart and confidence, but overall, her performance is strong. Gabriel Payne is charming and charismatic as Bugsy Malone and packs a lot of vocal power in such a small package. Jasmine Sakyiama is confident and powerful as Tallulah, acting as our narrator for the show, and she is strong in every scene with extreme vocal talent following her.

Bugsy Malone is a go-to for a family night out, especially for this festive season. It will be a perfect event/gift for the young ones or just a nice trip in general.

{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}

A PISSEDMAS CAROL – REVIEW – LEICESTER SQUARE
by Amy Rye
The infamous Sh!t Faced Showtime are back in London with a festive edition, they have taken Dickens’ classic and put a drunken spin on it. The formula is the same as other iterations of the Shi!t Faced shows, one member of the cast has been boozing, and this time it is John Milton who plays Scrooge. Before the show, half a bottle of Jim Beam, some wine, and beer have been consumed in the previous 4 hours. The rest of the cast, try to keep the show on track, also aided by James Murfitt as the compere, Charles Dickens. The … More A PISSEDMAS CAROL – REVIEW – LEICESTER SQUARE
A CHRISTMAS CAROL – REVIEW – ALEXANDRA PALACE
by Ellie Preston
Spine-tingling yet heart-warming, Mark Gatiss’s retelling of A Christmas Carol truly encapsulates the haunting atmosphere of a Victorian ghost story, balanced out with enough humour so as to capture the festive season. Led by Keith Allen as Scrooge, with Peter Forbes as Marley, this show is perfect for Christmas viewing. The set design by Paul Wills is instantly captivating, containing stacks of metal cabinets towering over the theatre, moveable by the cast to allow space for other central props like doors, beds and tables. In addition to this, the puppetry design by Matthew Forbes is incredibly clever, adding creepy elements to the show such … More A CHRISTMAS CAROL – REVIEW – ALEXANDRA PALACE
A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK – REVIEW – THEATRE503
by Tom Carrao
The title of this winner of Theatre 503’s 2023 International Playwriting Award by Roxy Cook may seem like the set-up to a joke, but the narrative that unspools is instead an affectionate, gently barbed and at base quite sobering portrait of three ordinary souls (and one restless feline) adrift in modern Moscow. There is much affable, satirical back-and-forth commentary on the accepted myths & stereotypes of the Russian spirit & soul. Beset by the indignities of age, opportunism, graft, fatigue, the characters orbit one another, doomed to play out their roles in an unjust, predatory and saturnine universe. The play opens … More A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK – REVIEW – THEATRE503
PETER PAN GOES WRONG – REVIEW – LYRIC THEATRE
by Amy Rye
Peter Pan Goes Wrong first premiered in London at the Pleasance Theatre in 2013, and earlier this year the show made its Broadway debut. Now the production is back in the West End for the Christmas season. Following on from The Play That Goes Wrong, in this production, J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is staged by the fictitious Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society and goes awry, disastrously so. The meta-comedy is filled with slapstick comedy, sometimes the humour may be predictable and silly, but it’s universally funny throughout – there is something for everyone here, and the laughs come thick and fast … More PETER PAN GOES WRONG – REVIEW – LYRIC THEATRE
GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT – REVIEW – SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE
by George Rennie
Drawing heavily from the classic canon of the British supernatural, HighTide’s trio of contemporary Gothic narratives uses traditional storytelling formats to address contemporary themes. Directed by Elayce Ismail, reverent musical interludes accompany tales of apparitions and nighttime conjurings that speak of women from the East of England. Unfortunately, the effect is less chilling and more lightweight, with conventional structures, predictable plot twists and an over-reliance on external forces to drive narrative shoring up some of the less relatable aspects of the genre. Nicola Werenowska’s The Beach House, perhaps the cleanest of the three tales, tells of a mother and daughter’s … More GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT – REVIEW – SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE