A dazzling cast, a powerful score and mesmerising choreography make The Prince of Egypt a real spectacle to watch.
‘Only really springs to life in the musical numbers’: THE PRINCE OF EGYPT – West End ★★
Who knows, in years to come a Fringe theatre may manage to hit the right tone with The Prince of Egypt. In the meantime, this production could do with a little more creative flair and re-write.
‘Spectacularly well performed musical’: THE PRINCE OF EGYPT – West End ★★★
For spectacle and energy, The Prince of Egypt is worth a visit. It’s not going to change your life but it’ll provide a fun few hours of superfluous theatricality that looks and sounds very pretty.
‘Might be in need of a miracle’: THE PRINCE OF EGYPT – West End
In The Prince Of Egypt highly committed cast does their best to ride out inconsistent production choices to deliver work that fills the Dominion well.
NEWS: The Prince of Egypt extends its West End run by seven weeks
The Prince Of Egypt, the brand-new musical that officially opens this week at London’s Dominion Theatre, has added seven extra weeks to its limited engagement with 100,000 new tickets now on sale to 31 October 2020.
NEWS: Janine Duvitski, Sophie Isaacs & Lauren Stroud join Goldilocks & the Three Bears at London Palladium
Final casting has been announced for the 2019 London Palladium Pantomime, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, which runs for a limited five-week season from 7 December 2019 to 12 January 2020.
NEWS: Full casting is announced for the West End production of The Prince Of Egypt
Casting has been announced for the West End production of Disney’s Prince of Egypt.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Mr Gum & the Dancing Bear at the National Theatre
Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews for Mr Gum & the Dancing Bear, Andy Stanton and Jim Fortune’s musical based on the children’s books. It continues in rep at the National Theatre until 31 August 2019.
Four shows for the family in London this August: which to see?
A rare summer in the city for me means I can take in some of the family shows on in the West End right now – including Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear the Musical, The Scarecrow’s Wedding, Where is Peter Rabbit? and Monstersaurus.
NEWS: Debbie Kurup & Gary Wilmot join the West End line-up for The Prince Of Egypt as further casting is announced
Further West End cast has been announced for the brand-new stage musical The Prince Of Egypt, running at London’s Dominion Theatre from 5 February to 12 September 2020.
‘I could easily imagine it transferring to the West End’: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – Arcola Theatre & Touring
Little Miss Sunshine is impressively directed with a high energy level, the songs are so good that I hope a soundtrack CD is soon released, and overall it’s a very solid four-star musical I could easily imagine transferring to the West End and being a big hit.
‘To an extent, it works’: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – Arcola Theatre ★★
Every time I see a new musical made from a recent-ish film, I wonder if this could be ‘the one’, the one that jumps the shark and enters the canon of the regularly performed.
NEWS: Laura Pitt-Pulford & Gary Wilmot join the cast of Little Miss Sunshine European premiere
The European premiere of Little Miss Sunshine at Arcola Theatre will star Laura Pitt-Pulford as Sheryl, the matriarch of the eccentric Hoover family and Gary Wilmot as Grandpa. The Off-Broadway hit musical opens at the Arcola Theatre, London on 21 March 2019 running until 11 May (press night is 1 April) before embarking on a UK tour.
NEWS: Charlie Stemp & Danielle Hope join cast of the London Palladium panto Snow White
Charlie Stemp will return to the London Palladium to play The Prince in this year’s pantomime, Snow White at the London Palladium along with Danielle Hope who will play the title role of Snow
‘A thing of real, gentle wonder’: FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS – Chichester
Some of the beauty of Flowers for Mrs Harris gets lost at Chichester Festival Theatre but it remains a striking new musical
“It’s a work of art… something not real, made to make you feel”
I had much love for Flowers for Mrs Harris when it premiered in Sheffield a couple of years ago, and so I was delighted to see Daniel Evans deciding to revive it at his new abode over in Chichester. My only cavil came with the placing of this most heartfelt musical in the vast space of the Festival Theatre rather than the intimacy of the Minerva where it might perhaps have been better served.
So much of the beauty of the show (book by Rachel Wagstaff from Paul Gallico’s novel, music & lyrics by Richard Taylor) comes from the fact that it isn’t a bells and whistles epic. It is something far more subtle that truly celebrates the ordinary in extraordinary, as Clare Burt’s charlady Ada Harris dares to dream of owning a Christian Dior dress and in working to achieve that dream, illuminates the lives of those around her.
Largely sung-through, the cumulative effect of Flowers for Mrs Harris is like a ripple billowing through a length of silk fabric, flipping it over – beguiling and beautiful, gentle but ultimately transformative. As Ada’s hard work takes her from Battersea to Paris, some nifty doubling in the cast sees her meeting contrasting figures to those for whom she toils. So Louis Maskell switches from accountant to dreamy photographer, Laura Pitt-Pulford from struggling actress to top model, Joanna Riding aristocracy to couturier, and all impress with their clear delineation.
And Burt is just magnificent the unassuming Ada, slowly coming to realise her place in the world, her worth and her right to a greater happiness than she ever dared dream of in the drudgery of post-war Britain. Lez Brotherston’s design looks superb under Mark Henderson’s well-observed lighting choices, and the conclusion is a thing of real, gentle wonder. Don’t just talk about wanting to see new exciting British musical theatre, go and see it now!
Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes (with interval)
Photos: Johan Persson
Flowers for Mrs Harris is booking at Chichester Festival Theatre until 29th September
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‘Blooming magical’: FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS – Chichester ★★★★
Flowers For Mrs Harris, a 2016 Sheffield hit for director Daniel Evans when he was there, is the big musical flourish for Chichester Festival Theatre, where Evans is now completing his second year as artistic director.
NEWS: Marianne Elliott is awarded an OBE in Queen’s birthday honours
It’s likely to be a weekend to remember for Marianne Elliott (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, War Horse), artistic director of Elliott & Harper Productions, for not only is her National Theatre production of Angels in America nominated for 11 prizes at this Sunday’s Tony Awards, but she has also been recognised for her services to theatre in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours with an OBE.
NEWS: Dawn French makes her pantomime debut in Snow White at the London Palladium
Dawn French and Julian Clary will lead the cast of Snow White when Qdos Entertainment brings pantomime back to the West End for a third year, playing at the London Palladium from 8 December 2018 until 13 January 2019 and directed by Michael Harrison.
Caroline Quentin, Rufus Hound & Penelope Keith line up for Chichester Festival Theatre 2018 season
Chichester Festival Theatre’s Festival 2018 season, announced today, will feature new plays by Laura Wade and Charlotte Jones and revivals of Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen and musical Flowers For Mrs Harris.
DICK WHITTINGTON – West End
Following critical and commercial success with last year’s Cinderella, QDOS Entertainment have again invested millions to make Dick Whittington the biggest, boldest and glitziest pantomime on the London circuit.