Guildford Shakespeare Company’s (GCS) content warning certainly tells you everything you need to know! "Shakespeare’s Macbeth contains themes of violence, war, murder, infanticide and the supernatural." No surprises then. However, the production is set against the background of a very contemporary guerrilla war, with whistling gunfire amidst a smoky haze, making … [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 Ghost Stories at Theatre Royal Brighton
According to the publicity, Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s ‘supernatural spectacular’ Ghost Stories is a ‘worldwide cult production’. Well, I don’t know about that, but it is hugely enjoyable, very funny, inventively staged and will certainly shock you, even if, like me, you sat down in the Theatre Royal Brighton, determined not to be shocked by anything! According … [Read more...]
Tryst by Karoline Leach at Chiswick Playhouse | Review
"There are two kinds of people in this world, those who take and those who are taken" says actor Fred Perry as he reprises his role of Mr George Love in Tryst. Love is one of two characters we meet in Karoline Leach’s reinvigorated production currently playing at the revamped Chiswick Playhouse in Turnham Green. The play itself is based on real-life events that … [Read more...]
The Haystack by Al Blyth at Hampstead Theatre | Review
There’s a YouTube video out there called ‘Mark Zuckerberg explains the internet to Congress’, which is exactly what it says - I find it mildly amusing. But Hannah Barker (Sarah Woodward) - ‘Ma’am’ to her young technological specialist recruits, Zef (Enyi Okoronkwo) and Neil (Oliver Johnstone) - is not nearly as clueless as the senators in Washington. Barker introduces … [Read more...]
Chaplin: Birth of a Tramp at Jack Studio Theatre | Review
Charlie Chaplin is one of those actors that I thought I knew a bit about. I knew he was born and lived around the Elephant and Castle area - there used to be a pub named after him by the shopping centre. I also knew he was a star of many silent movies but fell out with Hollywood during the McCarthy era and moved to Switzerland. Of his life before fame, I knew nothing … [Read more...]
People Show 137: God Knows How Many at Southwark Playhouse
Two-thirds of the way through People Show 137 - God Knows How Many I was starting to think about my review of the latest performance piece from The People Show, the UK’s longest-running experimental theatre group. I was going to write how this surreal - or was it Dadaist - piece of theatre had everything but the kitchen sink thrown at it. There was a tiny automaton or … [Read more...]
Revenge by Robin Hawdon at Greenwich Theatre | Review
The newly formed Crime and Comedy Theatre Company have just opened a two month 17 venue small/medium scale tour of Robin Hawdon’s two-handed whodunnit Revenge. I saw the production at Greenwich Theatre. Walking to the theatre up Crooms Hill I did wonder if I had come to the wrong theatre, as although there was advertising for every other event coming to Greenwich, one … [Read more...]
The Badge: An Improvised Cop Show | Vault Festival | Review
Let me confess something: this was my first improvised show because as an amateur actor I know how difficult it is to make up things to say when on a stage in front of tens of people and I often feel personally bad for actors forgetting their lines during scripted shows. The Free Association is a London-based improvised comedy theatre and school (they even have a … [Read more...]
Tuna by Airlock at the Vault Festival | Review
Even in the best circumstances, growing up can be difficult and experiences during childhood can have a profound and long-lasting impact on the adult we become; furthermore, social and economic background can have a huge influence on a child’s future, because while social mobility has improved over the past decades, there is still a lot to do to ensure equal … [Read more...]