Reviewer: Scott Matthewman Drag culture is in flux at the moment. For decades, occasional nights hosting karaoke in gay bars have been the best most acts could hope for: in recent years, though, the ascendancy of TV reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race from cult hit to mainstream phenomenon has seen an influx of American-style drag performance alongside more traditional, British ...
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Writers: Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields Director: Mark Bell Reviewer: Scott Matthewman It is unusual enough for a fringe hit to transfer from an above-the-pub theatre to the West End. Far more exceptional for that production to go on to win an Olivier award, transfer to Broadway, inspire two stage spin-offs, two BBC specials and show no signs of ...
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Writer: Andrew Ryan Director: Chris Nelson Reviewer: Scott Matthewman It is a recurring thread in many modern pantomimes that the titular heroines, from Sleeping Beauty to Cinderella, are among the least served in terms of scripted character. That’s certainly the case with Aylesbury’s version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where the characters of Muddles, Dolly the Nurse and ...
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Book: Tom Hedley and Robert Carey Music: Robbie Roth Lyrics: Robert Carey and Robbie Roth Director: Hannah Chissick Reviewer: Scott Matthewman In the pantheon of 1980s movies, Flashdance has achieved cult status far exceeding its own gaudy ambitions. The tale of a welding apprentice who supplements her meagre wages from a Pittsburgh steel firm by dancing in a local club, but who has ambitions to ...
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Book: Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan Music: Marc Shaiman Lyrics: Scott Whittman and Marc Shaiman Director: Paul Kerryson Reviewer: Scott Matthewman The big, brash and beautiful Broadway musical Hairspray is perhaps the most sweet-natured take on a John Waters film one could possibly imagine. But while the original film’s lapses into poor taste are softened by the onstage cutesiness, there remains a ...
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Writer: Dave Simpson, from the book by E Nesbit Director: Paul Jepson Reviewer: Scott Matthewman Edith Nesbit’s 1906 novel The Railway Children saw a step change in her writing of previous novels for children, most notably of the trilogy of books featuring the siblings who first appear in Five Children and It. Compared to the slight but fun magical adventures ...
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Book: Carol Harrison Music and Lyrics: The Small Faces Director: Carol Harrison Reviewer: Scott Matthewman Another month, another tour of a jukebox musical that explores the back catalogue of a famous artist or band. In the case of All or Nothing, it is the turn of the Small Faces, following in the footsteps of the Kinks (Sunday Afternoon), the Four Seasons ...
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Writer: Ira Levin Director: Adam Penford Reviewer: Scott Matthewman Ira Levin’s 1978 comedy-thriller Deathtrap, which became one of Broadway’s longest running plays, is a postmodern masterpiece. Revolving around the machinations of a struggling playwright of thrillers, several of the play’s twists and turns involve the writing of a play, also called Deathtrap, which mirrors events on stage. Levin’s witty script ...
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