One of the things I always tell myself is to never pre-judge a show based on its title, or the blurb received from the PR. However, like all good guidelines, this can sometimes be broken – as long as you offer a heartfelt apology afterwards – and when I receive an invite to review Haus of Dench’s show Drag Queens Vs Zombies at the King’s Head Theatre, something about the title told me I was going to be in for a fun-filled evening. It’s a special night in the cabaret theatre and the crowd is … [Read more...]
Dirty Hearts at the Old Red Lion Theatre | Review
Do you remember the series “Thirtysomething”? It ran from 1987–1991 and I have to say it never really appealed to me, but the show was considered to be jolly good television by those that know about such things. Anyhow, writer Paul Murphy has decided that the story of 30-something people dealing with the difficulties of life and relationships is something that’s missing from the theatrical scene and so his new comedy-drama Dirty Hearts has come to the Old Red Lion Theatre in … [Read more...]
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at New Wimbledon Theatre
Recently, I was talking to a graduate about their life. At 18, they had decided they wanted to be a midwife. They took out all the requisite student loans, went to University, studied for three years and two years after passing the course and graduating as a midwife, they are a chartered accountant. It just goes to show that your mid-teens is not necessarily the time to decide where you want your future career to lie. Unless you are someone with a definite sense of where you want to go and where … [Read more...]
Mojo Mickybo at the Union Theatre | Review
As a child, I was pretty gregarious. Going through infant, junior and high school, I had a good circle of friends, at least one of whom - Susan Woods - was going to be my best friend forever. But as we get older, friendships fall by the wayside. It's not a deliberate act, it is just that life tends to get in the way. This is particularly true of the two boys at the heart of Owen McCafferty’s one-act play Mojo Mickybo which is having a run out at the Union Theatre. 1970s Belfast was not … [Read more...]
Hamlet at the Dorfman Theatre | Review
Years ago, when I was at high school, we were taken to see a cut-down, child-friendly version of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. I really enjoyed it and it was the start of my interest in theatre in general and The Bard in particular. So, when I was invited to the Dorfman to see Hamlet in a version that has been reimagined for young audiences, I leapt at the chance. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. The king is dead, and his brother Claudius (Vedi Roy) has not only succeeded to … [Read more...]
Dear Evan Hansen at the Noël Coward Theatre
No matter how good a person you may be, everyone reading this review will have told a lie at some point in their lives. The big question is why do people lie? Many people lie to protect their own feelings, self-esteem, self-confidence, or other personal emotion. Others though will lie to protect the feelings of others and spare someone else pain or hurt. And it's to this second group that the hero of Dear Evan Hansen at the Noel Coward Theatre belongs, or does he? Evan is a 17-year-old … [Read more...]
Under the Radar at the Old Red Lion Theatre | Review
No matter how much you may consider yourself part of the PC/Woke generation, you are full of unconscious biases. It’s a fact of life and something we cannot get away from. Of course, most of us manage to keep these in check and not let them surface. But sometimes situations cause us to let go of our restraint and then who knows what may come out. Something that is explored in Jonathon Crewe’s dark comedy Under the Radar which has just opened the Old Red Lion in Islington. Lee Stilling … [Read more...]