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
When Annie first hit Broadway in 1977, it won a Tony award for Best Musical as well as Best Actress for Dorothy Loudon as Miss Hannigan and has been a staple of the musical theatre canon ever since. Yet perhaps more famous than Loudon is the original young prodigy, Andrea Macardle, whose enormous belt has … More ANNIE – REVIEW – NEW WIMBLEDON THEATRE
“Then there’s the Heathers, they float above it all.” Dark, witty, and of course “beautiful”, Heathers really captures the heart of dark comedy in a way that makes it stand out from other musicals today. This UK and Ireland touring cast have brought a new take to the script (which many Heathers fans by now … More HEATHERS – REVIEW – NEW WIMBLEDON THEATRE
Eloina’s High Steaks is a raw and honest show about the shame some feel about their labia. With the majority of labiaplasties being performed for purely cosmetic reasons in the present day, our schools failing to teach us about the uniqueness of everyone’s vagina, and the media only showing edited or surgically altered versions of … More HIGH STEAKS – REVIEW – JACKSON’S LANE ARTS CENTRE
A solid family favourite since the movie premiered in 2001, the musical adaptation soon followed, premiering on Broadway in 2008. Currently on a tour of the UK, stopping off in Wimbledon this week, whilst this production of Shrek The Musical may transport the younger members of the audience to a land Far Far Away, there’s … More SHREK THE MUSICAL – REVIEW – NEW WIMBLEDON THEATRE
This is a visually spectacular show which is defeated by a weak first act and the cast’s poor diction. Jesus Christ Superstar is a global commercial success and an important reference point in musical theatre history. This re-imaging of the Easter story as a sung-through rock opera premiered in 1970 and has been revived semi-regularly … More JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR – REVIEW – THE PALACE THEATRE
“Why do they keep doing Peter Pan”? This was something I said to my friend after I watched the largely perfunctory Disney live-action adaptation, Peter Pan and Wendy. It was then with a slight heavy heart, that I sat down to watch Slapstick Picnic’s 3-hander adaptation. Promotional words such as “hectic” and “breakneck” suggest a show that … More PETER PAN – REVIEW – ST. PAUL’S CHURCH COVENT GARDEN
First brought to Southwark Playhouse on 31st July 2013, and now travelling the UK on its 10th Anniversary Tour, Titanic the Musical has arrived at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking. Based on the infamous tale of the Titanic’s sinking on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic, the musical tells the stories of passengers and … More TITANIC THE MUSICAL – REVIEW – NEW VICTORIA THEATRE
When I heard that Harry Hill was behind a new Tony Blair rock opera, I confess I was sceptical. How wrong I was. Hill’s book and Steve Brown’s music and lyrics combine to create a riot of an evening, with something in it for everybody. This show has been honed through multiple workshops and a … More TONY! [THE TONY BLAIR ROCK OPERA] – REVIEW – RICHMOND THEATRE
ChildMinder arrives at Traverse Theatre to shake minds and perceptions – enter this show at your own risk of being forced to investigate the darkest depths of your soul. This is a ghost story, only it isn’t; it’s about love, but not exactly. Guilt, redemption, shame, and hope – all these emotions spin across continents … More CHILDMINDER – REVIEW – TRAVERSE THEATRE
Touring since 2002, Giffords Circus stands as one of the most unique cultural events in the UK. The circus returns this summer, ready for audiences to immerse themselves in two hours of chaotic fun, extraordinary talent, and pure joy! Located at the stunning Chiswick House, the gardens have been decorated with large white tents and … More LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS – REVIEW – GIFFORDS CIRCUS
An Inspector Calls – and you’ll want to get the door. The timeless classic written by J.B. Priestley is back in this National Theatre production, directed by Stephen Daldry. First performed in the (then) Soviet Union in 1945, Priestley’s play is set in 1912 in the fictional English town of Brumley and follows a story … More AN INSPECTOR CALLS – REVIEW – THEATRE ROYAL GLASGOW
On tour ahead of its film adaptation this summer, Greatest Days doesn’t quite deliver on its titular promise. Billed as ‘The Official Take That Musical’, Greatest Days is a rebrand of The Band which premiered in Manchester in 2017. It’s not to be confused with Never Forget, another Take That jukebox musical, which is about the forming of a Take That tribute band. Greatest Days follows a group of … More GREATEST DAYS – REVIEW – PALACE THEATRE, MANCHESTER
Shakespeare’s First Folio, a collection of 36 of his much-loved plays, was first published 400 years ago. This European premiere tells the story of how a small group of the King’s Men decided to undertake the enormous task of protecting Shakespeare’s legacy, in a poignant yet uproariously witty production of Lauren Gunderson’s award-winning play. The … More THE BOOK OF WILL – REVIEW – THE OCTAGON, BOLTON
The Beekeeper of Aleppo began life as a novel by Christy Lefteri in 2019, a fictional tale based on the author’s experience working in refugee camps in Athens. Those same camps feature in this story, as we follow Syrian refugees Nuri and Afra across the Mediterranean, through Europe, to the UK. As yet another refugee … More THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO – REVIEW – RICHMOND THEATRE
It hits you with a bang – loud and shocking – as the demure, frightened maid Nelly (Giulia Innocenti) is interrogated from a loud menacing tannoy under harsh lighting about ‘The Monster!’ This is in sharp contrast to the delightful bucolic bird song greeting you as you enter the venue. She is frightened, yet still … More WUTHERING HEIGHTS – REVIEW – ROYAL & DERNGATE
John Godber’s Teechers follows three Year 11 students putting on their end-of-term play, documenting the new Drama Teacher, Miss Nixon, during her first year at Whitewall School. Miss Nixon attempts to inspire her students to love drama, she also fights against the unfair system, and the temptation from local private schools. Salty, Gail, and Hobby, … More TEECHERS LEAVERS ‘22 – REVIEW – GREENWICH THEATRE
‘I spend my days saving lives and my nights wanting to end my own’. It is a tough time to work within our National Health Service, staff have just battled a deadly virus, and the repercussions on their own mental health are huge. Plus, a record number of healthcare professionals are having to utilise their … More DON’T CLAP FOR ME MR. JOHNSON – REVIEW – THE COCKPIT
Society’s appetite for all things true crime has grown exponentially in recent years, with a sharp rise in the amount of true crime media readily available, from podcasts to documentaries, to drama series, and now former detective David Swindle brings us a show which is certain to whet the appetite of true crime fans. But … More THE MAKINGS OF A MURDERER – REVIEW – ADELPHI THEATRE
The original Quality Street play, written by J. M Barrie (writer of Peter Pan) premiered in 1901. A sweet (pun intended) romantic comedy in which our heroine Phoebe (brilliantly played by Paula Lane) tries to survive when the love of her life leaves for the wars, only to return 10 years later and not recognise … More QUALITY STREET – REVIEW – RICHMOND THEATRE
