Mrs Doubtfire musical on song for West End’s Shaftsbury Theatre October 8, 2024 The success of West End musical Mrs Doubtfire has helped boost the finances of the firm behind London’s Shaftsbury Theatre. The business behind the venue has reported a turnover of £26.2m for 2023, up from the £17m it achieved in 2022. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show its pre-tax profit jumped from £1m to [...]
Tupperware of Ashes at the Dorfman: Bleak but vital play on how we treat our elderly October 4, 2024 A Tupperware of Ashes isn’t just an excellent work of fiction, but a bleak, vital conversation about how we treat our elderly.
David Oyelowo in Coriolanus review: Too much muscle, too much music September 26, 2024 Muscles do not a character make, though many men forget this. Sadly David Oyelowo's Coriolanus at the National Theatre is one of them
Waiting for Godot review: Ben Whishaw finds joy in Samuel Beckett’s wondrous misery September 20, 2024 Waiting for Godot review and star rating: ★★★★ Waiting for Godot has been called ‘the play of the 20th century,’ but that accolade doesn’t make staging Samuel Beckett’s most significant piece easy. The Irish playwright, who died in 1989, banned tampering with the set or script in adaptations. It hampers creativity somewhat, but even so, [...]
Abigail’s Party review: Mike Leigh drama brought sensually to life September 13, 2024 Abigail’s Theatre at Stratford East Theatre – ★★★★☆ In Mike Leigh’s early play Abigail’s Party, almost nothing happens: even the titular shindig takes place next door. Instead, saucy old soak Beverly – impeccably, outrageously played by a sensual and sozzled Tamzin Outhwaite – has gathered a smattering of neighbours for a far more intimate soiree. [...]
Why Am I So Single? review: Six the Musical creators return with the most fun new show in the West End September 13, 2024 Why Am I So Single? review and star rating: ★★★★ “People would say to us, Six is amazing, but when’s the next one coming?” Why Am I So Single? writers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss say in a programme note. The new show from the writers of Six, which has one of the most streamed [...]
Bitter Lemons, Park Theatre, review: Gripping exploration of gender politics September 5, 2024 Bitter Lemons at the Park Theatre, review and star rating: ★★★★ Lemons are lively little things, reminiscent of far-flung exotic destinations. And yet in Lucy Hayes’ Bitter Lemons, the citrus dons a more sinister disguise as it becomes a symbol of female frustration and discontentment. Two women, complete strangers, are struggling with pressures of cosmic [...]
A Night with Janis Joplin review: Too loud, but exquisite melancholia August 29, 2024 A Night with Janis Joplin review and star rating: ★★★★ “They said the bad thing about women is that they don’t think before they speak – but that’s the best thing,” says Mary Bridget Davies as Janis Joplin in this musical celebration of the rock ‘n’ roll singer, who died from a heroin dose in [...]
Shifters play review: Idris Elba is right to back this fresh love story August 21, 2024 Shifters play review and star rating: ★★★ Benedict Lombe’s Shifters is only the third piece ever by a Black female playwright to make it to the West End. If that sounds unbelievable, let it sink in. Execs clearly want to shout about its arrival at the Duke of York’s after a run at the Bush; [...]
The 39 Steps play review: This bonkers show is infectious August 20, 2024 The 39 Steps Play review and star rating: ★★★★ Patrick Barlow’s adaptation of thriller The 39 Steps became the fifth longest-running show in the West End during its last run. It’s easy to understand why: it has a gorgeously imaginative, handmade feel to it that is rare to experience on a major West End stage, [...]