London Theatre Reviews - West End & Off West End

Two sisters reunite after the death of their mother, and secrets pour forth. Robert Holman’s new play gently exhibits talented classical acting in a very wordy play that feels close to home yet sublimely odd, and a little too comfortable. Esther and Dolly’s mother has died. 'Are you relieved?' asks Jude, the charming foster child of sorts. He's recently turned from drug selling to playwriting. ‘Yes’, confesses Esther, a sort of foster mother and university academic. Perhaps an odd … [Read more...]

Everyone’s vexed in this show, though some have clearer reasons to be than others. Mrs Driscoll (Tameka Mortimer) is struggling with a home life that is far from ideal, with not much (if any) help from the off-stage Mr Driscoll, who she suspects is seeing someone else on account of his frequent absences from their house. Vincent, her son, has apparently been thrown out of the local Catholic parish church – quite why, like so much else in this play, is never fully explained. His friend Gerard … [Read more...]

The penultimate production of the 2021 Tête à Tête Opera Festival, based at London’s Cockpit Theatre and showcasing contemporary and avant-garde new works by young composers, is RUNE, written and composed by Alastair White. This 50-minute piece of music theatre was first seen in August in a live performance at the Round Chapel, Hackney, and can now be found in an interactive form online for the modest price of £1. White’s opera is a “vast cosmological fantasy.....set on a planet where history … [Read more...]

Relatively Speaking premiered in 1967 and is the sort of show that is, by contemporary standards, very much of its time, and not just because of mentions in the script of ‘seven and six’ and other pre-decimalisation currency terms. Greg (Christopher Bonwell) wants to marry Ginny (Lianne Harvey). Unsurprisingly, he needs to ask permission to do this. But because Ginny hasn’t been entirely truthful as to where her parents live, a very English disagreement arises between Greg and Philip … [Read more...]

For those who don’t know, MARIO is the title character of the bestselling video game franchise of all time, which began in 1983. These days he is an established Pop Culture Icon and has appeared in a variety of merchandise: people and places have been nicknamed after him. MARIO - A SUPER MUSICAL, presently showing at the Union Theatre, London, is a highly successful parody of the Mario universe, and hugely appreciated by the audience who all appeared to have a thorough knowledge of Mario and his … [Read more...]