Whilst Strictly Ballroom the Musical harnesses much of Baz Luhrmann’s extravagance, the magic is dispelled by the erratic pace of its storytelling. When adapting a film for the stage, comparisons from the source material are inevitable …
Lyrical, melodic and beautifully soundtracked, Out of The Forest's Bury the Hatchet was a joy to behold. As a general rule, metatheatre makes me squirm. I find it self-conscious, cloying, and quite often very annoying. So …
It's about as twee and anodyne as shows come - but A Spoonful of Sherman is well-produced, energetically performed and entirely successful at bringing its (elderly) target audience to their feet. If the Oliviers ever introduce …
Love Happens Here: an LGBTQI Cabaret showcases some genuinely great voices, but suffers from a lack of the nudge-nudge-wink-wink delivery characteristic of both the cabaret genre and the most successful am-dram offerings. On the face of it, …
From the minute Julian Clary descends from the rafters clad in a pink tutu, flanked by angels in crinolines and crooning Anita Ward’s ‘Ring my Bell’, the tone of the London Palladium’s Dick Whittington is …
A parody with potential, but a misjudged focus and missed opportunities mean Young Frankenstein fails to deliver. I came to Young Frankenstein expecting nothing less than schtick to the nth degree. I was not disappointed in …
Wimbledon Light Opera Society's Little Shop of Horrors is a playful treat for everyone. What is somewhat lacking in professional finish is made up for with bags of enthusiasm from a forceful ensemble. Shamefully, Wimbledon Light Opera …
Hot Time Gay Machine, a late-night offering at Underbelly Med Quad, gets everything right. And the audience couldn’t agree more. Toby and Zak are gay. And this is their gay time machine. It’s simple, it’s silly …
Pageant is a sweet treat for its laughs and glitter, but in the days of RuPaul, drag needs substance as well as style. Pageant draws on two stalwarts of classic British popular entertainment: pantomime drag, and …
Candide, performed by London Musical Theatre Orchestra, is a truly spectacular evening - with just a few weak links. Leonard Bernstein’s Candide tells the tale of an optimistic young man who resolves to remain positive while …
A collaboration between David Greig and former Noah and the Whale’s front man Charlie Fink, Cover My Tracks fuses music and storytelling in an enjoyable late night show at the Old Vic. Cover My Tracks opens with …
Simplicity, honesty and depth: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is an astonishing show of female talent in a welcome spin on the Jukebox musical. Beautiful is billed as ‘the untold story’ of Carole King’s journey from songwriter …