Central Reviews

Writer: Noël Coward Director: Oliver Hume Reviewer:  Selwyn Knight Famously written in four days as a vehicle for Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence, Private Lives must have been quite shocking to 1930s audiences, dealing, as it does, quite explicitly with marital infidelity. Elyot and Amanda had a stormy and violent marriage and after three years divorced. Now five years later, ...

Writer: Charlotte Brontë Director: Sally Cookson Reviewer: Scott Matthewman Originally staged in two parts at Bristol Old Vic, Sally Cookson’s collaborative adaptation of Jane Eyre won acclaim in a single, three-hour form at the National Theatre. It is due to return to London in September, following this current tour which has now arrived in Aylesbury. Jane Eyre is often presented as a Gothic ...

Music & Lyrics: Pete Townsend Book: Pete Townsend & Des McAnuff Additional Music & Lyrics: John Entwistle & Keith Moon Director: Kerry Michael Reviewer:  Dave Smith It’s nearly 50 years since The Who released Tommy, one of two concept albums by the band (along with Quadrophenia) that helped turn them from Mod favourites to genuine rock icons. The plot concerns ...

Music: Kerry Muzzey Choreographer: Kenneth Tindall Reviewer: Maggie Constable At Milton Keynes this week, Northern Ballet stages yet another wonderfully exotic piece in the form of Casanova, which has rightly received much praise from critics and public alike. Casanova’s life story is a complicated one; he was so much more than the dilettante womaniser for which he has become known. Who knew, ...

Writer: George Bernard Shaw Director: Sam Pritchard Reviewer:  G. D. Mills Sam Pritchard’s bold, experimental production of Pygmalion at the Oxford Playhouse finds innovative new ways to probe the themes of diction and class. Professor Higgins, a phonetics expert, plucks a common flower girl from the streets of London and resolves, through close manipulation of speech, to make a lady ...

Book: Joe Penhall Music and Lyrics: Ray Davies Director: Edward Hall Reviewer: Clare White ‘But will they still play it in 30 years’ time?’ asks The Kinks frontman Ray Davies of his song Sunny Afternoon. Indeed, more than 50 years later, the renowned hit is the titular track of a multi-award winning musical, telling the captivating story of the iconic ...

Writer:  Sam Holcroft from the book by Roald Dahl Director: Maria Aberg Reviewer: Nicole Evans Now over 40 years old, Fantastic Mr Fox is a children’s classic whose tale continues to delight generations and so, along with all of the Roald Dahl masterpieces, it is a natural choice for theatre companies worldwide to try their hand at recreating for the stage. ...

Writer & Director: Ray Cooney Reviewer: Selwyn Knight Ray Cooney is, surely, the master of British farce, writing many for the West End. And all are very British in nature, poking fun at our betters as they get into, and try to extricate themselves from, sticky situations. We can feel superior to the characters, some of whom are the authors of ...