It’s not often that a production begins by someone from the company (Cameron Bell) getting up and admitting that they don’t like the show. I suppose it’s reverse psychology - by lowering the audience’s expectations and telling them the performance they are about to see is nothing short of awful, it is easier for patrons to be appreciative of something that doesn’t, as … [Read more...]
Reviews of Plays in London West End and Off West End
If you are planning to visit London to see a play at one of the West End theatres, or a play in one of the many Off West End or Fringe venues, then maybe our reviews section can be of help? Read one of the latest reviews or use the search button to find and view one of our previous reviews. We use a star rating system on our site.
Small Island adapted by Helen Edmundson at the Olivier Theatre
After the recent Windrush Generation government scandal, this National Theatre production of Small Island couldn’t have come at a better time. Based on Andrea Levy’s 2004 novel and adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson, it tells the stories of two families, one white and one black leading up to the arrival of immigrant workers from the Caribbean on the Empire Windrush in 1948. Read the full review...
Review of The Incident Pit at the Tristan Bates Theatre
You know those Hollywood war movies that start off with a large battalion but through deaths and injuries on the battlefield, whether by land, sea or air, eventually whittles down to a community the size of a boyband? The Incident Pit, whose title derives from a colloquial name given to a stretch of deep water that certain people like to dive into, goes even further – … [Read more...]
Review of Southern Belles at The King’s Head Theatre
Tennessee Williams was an outstanding playwright whose shows have become hits the world over. However, there is one of his plays (And Tell Sad Stories of the Deaths of Queens) which is not only rarely performed but, due to its subject matter was never performed during Williams’ own lifetime. Luckily, the King’s Head Theatre has decided to bring the play out of the … [Read more...]
Sherlock Holmes and The Invisible Thing at the Rudolf Steiner Theatre
Sherlock Holmes and the Invisible Thing was first performed in 2016 at the Tabard Theatre and is now running at the Rudolf Steiner Theatre, Marylebone just around the corner from 221b Baker Street with a revised and edited version of the original play. This is very much a play of two halves. The first half sets the story up well, with anticipation and shock as … [Read more...]
Review of Crystal Clear at The Old Red Lion Theatre
Every so often there will be a quiz or a dinner party topic around the subject of which of our senses we would be OK with losing. Safe in the knowledge it's unlikely to happen, we will plummet for a sense we think is superfluous, such as smell. The reality is that should we lose a sense we will not get a choice as to which one goes. We are so used to having all five … [Read more...]
Review of Skin in the Game at Greenwich Theatre
Trailed with much fanfare, Paul Westwood’s debut thriller, Skin in the Game, is directed by Clemmie Reynolds, most recently assistant director alongside Lucy Bailey on the Agatha Christie who-dun-what-and-why-to-whom Witness for the Prosecution. Add to this an invitation to compare Westwood’s play with the work of Irvine Welsh and Philip Ridley and expectations are … [Read more...]
Daphne, Tommy, The Colonel and Phil at the Union Theatre
Things are not what they appear to be in Daphne, Tommy, the Colonel and Phil, a play that spins on an absurd situation, replete with ludicrous characters and risible circumstances, but doesn't quite make it as dramatic comedy or farce. Where it does hit a high note is in its portrayal of older people, not as characters in the twilight years of existence, but as … [Read more...]
Number, Please. at Bread and Roses Theatre | Review
A brief review of a brief production. It’s easy to see why Number, Please. did well at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2018 and will likely do very well again at Fringe 2019 - it’s the sort of slightly over the top humour that appeals to Fringe audiences, particularly as the Fringe has gradually shifted focus in recent years to comedy. It’s a reasonably tight show, … [Read more...]
Romeo & Juliet By William Shakespeare at Katspace | Review
I do not consider myself to be particularly mischievous but even I relish a production that rankles purists from the outset. This one keeps certain events in Romeo and Juliet “in fair Verona”, except here, ‘Verona’ is a pier on the south coast (Brighton according to the programme, but frankly there isn’t a reason why it couldn’t be Eastbourne - the distinguishing … [Read more...]