A show with a parody of traditional superheroes as its titular character was never going to be a deep and philosophical affair. Bananaman The Musical is either to be liked or loathed, and liked or loathed all the more as it progresses, sending up not only the superhero genre (which is, let’s face it, quite ridiculous, at least plot-wise) but also the limitations that come with portraying superhero characteristics on stage. The silliness goes up by notches from beginning to end, and the sense of … [Read more...]
The Phantom of the Opera Review London Her Majesty’s Theatre
After more than 32 years in the West End, The Phantom of the Opera continues to sound marvellous. Actually, it sounds even better these days, as it’s a relative rarity, mostly for commercial reasons, for shows to boast an orchestra of twenty-seven members (aside from the London Musical Theatre Orchestra, whose performances are one-off specials in concert format). ‘POTO’, as some of its fans and followers refer to it on social media, has become, over the years, a production without compare. Even … [Read more...]
Hamilton is “slick, energetic and relentlessly compelling” – Review
The actor Martin Shaw once said, in a post-show discussion following a performance of The Country Girl at the Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, in the autumn of 2010, that if a cough from the audience proved distracting to others, “then that’s our fault”. At the time I thought Shaw was being rather harsh on himself, his fellow actors, and the creative team behind the show: it cannot, surely, be their fault that, for example, someone in the stalls was struggling to shift a chest infection. More … [Read more...]
Belleville at Donmar Warehouse – Review
There’s a lovely image of Paris that’s conjured up by certain shows and motion pictures, portraying it as the so-called city of love and romance. Then there’s the reality of the French capital, where, for example, authorities have had to remove many tonnes of lovers’ padlocks from bridges because their combined weight was starting to cause structural damage. There’s damage of a different sort in Belleville, which shows Zack (James Norton) and Abby (Imogen Poots), Americans living in Paris, in a … [Read more...]
Christmas With The Rat Pack at the Theatre Royal Haymarket – Review
Here we go again: a West End run of Christmas With The Rat Pack. It’s a testament to the success of the show that its producers continue to feel there is sufficient demand for another revival. Just don’t come expecting to learn anything more about the members of The Rat Pack than that they were great performers, elegant and charming. If it’s biographical details you’re after, look elsewhere – this is pure entertainment, a slick production with hit after hit after hit in gig format. There’s a … [Read more...]