Equus remains a fascinating, if dated, piece of writing from Peter Schaffer, exploring the psycho-sexual complexities of the adolescent Alan Strang, a boy who has just, horrifically, blinded six horses.
‘Marlow & Moss clearly have great technical and creative potential ahead of them’: SIX THE MUSICAL – Arts Theatre
Beheadings are brutal and barbaric, whether they occurred five months or five centuries ago. And yet, with heads jauntily skewed, grim grins (albeit momentarily) and hand-held mics tightly grasped, the cast of Six The Musical make light of Henry VIII’s murderous misogyny.
‘A highly enjoyable evening’: I WISH MY LIFE WERE LIKE A MUSICAL – Live at Zedel ★★★
From the opening number which promises so much, through to the second half that might feel as though it is dragging on just a bit too long, the audience’s plight is fully acknowledged in this spirited production.
MIRACLE ON 34th STREET – Bridge House Theatre ★★★
Miracle on 34th Street is a sparkling, joyful and heartwarming spectacle. For a very merry Christmas, this is just the ticket.
ANIMUS – Laban Theatre ★★★
In what is the second collaboration from British writing team Webborn and Finn, Animus delivers a cleverly constructed plot including complex characters and a chilling mystery that keeps one guessing.
CORIOLANUS – Barbican Theatre (RSC) ★★★
The evening’s star performance comes from Haydn Gwynne who brings a strength and elegance to Volumnia. Playing the ever loving yet overbearing mother of Coriolanus, she dreams of success and glory for her son.
OSLO – National Theatre & West End ★★★
Oslo, a new play from JT Rogers is evidently meticulously researched. It is a tale of diplomacy and negotiation, and as a history lesson, it offers moments that are fascinating.
DEADLINE DAY – Theatre N16 ★★★
Deadline Day is a delightful spin on the world of football that takes place, intriguingly, in the back of the limo that’s taking (Newcastle) United’s gifted young striker Danny south to sign for Chelsea.
LUCY DIXON – Live at Zedel
As a performer Dixon is blessed with exceptional technical skills – her voice is pitch perfect and she liberally dilutes her vocal turns with perfectly syncopated tap routines throughout the gig.
WILLEMIJN VERKAIK IN CONCERT – West End
Verkaik’s vocals were flawless throughout the informal evening and it’s no wonder that she’s been entrusted with one of the most vocally challenging roles in the canon, across the globe, for nearly a decade.
X & Y – Lyric Hammersmith
In 2011 Beyoncé Knowles proclaimed in a mightily catchy hook that girls run the world, a far cry of course from James Brown’s 1966 declaration that “This is a man’s world”.
BREXODUS! – The Other Palace
The performances in Brexodus! are, for the most part, top notch – it’s only a shame that the written material doesn’t quite match up to the acting talent on stage.
TITUS ANDRONICUS – Stratford
Blanche McIntyre strives to give an aura of political correctness to her take on the bloodiest of Shakespeare’s plays – but she misses the point. Titus Andronicus is always going to be more about its final act’s Imperial Bake-Off than it will ever be about the failings of society.
BLONDEL – Union Theatre
Set in the 1180’s, King Richard the Lionheart (played by Neil Moors) proclaims he will set off on a Crusade, and go to war with Saladin in the Middle East, leaving the county in the hands of the maniacal Prince John (James Thackeray).
BLONDEL – Union Theatre
Set in the 1180’s, King Richard the Lionheart (played by Neil Moors) proclaims he will set off on a Crusade, and go to war with Saladin in the Middle East, leaving the county in the hands of the maniacal Prince John (James Thackeray).
110 IN THE SHADE – Ye Olde Rose & Crown
Adapted by N Richard Nash from his original play The Rainmaker, 110 In The Shade tells the story of Lizzie Curry, an intelligent lonely woman, living in a small town in the western USA that has been enduring a long standing drought.
THE PLAGUE – Arcola Theatre
In the unnamed town that the five characters inhabit, any hope or joy is promptly quashed and left in a pool of despair on the floor, just like the mysteriously dying rats that plague the streets. It’s not a fun evening, but nonetheless makes for a formidable and incredibly disquieting piece of theatre.
YANK! – Manchester
Manchester’s Hope Mill theatre yet again presents another powerful show with their energetic and touching production of Yank!, a show first brought to life off-Broadway in 2010.
I’M GONNA PRAY FOR YOU SO HARD – Finborough Theatre
At first glance, I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard appears to be a somewhat self-indulgent glance into the life of David, an egotistical celebrated playwright complaining about a ‘hard done by’ life, whilst surrounded by a lavish and modern apartment, with a long standing marriage and a loving daughter.
LIZZIE – Greenwich Theatre
Lizzie, based around the true tale of the allegedly patricidal Lizzie Borden, is more akin to rock concert than musical.