This year may be the battle of the Cymbelines, with the Royal Shakespeare Company presenting their take while the Globe present two versions, one currently running in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and Imogen (a “retitled and reclaimed” production) part of Emma Rice’s inaugural season. Last year the two establishments presented alternate takes on The Merchant […]
Chicago @ The Mayflower, Southampton
Revisiting a show you know and love can be like seeing an old friend after some time apart. There’s a reassuring familiarity but you can’t help noticing a few things are different since you last met. So it was when I revisited Chicago at the Mayflower Theatre last night.
A Christmas Carol @ Chichester Festival Theatre
For some Christmas begins when they leave the office for the last time before the holidays. For others it’s the moment the Coca-Cola advert starts running on the TV. For me Christmas begins with a Chichester Festival Youth Theatre production. This is my third and every year I’m blown away by the talent and professionalism […]
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels @ The Mayflower, Southampton
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was last year’s must-see musical in the West End, with audiences and critics lapping up the jokes and raving about Robert Lindsay’s performance. Predictably I didn’t see it, but when it closed I felt pretty sure it would be out on tour before too long so I made a point to catch […]
Romeo & Juliet @ The Mayflower, Southampton
Romeo and Juliet is, of course, one of (probably the) most famous love stories ever told. It seems then a fitting subject for a ballet and I was excited to see how English National Ballet would handle it as they’ve yet to disappoint.
Sweeney Todd @ The Mayflower, Southampton
When a production of Stephen Sondheim’s epic, powerful masterpieceSweeney Todd rolls into town it can’t be missed! So, even though I was laid up and unable to attend Emma van Kooperen made sure we could tell you all about Welsh National Opera’s demon barber…
Lord of The Flies @ The Mayflower, Southampton
I was hugely impressed by the Regent’s Park Theatre production of To Kill A Mockingbird when it toured earlier this year, so I was eager to see how they’d approach another modern literary classic. William Golding’s story of children who turn feral when left to govern themselves is a very different beast from Harper Lee’s […]
Miss Saigon @ Prince Edward Theatre
I’ve long been a Miss Saigon fan and adored the new production when it opened in London last year, so when I was offered the chance to head back to the gorgeous Prince Edward Theatre and see the new cast in action, I jumped at the chance (thanks TodayTix)!
Grand Hotel @ Southwark Playhouse
Okay, so I’m a little late to the party, you’ve probably already read a number of reviews of Grand Hotel all raving about it. I can honestly tell you though that they’re all wide of the mark… It’s even better than suggested!
For Services Rendered @ The Minerva Theatre, Chichester
It’s fitting that in a Chichester Festival Theatre season that ends with three of Chekhov’s early works they also feature a play so indebted to his introspective, often melancholic style. Like Chekhov, W. Somerset Maugham has crafted a play that has a tendency to be fascinating and at times incredibly frustrating but that certainly deserves […]