Tag Archives: Review

Writer: Thomas Meeham Music: Charles Strouse Lyrics: Martin Charnin Director: Nicolai Foster Reviewer: Francesca Parker The classic rags-to-riches story has once again been brought to life on stage. Despite being set in New York at the time of the Great Depression, Annie is the anything but downbeat. The heart-warming tale of a young orphan whose life changed irrevocably after a chance encounter, ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Erica Whyman Reviewer: Caitlin Scollin Erica Whyman's production of Romeo and Juliet gives a contemporary edge to the most famous love story ever told. Whyman gives William Shakespeare's original text a sense of realism and humour, grounding the play in an environment much more familiar to the audience. This is reflected through a diverse cast which ...

Writer: Athol Fugard Director: Matthew Xia Reviewer: Stephen Bates London is seeing a resurgence of interest in Athol Fugard. A week after a revival of the South African writer’s politically-charged play A Lesson from Aloes opened at the Finborough Theatre, here comes Blood Knot, a play originally performed in 1961, seen in a 1987 revised version. Apartheid forms the backdrop ...

Writer: Joshua Harmon Director:  Daniel Aukin Reviewer:  Richard Maguire This smart and talky new play by Joshua Harmon, who gave us Bad Jews, tackles racism within the high school and university admissions systems in America. Although the action takes places in leafy New Hampshire we have similar problems in the UK with Oxbridge accepting fewer black students than other less prestigious ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Brice Stratford Reviewer:  Richard Maguire Midsummer’s Night Drollbegins with great promise as lead actor and director Brice Stratford presents a short lecture on the interregnum when the theatre was banned. Despite the law, acting persisted with some actors going to Europe to continue their craft while others stayed in England and became involved in drolls, illegal ...

Writer: Michael Gyngell Music: Greg Arrowsmith Director: Samuel Holmes Choreographer: Nick Winston Reviewer: Georgie Bird Club Tropicana The Musical delivers what anyone would expect – wonderfully cheesy 80s music, fun energetic choreography, and plenty of laughs. The set perfectly complements the music; loud, colourful and fun. The costumes are an adept reminder of the many questionable fashion choices in the ...

Writer and Director: Penelope Skinner Reviewer:  Richard Maguire The title and the publicity shots for this show suggest that this will be an angry play with lots of shouting. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, Angry Alan is rather a quiet take on toxic masculinity, and features a confident performance by Donald Sage Mackay. In this one-man show written ...

Music and lyrics: George and Ira Gershwin Book: George S Kaufman Director: Mark Glesser Reviewer: Stephen Bates George S Kaufman’s satirical book for the musical Strike Up the Band takes us into the realms of utter fantasy. The writer’s proposition is that America in 1927, a country of political corruption, tax fraud, protectionist tariffs and deindustrialisation, is led into war ...