Author: The Reviews Hub - London

Writer: Christopher Brett Bailey Christopher Brett Bailey’s new 70-minute show, I Saw Satan at the 7-Eleven, may once have got him burned as a witch with its graphic discussions of carnal relations with the beast, but now it gets you a slot in the Upstairs space at the Soho Theatre, where audiences can enjoy this blackly comic staged reading of a fantastical tale. Peppered with references to contemporary American culture, it starts to reverse the world that evolved through the Bible, following Eve’s temptation, asking whether we can ever return to a purer, kinder existence without darkness to balance us…

Writer: Joseph Maudsley Director: Daniel Clarkson What if everything you knew about the Back to the Future movie trilogy was wrong? What if the hero, the person who keeps the timelines together, was actually the putative villain? Writer/performer/stand-up Joseph Maudsley assumes the character of Biff Tannen and pushes this idea as hard as he can, in a noble attempt to recalibrate the moral judgment of three generations of moviegoers. Actually, he comes on stage with a huge rack of costumes, a trunkful of movie-themed jokes and references, and a very effective line in co-opted audience participation. The set-up for the…

Writers: Isabella Sedlak and Yousef Sweid Director: Isabella Sedlak Yousef Sweid openly acknowledges that the title of this piece of stand-up theatre, co-written with director Isabella Sedlak, is provocative, referring as it does to the use over decades of “from the river to the sea” in the battle between Israel and Palestinians.  To defuse any potential protest, Sweid brandishes a variety of protest banners from all sides, before proclaiming that they are all unnecessary because he is not going to talk about October 7th, or the war in Gaza, and instead concentrate on his divorce. Sweid is delightfully informal throughout…

Writers: Richard O’Brien and Jim Sharman Director: Jim Sharman Can it really be 51 years ago that The Rocky Horror Picture Show first exploded onto the cultural landscape? This 50th Anniversary Spectacular celebrates 2025’s milestone with special screenings. There’s a Q&A with a handful of original cast members and a full shadow-cast version of the show on the stage while the film screens behind them. And tickets come with a goodie bag of props. The result is a chaotic carnival of Rocky Horror-themed nostalgia. Cult classic doesn’t really begin to describe the all-singing, wildly-dancing, sexy, ridiculous, comedy-horror phenomenon that is…

Music: Benjamin Britten Libretto: Ronald Duncan, after the play by Andre Obey Directors: Eleanor Burke and Alex Gotch Benjamin Britten’s chamber opera is not an easy evening. Written in 1946 to a libretto by Ronald Duncan, it tells of the violation of the Roman noblewoman Lucretia by the Etruscan prince Tarquinius, and her subsequent suicide. It is a work of shattering moral weight and extraordinary musical economy, scored for just 13 instruments and eight voices. Getting it right demands singers who can carry the full dramatic burden of the piece without an orchestra to hide behind. Hampstead Garden Opera, performing…

Writer: Noel Coward in a version by Emma Rice Director: Rob Ellis Adapted as a stage play by Emma Rice in 2008, Noel Coward and David Lean’s beloved film comes to the Tower Theatre for a sedate run. The difficulty for the actors is taking on cinematic roles so famous they are part of the cultural canon and make them their own while never mocking the clipped restraint of the original. The Tower company have variable success with this both in representing the source material and in the cabaret staging that Rice places around it. In wartime Milford, a respectable…

Writer and Director: Olivia Revans It’s 2013 in a catholic girls’ school in Liverpool. There are two bezzy mates (Erin Riley and Freya Jones) in sixth form, navigating adolescent sexuality and not knowing what they are going to do and problem families and eating disorders and a whole raft of stuff. There’s a young, single, good-looking, sardonic English teacher (Louie Threlfall) navigating Ofsted and pupils with crushes and trying to make the curriculum work and actually caring about his duty of care. And there’s a Twitter account full of ‘banter’ and accusations. We are on a journey to find out…

Choreographer and Director: Yukiko Masui Dominated by a series of moods, Yukiko Masui’s innovative immersive dance anime performance RONiN arrives at The Place following a performance in Huddersfield. Based on a class of samurai warriors but refigured as a female story and taking place across the seasons in Japan, there is a filmic quality to the choreographed stage fights between the protagonist and her adversaries that continually redraws the boundaries between enemies and allies while conjuring a variety of locations and tones against a beautiful and sometimes grave Japanese landscape. The 30-minute first half has four set pieces, scenarios that…