Reviews by Ben Powell

A buzz of excitement fills the air as you enter the Leicester Square Theatre's main auditorium and with good reason, one of America's Next Drag Superstars is in town. With her one-woman show, Jinkx Sings Everything!, Jinkx Monsoon proposes one of the most unpredictable nights of cabaret comedy this side of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and she does not disappoint! Jinkx Monsoon, the winner of the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, deftly led the audience through the musical ringer. … [Read more...]

As a fan of theatre, and anything that might come under that umbrella, I do my best to see a wide range of genres and styles of performance. Despite this, nothing I’ve seen before can quite compare to Coming Clean: Life as a Naked House Cleaner. Performed by Ethan Mechare, at a secret location in Bounds Green, the show is part of Camden People’s Theatre’s Hotbed Festival. Pitched as an interactive, concept comedy, the show certainly does not disappoint. From the moment I arrived at the … [Read more...]

Monty Python's Spamalot at the Mercury Theatre is a solid production of classic, well-loved material. First opening on Broadway in February 2005, this production has had a few slight tweaks to keep it up to date and relevant to the 2017 British audience it is playing to. Daniel Buckroyd's production, soon to tour the UK, is well-designed and well-directed. Quick paced and well executed, it makes the most of each of the cast with only two of the thirteen playing just one part. Ashley … [Read more...]

Just These, Please are an exciting foursome presenting new sketch comedy at the Canal Cafe Theatre. Opening with the 'Animal Kingdom AGM', a concept I'd love to see them develop even further, the status quo for their show is established and riddled with clever gags and hilarious physicality. William Sebag-Montefiore is a vocal chameleon to such an extent that I had no idea as to his native accent until the end of the show. He is wonderfully expressive throughout and is especially amusing as … [Read more...]

Surprisingly Much Ado About Nothing is actually the first Shakespeare that I've been to see at Colchester's Mercury Theatre. With 2016 being a big anniversary year for the Bard, it's been hard to avoid his extensive canon, wherever you look, and who would want to? There is a reason he is generally acknowledged as the greatest playwright of all. The Mercury's production takes Much Ado's location of Messina and transplants it into a contemporary garrison town, not unlike Colchester, even down … [Read more...]

It was my pleasure to attend the Mercury Theatre's latest production, Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows, as adapted by Willis Hall. Upon entering the auditorium, we are greeted by the site of a scaffold structure, giving the impression of woods, with many different ins and outs, ups and downs. The stage is decorated with carrier bags, crisp packets and old trollies, influenced by designer Katie Sykes' observations as she explored the countryside. This 'junk set' is used to great aplomb by … [Read more...]