Yet again, the people of Newbury find themselves spoiled with this display of some of the finest talent in the land putting on a show that alongside being a rollercoaster of emotions, Sweet Charity is a festival of sensational song and dance.
‘It’s not all dancing around fairy rings’: IOLANTHE – Touring ★★★★
This wonderful production of Sasha Regan’s all-male Iolanthe is now in the final leg of its UK tour. As such, the cast – who, reviews have suggested, were excellent to begin with – have now matured into a perfect company, enchanting in both voice and movement.
‘The Radio 2 audience are unlikely to be disappointed’: An evening with Jason Robert Brown – London Palladium ★★★★
A packed Palladium saw Jason Robert Brown, supported by the lush BBC Concert Orchestra and the composer’s own rhythm section record a Friday Night Is Music Night show for future broadcast. The music was grand and with the stunning talents of Betsy Wolfe and Norm Lewis also flown in specially from Broadway to join the British Isle’s very own Rachel Tucker, the vocal talent was top-notch too.
‘Gloriously gruesome’: TITUS ANDRONICUS – Barbican Theatre (RSC) ★★★★
Headed up with an engaging performance from RSC stalwart David Troughton as the frail but somehow still intimidating Titus Andronicus, the play is quite the ride with humour kept firmly at the forefront even as Titus finds himself losing a limb, very slowly.
‘Biggest, boldest, glitziest panto in London’: DICK WHITTINGTON – West End ★★★★
Following critical and commercial success with last year’s Cinderella, QDOS Entertainment has again invested millions to make Dick Whittington the biggest, boldest and glitziest pantomime on the London circuit with what looks like a degree of overkill, taking a sledgehammer to crush a rat perhaps.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL – Stratford-upon-Avon (RSC) ★★★★
This year’s seasonal offering in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a grand affair as David Edgar (it was he who famously adapted Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby for the company back in 1980) tackles A Christmas Carol.
ALBUM REVIEW: A Christmas Carol (narrated by Simon Callow) ★★★★
Much like a luxuriously fruited and brandy drenched Christmas pudding, Simon Callow’s voice (surely a national treasure in itself) serves up the festive fable in a recording that lasts a touch longer than the hour.
‘One of the finest night’s entertainment on London’s fringe’ – PRIVATES ON PARADE – Union Theatre ★★★★
With the festive panto season finally on the horizon, why not consider skipping the traditional fairy-tale dames and instead head towards the Union Theatre for a snatch of Simon Green’s take on Vera Lynn or Marlene Dietrich in Peter Nichols’ Privates on Parade.
SCROOGE THE MUSICAL – Leicester ★★★★
It all makes for classic festive fayre with Leslie Bricusse’s original work, last seen some 15 years ago, being subtly re-engineered for this revival. Jasper Britton heads the cast in the title role, convincing us throughout of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST – Jack Studio Theatre ★★★★
As one of Oscar Wilde’s most famous plays, one wonders if The Importance of Being Earnest’s aged humour and possibly outdated social values will stand the test of time. Thankfully, here, in director Sarah Redmond’s capable hands the story thrives.
GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS – West End ★★★★
Camel coated Christian Slater (who bears more than a hint of Tony Blair in his appearance) is Ricky Roma, the alpha-male of the pack. Canny and mercenary, Roma’s senses and reflexes are razor sharp.
MOTHER COURAGE & HER CHILDREN – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★
Josie Lawrence is an absolute triumph, embracing the audience on her journey from cocky tradeswoman to a woman that Mother Courage would be ashamed of, so downtrodden is her outlook and situation.
IMAGINE THIS – Union Theatre ★★★★
Harry Blumenau’s production at the Union manages to shed the show’s previous blunders, succeeding in telling a harrowing and touching story with tenderness and care in a production that is filled with heart and trauma.
TRYST – Tabard Theatre ★★★★
The script is beautifully crafted, moving at a pace that flits between thundering forward to reflect the fast passage of time and pulling back to uncover a multitude of truths.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN – West End ★★★★
Like The Producers before it, Young Frankenstein hails from a Brooks movie of some 40 years earlier with the veteran writer/director reframing the comedy-horror flick around his own composition of words and music.
LUCKY STIFF – Union Theatre ★★★★
There’s a charming treatment of Ahrens and Flaherty’s Lucky Stiff, currently playing at the Union Theatre. The musical is a short slight piece, set in a minimalist stage design, but with an imaginative and energetic choreography from Jamie Neale that efficiently uses the Union’s compact space.
HAIR – The Vaults ★★★★
Transferring down from Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre, Jonathan O’Boyle’s production of Hair is an exciting revival of a show that was to define so much of the 1960s.
HAIR – The Vaults ★★★★
Transferring down from Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre, Jonathan O’Boyle’s production of Hair is an exciting revival of a show that was to define so much of the 1960s.
Album Review: Broadway Melodies ★★★★
It is a delight to review Dan Burton’s debut album Broadway Melodies. As choreographer Stephen Mear has long known, Burton is currently amongst the finest of musical theatre “triple threats” (defined as talented in all three skills of song, dance and acting) and a man who unassumingly provides an assured touch of class to all his roles, whether they be leading or support.
THE TOXIC AVENGER – Arts Theatre ★★★★
It’s no small tale they have to tell, as small-town nerd Melvin takes on the corrupt establishment of New Jersey (Who Will Save New Jersey) who are taking bribes from the Manhattan elite so they can continue to dump their waste across the Hudson River.