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.
‘Continues to sparkle’: THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW – Touring ★★★★★
The Rocky Horror Show started as a tiny fringe production upstairs at the Royal Court, nearly 50 years ago. Over time it has grown and developed, but still retains the connection with fans with the constant breaking of the fourth wall, and encouraged callbacks (example: when Janet is first mentioned, you shout “Slut!”).
‘Cleverly done & beautifully portrayed’: A SHERLOCK CAROL – Marylebone Theatre ★★★★
What happens when you cross A Christmas Carol with Sherlock Holmes in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle and add a murder mystery and a love interest (Rosie Armstrong) from the past? It’s A Sherlock Carol at Marylebone Theatre.
‘The staging is inspired’: Love Goddess: The Rita Hayworth Musical – Cockpit Theatre
Now with the addition of a further four cast members, Love Goddess at The Cockpit has become a full-length musical, in which the events in the former Margarita Carmen Cansino’s life play out in the mind of Rita Hayworth, the screen icon she became.
‘Quiet, intimate & satisfying’: NOT NOW – Finborough Theatre ★★★★
In David Ireland’s charming two-hander Not Now at the Finborough Theatre his usual concern about the British-Irish question of identity remains, but without the explosions of violence characterised in works like Cyprus Avenue.
‘Focus on grief & suicide in a startling & original way’: DADDY ISSUES – Seven Dials Playhouse
Daddy Issues at the Seven Dials Playhouse a play which definitely adds to the conversation about mental health and what our parents pass on to us, but it didn’t quite get there in my opinion, leaving more questions than answers. Do go and make up your own mind.
‘Each generation will find resonance in this play’: A SINGLE MAN – Park Theatre
A day in the life of George, an Englishman living in America, in his fifties – a man alone following the death of his younger partner, Jim. A man of routine habits, but this is no routine day. Actor Theo Fraser Steele (who gives a finely judged performance), adapter Simon Reade and director Philip Wilson give us a glimpse into the world of Christopher Isherwood’s novel in A Single Man.
‘Symbolic & powerful tale’: LIFE OF PI – Wyndham’s Theatre
I shed a tear or two at the end of the symbolic and powerful tale that is Life is Pi at the Wyndham’s Theatre, which leaves the West End on 15 January 2023. If you can, take yourself along to catch one of the most imaginative shows out there.
‘A 5-star triumph’: FAME WHORE – King’s Head Theatre
The first of a double-bill I watched last night at the King’s Head Theatre Pub, Fame Whore (the creation of Tom Ratcliffe – writer/director, and Gigi Zahir – lyricist/performer) finally sashays its way onto the stage after a COVID enforced absence.
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‘Clever & committed show’: The Last Sales Conference of the Apocalypse – Waterloo East Theatre
There’s a new musical from Skitzoid Productions in town at the Waterloo East Theatre, and it is one with a message – or to be accurate, several messages. We are all present at a sales conference where techies Sam and Stats have hacked into a top secret military system, and in a moment of distracted romance with the delivery boy, Sam accidentally sets off a nuclear launch with his bottom.
‘Truly ambitious piece of theatre’: DMITRY – Marylebone Theatre
It takes a fair bit of courage to open a new London venue with a play about the honour of Russia given the current political situation; but that is what we have in Dmitry, currently playing at the Marylebone Theatre.
‘Exciting & challenging’: SCENE UNSEEN – English Touring Opera (Online show)
Jessica Walker and Joseph Atkins bring a touch of cabaret to English Touring Opera in this intimate show, co-produced by Royal & Derngate, captured on film and directed by James Dacre with animation by Thomas Hicks.
‘Funny & deeply original’: THE PRINCE – Southwark Playhouse
Abigail Thorn’s new play The Prince takes inspiration from Shakespeare and time travel to deliver a funny and deeply original take on gender norms and expectations.
‘There is a good play somewhere in here’: THE SNAIL HOUSE – Hampstead Theatre
The set (by Tim Hatley) is absolutely beautiful in the much anticipated, new original play The Snail House from celebrated theatre director Richard Eyre, giving a sense of occasion and opulence. Portraits look on in the private school room, wooden surfaces hold the marks of a long history.
‘Dialogue whizzes back & forth like leather on willow’: STUMPED – Original Theatre (Online show)
When in 1964 Samuel Beckett (Stephen Tompkinson) and Harold Pinter (Andrew Lancel) play in the same cricket match in the Cotswolds, you might expect something out of the ordinary. Filmed live at Lord’s, the ‘home of cricket’, Original Theatre’s Stumped imagines what might have happened in such a meeting between two playwrights known for pauses and a sense of the absurd.
‘Read this as an absurdist fantasy & it makes more sense’: HELP! WE ARE STILL ALIVE – Seven Dials Playhouse ★★★
Finn (Elijah Ferreira) and Jass (Jade Johnson), who identify as queer, are the last two people left alive by circumstance after a suffocating fog in the charming one-act musical Help! We Are Still Alive at the Seven Dials Playhouse.
‘There’s a fabulous new musical in town’: REHAB THE MUSICAL – Playground Theatre ★★★★
There’s a fabulous new musical in town at the Playground Theatre. Several years in the making, Rehab The Musical is written and composed by Grant Black (whose dad Don was in the house on press night – himself no slouch when it comes to crafting musicals) and performance poet Murray Lachlan Young.
‘Exhilarating & frustrating’: MUSES – The Space (Online Show)
Both exhilarating and frustrating, Muses brings something new and innovative to the theatre space. It’s often just beautiful, and sometimes bizarre. I’m interested to see what Puro Caos have in store for us next.
‘Strong, character-driven piece’: The Brontës: A Musical – The Space (Online Show)
An epic musical available on-demand from The Space, The Brontës is the latest depiction of the famed Yorkshire family of writers in the 19th century.
‘A fine evening’s entertainment’: THE OSMONDS – Touring
In a world heavily populated with jukebox shows The Osmonds is more Jersey Boys or Sunny Afternoon than Tina or The Cher Show. A fine evening’s entertainment.