Love London Love Culture’s Emma Clarendon takes a close look at what critics have had to say about Mother Goose at Hackney Empire.
‘Moves along at a cracking pace’: MOTHER GOOSE – Hackney Empire
Mother Goose at the Hackney Empire moves along at a cracking pace. Even with a short salute to the 120 years of the Hackney(wood) Empire, Mother Goose is one of the best options available this year, with fabulous costumes, a sparkling script with room for a bit of improv, and some amusing bits of slapstick.
‘The comic timing from the cast is certainly on point’: SISTER ACT – Eventim Apollo
Based on the hit 1992 comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg, this is the latest touring incarnation of the highly entertaining musical Sister Act. Originally set to star Goldberg in a reprise of the role, the cast instead has the more than able replacement of Beverley Knight. Joined by Jennifer Saunders, Lesley Joseph and Clive Rowe, this revival certainly isn’t lacking firepower in the casting department.
‘Entertaining viewing’: SUDDENLY / CELLS (Online review)
Sometimes good things DO come in small packages – a pair of mini musicals, Suddenly and Cells, make a pleasurable watch.
‘The casting is an absolute master stroke’: CELLS – Metta Theatre (Online review)
Writer/director P Burton-Morgan and composer Ben Glasstone have developed a pair of characters in Cells who build their stories in song as they see the reflection of self in each other.
Album Review: In The Willows – Metta Theatre ★★★★
Vibrant and heartfelt, this cast recording of the music from In The Willows, the hip hop take based on The Wind in the Willows, highlights a great musical to get children into musical theatre.
‘Will only go from strength to strength as the run continues’: A CHRISTMAS CAROL – Old Vic (Online review)
Andrew Lincoln brings a real gravitas to proceedings in A Christmas Carol, anchoring the production and delivering a performance of variety and skill that will leave you hoping he returns to the stage more often in the future.
NEWS: Hackney Empire announces 2021 Christmas panto Jack & the Beanstalk
Hackney Empire today announced Jack and the Beanstalk, which was previously scheduled to open in December 2020, will now open in December 2021, marking the 22nd pantomime at the East End venue.
NEWS: Jennifer Saunders will star in select performances of the Sister Act tour
Jennifer Saunders will reprise her role as Mother Superior in select performances for the UK tour of Sister Act The Musical.
NEWS: Andrew Lincoln will star as Scrooge in The Old Vic’s In Camera production of A Christmas Carol
Andrew Lincoln will star as Ebenezer Scrooge in this year’s Old Vic: In Camera version of Jack Thorne’s A Christmas Carol from 12-24 December 2020.
’An absolute ray of sunshine’: Hello, Harry! A Celebration of 40 Years at Stage Door (Online review)
Hello Harry!, an online concert celebrating the incredible 40-year career of Harry Gabriel, the Shaftesbury Theatre’s Stage Door Keeper, was an absolute ray of sunshine.
‘This is what theatre is’: HELLO, HARRY! (Online review)
Harry Gabriel is one of those unsung heroes in theatreland: the stage door keeper. Part surrogate parent, part nurse, part firm friend, they are the conduit between front and back of house, cast and crew, performer and fan.
In forty years at the Sha…
‘Keeps the audience thoroughly absorbed from start to finish’: BLUES IN THE NIGHT – Kiln Theatre ★★★★★
Susie McKenna’s highly accomplished and atmospheric production of Blues in the Night is filled with heaps of personality and heart that is reflected in the stunning performances from all of the cast.
‘It shows how integration can help lift artistry’: IN THE WILLOWS – Touring ★★★★
Who could have predicted that Kenneth Grahame’s genteel Edwardian tale about riverbanks and hot buttered toast would translate so well to Metta Theatre’s grime infused retelling? I went in sceptical; I came out converted by one of the freshest, most original pieces of theatre I’ve seen this year.
How the Mates Rate: Sweet Charity at the Donmar Warehouse
Sweet Charity, Josie Rourke’s farewell production at the Donmar Warehouse which stars Anne-Marie Duff as Charity and Arthur Darvill as Oscar, appears to have charmed the majority of our Mates, with a few reservations here and there. The musical continues until 8 June 2019.
‘Nowhere near enough charm for my liking’: SWEET CHARITY – Donmar Warehouse
Nowhere near enough charm in this Sweet Charity for my liking. Josie Rourke’s farewell to the Donmar Warehouse is grey rather than silver.
‘Raves, cartwheels, windmills, head-slides & tears up the stage’: IN THE WILLOWS – Touring ★★★★
This isn’t the Wind in the Willows by Alan Bennett or Disney. In Metta Theatre’s cheeky, exuberant hip-hop musical version, Kenneth Grahame’s oar-plashing sylvan tale is kidnapped by the unruly class at The Willows school, next to the rough Wildwood Estate where the Weasel gang rule.
NEWS: Adrian Lester & Beverley Knight are among the guest actors cast as Daddy Brubeck in Donmar Warehouse’s Sweet Charity
Multiple guest actors will play the role of Daddy Brubeck in Josie Rourke’s production of Sweet Charity at the Donmar Warehouse including Shaq Taylor, Adrian Lester, Le Gateau Chocolat, Beverley Knight and Clive Rowe with further casting to be announced.
‘Anything but washed out’: ALADDIN – Hackney Empire ★★★★
Writer/director Susie McKenna delivers her 20th festive production – Aladdin – with a show that captures the diversity of her London patch, yet cleverly avoids cultural appropriation and all the while managing to maintain the joyous irreverence that makes pantomime such a glorious British Christmas tradition.
‘Large group numbers energised the space quite thrillingly’: GUYS & DOLLS LIVE IN CONCERT – Royal Albert Hall ★★★★
Gamblers, gangsters and nightclub singers mingle together in 1950s New York in Guys & Dolls, Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows’ ‘musical fable of Broadway’, which returned to London in concert form for just three performances at the Royal Albert Hall.
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