Hunter and Jeff are two unsuccessful, impoverished writers of musicals who find out that the New York Musical Theatre Festival are looking for submissions for new musicals. The two friends think this could be their entry into the world of musical theatre – the problem is they only have three weeks to write one! However, they decide to go for it and create an original … [Read more...]
The Rocky Horror Show at New Wimbledon Theatre
I’m certain that back in the early seventies when Richard O’Brien, a struggling actor/horse-riding stuntman from New Zealand was sitting in his tiny flat writing a musical that was to be put on in the Royal Court’s tiny Upstairs theatre, he couldn’t envisage that over 40 years later The Rocky Horror Show would not only still being performed around the world but would … [Read more...]
Mancoin presented by Anna Fox & Felix Legge
As you enter the Studio Space at The Vaults, three girls dressed all in black are arranging things on desks, writing on a flipchart, talking to each other and taking the occasional swig of whisky. Then a young man in a suit enters, addresses the audience as if it’s a lecture and informs us that he’s Guy White (geddit?) and he’s “one of the good guys”. Guy’s into … [Read more...]
The Half Moon Shania presented by Burnt Lemon Theatre | Review
It’s 1999 and we’re in the bowels of the sweaty, smelly Half Moon Pub and there’s a half moon in the sky outside so things are aligned for a good night for the all-girl neo-punk band The G Stringz who are making their last play for fame and fortune. A rep from Diamond Records is there to see them play and possibly offer the band a record contract but they don’t know … [Read more...]
Fairfield Halls, Croydon re-launch January 2019
As someone who lives just a five-minute drive from Croydon’s Fairfield Halls, I was delighted to be invited to have a look around their £30 million refurbishment. Over the years I’ve seen everyone from Elton John to Tina Turner there and from Judy Collins to the late lamented Harry Chapin who played to a half-filled house and asked everyone to move down to the front. … [Read more...]
Lola – presented by Papercut Theatre at the Vault Festival | Review
Lola is an 18-year-old girl with lots of problems. She has a big issue with her voluptuous body and how it affects the boys in her school, she’s full of teenage rage and she’s got an avid “admirer” stalking her - so who can she turn to for help? She doesn’t seem to be getting much advice from home so in her desperation, she turns to two teachers at her school - Jez … [Read more...]
Sam. The Good Person at The Bunker Theatre | Review
As you enter the auditorium at The Bunker, there are 15 or so chairs arranged in a circle in the middle of the floor. Those who entered first (which included me and my companion) are encouraged to sit on those seats and anyone looking a bit reluctant is told it’s not interactive, so it’s safe to sit there! Apart from the chairs, it’s a simple set of a table on which … [Read more...]
Songs For Nobodies at Ambassadors Theatre | Review
When an ordinary person meets someone famous, that meeting is probably soon forgotten by the celebrity whilst for the ordinary person they’ve met, it’s an anecdote they will tell for the rest of their lives even if the meeting is a fleeting one. That’s the basic premise for Songs For Nobodies, a one-woman show that opened in Melbourne in 2009, got its European … [Read more...]
The Boy Under The Christmas Tree at the King’s Head Theatre
There’s no doubt that Christmas is on its way in deepest Islington as last night revellers packed the King’s Head pub and those of us trying to get into the theatre at the back of the pub had to push our way through the merry throng to collect our tickets. Just trying to get past the crowd was a bit of a trial but it was alleviated somewhat by writer/director of The … [Read more...]
Review of Cinderella at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley
Every provincial theatre has to have a pantomime every year and most of them are produced by QDOS “the world’s biggest pantomime producer” who this year are putting on over thirty pantos up and down the land including Snow White at the London Palladium – and you don’t get much bigger than that. This year’s offering at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley is Cinderella. … [Read more...]
Dick Whittington at the Lyric Hammersmith | Review
This production of Dick Whittington at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith marks the 10th anniversary of the theatre’s annual pantomime. They are now to west London what the Hackney Empire is to east London as venerable producers of much-loved annual pantos. This production is an updated version of the well-known story and is set current day London. Dick (played with … [Read more...]
Doctor Dolittle The Musical at Churchill Theatre | Review
In 1967 Leslie Bricusse took Hugh Lofting’s books about a doctor who could talk to animals and adapted them into a movie musical that starred Rex Harrison as Dolittle and Anthony Newley as Matthew Muggs. It was then adapted for the stage in 1998 starring Phillip Schofield as Dolittle and ran at the Hammersmith Odeon for a year before going on tour. It cost £4million … [Read more...]