At the heart of Stop Kiss is a traditionally formed love story where Sarah (Kara Taylor Alberts) and Callie (Suzanne Boreel) meet through friends when Callie agrees that Caesar the cat can lodge with her while Sarah settles into New York before she finds somewhere to live where a cat is welcome too. The friendship between the couple is tinted favourably from the … [Read more...]
London Theatre Reviews - West End & Off West End
Latest London Theatre Reviews
Read our latest theatre reviews and find out what our team of reviewers thought of London's latest productions of plays, musicals and shows.
Review of Dear Evan Hansen at the Noël Coward Theatre
There are certain Broadway shows that are so hyped up that by the time they reach the West End one wonders whether the London incarnation is going to be as remarkable as people across the Atlantic have been saying their production is. The songs of Dear Evan Hansen feel as though they have become established standards in musical theatre concerts in the capital for some … [Read more...]
Review of The Lady Vanishes at the Princess Theatre Torquay
The Lady Vanishes is a classic thriller which follows an English tourist travelling by train to Europe when her travelling ally vanishes without a trace and the rest of the carriage denies ever witnessing her existence. This classic story was originally based on the novel 'The Wheel Spins' by Ethel Lina White and was later adapted for film by the notorious Alfred … [Read more...]
Review of Frankenstein at Richmond Theatre
A writer’s note in the programme of this production of Frankenstein reminded me of a comedy I once saw during which I barely raised a smile all evening, Here, the aim is evidently different - the objective is to make the audience frightened: “I hope this play terrifies you. That’s its job.” If that is its only function, then frankly, I ought to end this review at this … [Read more...]
The Nutcracker at the Theatre Royal Windsor | Review
I have been fortunate enough to have seen the classic Christmas ballet The Nutcracker on numerous occasions but the performance I just witnessed from The Vienna Festival Ballet Company has absolutely blown me away. Whether you are a fan of the ballet, or you are curious as to whether or not it’s for you I would certainly recommend the VFB Company’s latest adaption … [Read more...]
Foxtale Ensemble presents SHIFTY at the Rich Mix Theatre | Review
The term ‘Immersive Theatre’ isn’t well-defined, but, despite some efforts, SHIFTY by Foxtale Ensemble isn’t it. Let’s start with the good: five female actors from across Europe (Greece, Lithuania, Norway, UK) meditate upon city life through movement, monologue and marbles. They evoke characters who notice, forget, search and find. The script is at times poetic, at … [Read more...]
Stray Dogs by Olivia Olsen at Park Theatre | Review
Stray Dogs is a new three-handed full-length play by first-time playwright Olivia Olsen, and as such is a very creditable piece of writing, for a ‘student’ work. It concerns the relationship that the Ukrainian poet Anna Akhmatova supposedly had both with the Russian British philosopher Isaiah Berlin and with Joseph Stalin, and, according to the production flyer, … [Read more...]
Neal Pike’s Five Years at Camden People’s Theatre | Review
Neal Pike, by his own admission, has a stutter. He’s even been told he shouldn’t be on stage because of it. But as he’s telling his own story, having natural hesitations in this monologue couldn’t fit the character better - because (at the risk of sounding pedantic) the character is the man, and the man is the character. Five Years chooses as its timeline a period in … [Read more...]
Much Ado About Nothing at Wilton’s Music Hall | Review
Much Ado About Nothing is Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory’s twentieth anniversary production, a company that, in the words of this production’s Director Elizabeth Freestone, values language, storytelling and the audience experience above all else. With the apparent “comedy” of revenge and miscommunication at the centre of this story’s near-farcical spiral, it might … [Read more...]