Russian State Ballet of Siberia’s Coppélia is an enchanting family-friendly ballet that is joyous and witty from start to end.
‘Drama is somewhat lacking’: THE SUNSET LIMITED – Boulevard Theatre ★★★
Cormac McCarthy isn’t known for cheery topics as anyone who has sat through (or read) The Road will testify and his play The Sunset Limited is no exception.
‘An engaging & reflective story that’s well-played’: SCENES WITH GIRLS – Royal Court Theatre
Female friendship is such a fickle, flighty thing so difficult to get right, and Miriam Battye nails both its positives and negatives in Scenes With Girls.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Uncle Vanya at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Richard Armitage and Toby Jones star in Ian Rickson’s production of Uncle Vanya at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
CD REVIEW: Pretty Woman the Musical – Original Broadway Cast Recording
Overall the original Broadway cast recording of Pretty Woman the Musical retains the spirit of the original story but also makes it soar higher thanks to the high quality of the music and lyrics.
‘Surprising & endlessly entertaining affair’: PRIDE & PREJUDICE* (*SORT OF) – Touring ★★★★
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) has a superbly wide frame of reference, and which is thought-provoking as well as being sheer good fun.
‘Uncomfortable viewers of an uncomfortable situation’: THE MORNING AFTER – Above The Stag Theatre ★★★
All the actors impress in The Morning After, a light-hearted comedy about love and disinhibited families, it’s just a shame the characters are so one-dimensional.
‘It’s hard to be sure exactly what the play is saying’: THE WELKIN – National Theatre
Maxine Peake struggles to make the voice of reason heard in the rather reactionary feminist history play The Welkin at the National Theatre.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at the Apollo Theatre
There’s a new cast for the British musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and the reviews are in! Find out what critics thought with our review round up….
‘Playlets of insistent intensity’: BECKETT TRIPLE BILL – Jermyn Street Theatre ★★★★
Jermyn Street Theatre, London ****
www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk
Review: of perf seen January 17, 2020:
© Robert Workman, James Hayes in Krapp’s Last Tape, recalling a moment of bliss on a tape thirty years ago…another haunting…
Krapp’s Last Tape…
‘A triumphant tragicomedy’: UNCLE VANYA – West End
Conor McPherson’s adaptation of Uncle Vanya featuring Toby Jones and Richard Armitage at the Harold Pinter Theatre is so good you can forgive the “wanging on”.
‘Funny, haunting, moving & strangely uplifting’: YOU STUPID DARKNESS! – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★
Given everything that is going on in the world politically and environmentally You Stupid Darkness! feels like it has captured the mood, the battle to stay cheerful and hopeful when everything feels like it is falling apart.
Andrew Finnigan, Lydia Larson, Andy Rush and Jenni Maitland in You Stupid Darkne…
‘A gob-smacking vitality & originality’: SCENES WITH GIRLS – Royal Court Theatre
Scenes with Girls at the Royal Court is like an exciting blast of fresh air blowing through the often stale world of contemporary new writing.
‘A historical epic that demands to be heard’: THE WELKIN – National Theatre
Lucy Kirkwood returns to the National Theatre with The Welkin, starring a brilliant ensemble led by Maxine Peake.
‘Heart-wrenchingly powerful narrative’: THE CANARY & THE CROW – Arcola Theatre ★★★★★
There is an urgency and an immediacy about The Canary and the Crow that will leave you thinking and questioning everything about British society long after you’ve left the theatre
‘A night of world class musical theatre’: LES MISÉRABLES – Sondheim Theatre ★★★★
Above all it is Kretzmer’s stunning lyrical treatment of those soaring French melodies (on press night, immaculately delivered under Steve Moss’ baton) woven around a story that is breathtaking in its scope that still define Les Misérables as a night of world class musical theatre.
‘Both difficult & comforting to watch’: FACES IN THE CROWD – Gate Theatre
Whilst the script for Faces In The Crowd demands unwavering focus and attention in order to not get lost, women’s individuality, voice and their suppression by patriarchal systems are profoundly resonant.
‘Never really catches fire’: YOU STUPID DARKNESS! – Southwark Playhouse
A new play about optimism, You Stupid Darkness! is compassionate in conception, but repetitive and frustrating in performance.
‘Far lighter than the themes of the play might suggest’: UNCLE VANYA – West End
This Uncle Vanya is more roundedly entertaining than other recent productions and while that detracts a little from the emotional undercurrents of the original, the fluidity and richness of Rickson’s production, performed by an excellent cast, ensure a satisfying Chekhovian conclusion.
‘If you see one Off-West End show, make it this one’: RAGS – Park Theatre ★★★★★
Directed by Bronagh Lagan, Rags embraces the true wonders of theatre, bringing to light the compelling story of some Jewish immigrants attempting to integrate into American society of the 1910s.