Since its Broadway premiere in 1976, Pacific Overtures has become a surprising addition to the musical theatre canon. Telling the story of Japan’s isolationist foreign policy transformed in 1853 by the arrival of American forces was and is not traditional musical theatre fare. Nor is the manner of telling; writers Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman, … More PACIFIC OVERTURES – REVIEW – MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Following on from a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe, this boy band Christmas music has made its way to the Seven Dials Playhouse. With an obvious influence from Dickens’ classic Christmas story, Chris Kirkpatrick is visited by an Angel – Marky Mark and is allowed to make a wish. What follows is an hour … More CHRISKIRKPATRICKMAS – REVIEW – SEVEN DIALS PLAYHOUSE
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 … More A PISSEDMAS CAROL – REVIEW – LEICESTER SQUARE
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 … More A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK – REVIEW – THEATRE503
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 … More GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT – REVIEW – SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE
Drum roll please…(Cue a literal drum rolling across the stage.) The Lyric pantomime is one of traditions with the return of many well-loved jokes and skits. Costumes and sets are all made at the Lyric itself by Good Teeth, with set pieces being reused year on year. This year Cinderella gets the Hammersmith makeover, with … More CINDERELLA – REVIEW – LYRIC HAMMERSMITH
Amy catches up with Linus Karp ahead of his performance of Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story, at London’s Clapham Grand. Linus and Joseph of Awkward Productions are also the masterminds behind the new show Gwyneth Goes Skiing. Hello Your Majesty/ Candle Entrepreneur, how are you feeling coming back from a hugely successful fringe and … More INTERVIEW – LINUS KARP – DIANA: THE UNTOLD AND UNTRUE STORY
The Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol is in its 7th year, with a host of famous faces having stepped into the infamous role of Ebenezer Scrooge, this year it’s Christopher Eccleston. The script, adapted by Jack Thorne, is an exciting, dramatic staging of the classic. Some may ask why a play written 180 years ago … More A CHRISTMAS CAROL – REVIEW – THE OLD VIC
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is a brand-new musical by Jim Barne & Kit Buchan. The production centres around Dougal (Sam Tutty), a young man who has flown to New York City for his father’s wedding, the father he has never met, and Robin (Dujonna Gift) the sister of the bride-to-be, who has … More TWO STRANGERS (CARRY A CAKE ACROSS NEW YORK) – REVIEW – KILN THEATRE
What appears at first as two latecomers arriving, taking seats at the front row as the house lights dim is the first of many sly twists in this gently metaphysical comedy from writer/director Maggie Marie Casto. Oddly, the young couple (Bailey & Clay) appear from the side of the stage not accessible by the public, … More WEIRD PLACE – REVIEW – UNION THEATRE
Drag sensations BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon are an iconic duo with reputations which have surpassed their RuPaul’s Drag Race seasons. Jinkx and Dela are known for their holiday shows and the latest rendition is an absolute success! Jinkx and Dela poke immediate fun at all the different Christmas parodies and storylines they’ve already used in previous … More THE JINKX & DELA HOLIDAY SHOW – REVIEW – LONDON PALLADIUM
Roll up lubbers and walk those unshaven sea legs to the Puppet Barge, for Fisherman Jon is in port! With a charmingly toothless grin and inexplicably filthy rod, Coral Bevan’s sweet and scurvaceous title character is here for one good reason: to catch a fish. And it’s his lucky day — for tonight there are … More FISHERMAN JON: WHAT’S ON THE END OF MY ROD? – REVIEW – THE PUPPET BARGE
FLIP! takes the audience on an exhilarating journey into the intricate world of social media, examining the ever-evolving digital world. We meet Carleen and Crystal (Leah St Luce and Jadesola Odunjo), a content-creating duo and inseparable best friends, who desire to become famous influencers! Their latest post pushes boundaries, but on FLIP!, a new social … More FLIP! – REVIEW – SOHO THEATRE
Creating musical theatre around historic events has become an increasingly popular thing to do within the last few years, following on from the international successes of Hamilton and Six. However, it doesn’t always work, and unfortunately, that is the case with Treason the Musical. Treason began its life as a 5 track EP in 2020, … More TREASON THE MUSICAL – REVIEW – ALEXANDRA PALACE
Amy catches up with Joe Sellman-Leava, writer and performer of Fanboy, which is currently touring across the UK. Can you tell us a little bit about the show? It’s about the things we love – whether it’s Nintendo, Star Wars or the Muppets – and the connections and communities that form around them. Fanboy looks … More INTERVIEW – JOE SELLMAN-LEAVA – FANBOY
Amy chats to Philippa Lawford, writer of Ikaria, ending its UK tour at Park Theatre in November. Can you tell us a little about Ikaria? Ikaria is a love story set in a student bedroom, over the course of a spring term at university. There are just two actors and the play is very intimate … More INTERVIEW – PHILIPPA LAWFORD – IKARIA
Amy catches up with Aoife Kennan, who wrote and stars in Scratches. How are you feeling ahead of your opening at the Arcola after a fantastic run at Vaults? I’m a big bundle of nerves at the moment, but there’s a lot of excitement mixed in there. We had such a great response from VAULT … More INTERVIEW – AOIFE KENNAN – SCRATCHES
‘[A]ll I could see was this generation of baby boomers who had the opportunity of going to university, did so, and then never came home’. So writes playwright Richard Bean, talking about the premise of To Have and to Hold, a play about Rob, a London-based writer, and Tina, a Somerset-based businesswoman, returning to see … More TO HAVE AND TO HOLD – REVIEW – HAMPSTEAD THEATRE
This month, The Finborough Theatre ends the 35 year absence of Ena Lamont Stewart’s Knocking on the Wall from UK theatres. Despite Stewart’s success with the postwar realist drama Men Should Weep, the rest of her work has never really entered the mainstream, and thus it is wonderful to see the Finborough raise an important … More KNOCKING ON THE WALL – REVIEW – FINBOROUGH THEATRE
Transferring from the Edinburgh Fringe after a successful run and an OffFest nomination, Alison Skilbeck’s Uncommon Ground is about six wildly different people, coping and connecting during one year on the Common. It relates their unexpected tales of love, life, death and downright dottiness, while a seventh character lurks mysteriously. Partly inspired by glimpses of … More HUSBAND AND WIFE TIM HARDY AND ALISON SKILBECK BRING AWARD-WINNING WORK TO THE OLD RED LION
