A solid revival of a fringe theatre classic, this latest production of The Last Five Years embraces the personal lyrics and blissful melodies and provides a raw and touching take of a modern love story. A semi-autobiographical piece from Jason Robert Brown, this sung-through musical tracks the relationship between a young aspiring actress, Cathy, and […]
A uniquely bizarre story, Side Show follows the life of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton as they are saved from their tortured life performing as ‘freaks’ in a Texan sideshow and propelled into stardom as the hottest act on the opium circuit. The musical, which first premiered on Broadway in 1997, has a rather […]
The Belarus Free Theatre has taken on a challenge by putting on Tomorrow I was Always a Lion. Portraying mental health onstage, especially schizophrenia, is no easy task. Because many people do not know how to address the issue, it can be a little overwhelming to go see a play that is entirely centered on […]
It’s over-expansive and yet at its most expansive it’s simultaneously at its best. Disregard (or don’t) the critics who call the ending effusive mush or ’emotional blackmail’. The ending is the best part; it’s the only good part, in fact. A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer, now at the Dorfman, is a Serious […]
A powerful and poignant musical production from director Thom Southerland, who yet again manages to deliver an incredibly high calibre of fringe theatre. Ragtime boasts an accomplished score, intriguing story and cast and creatives who more than equal the quality of the source material. Tom Rogers and Toots Bucher’s set design is instantly striking, particularly […]
If there is one subject that makes most people uncomfortable, it is that of homelessness. Rare are those who stop and speak to homeless men and women on the street, let alone go see a play about it. Although it may feel uneasy at first, Cuckoo Bang’s Choosers, written by Holly Mallett, does an excellent […]
Two short plays written by Charlie Howitt and produced by Reverend Productions, both featuring the same cast of four, the first titled Jekyll & Hyde and the second Nerve. Performed at the Greenwich Theatre. Jekyll & Hyde Taking its title from the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, the play centres around a surgeon named Ellie Jekyll […]
The opening monologue, performed off-stage and possibly prerecorded, brews the promise of a ‘neo-noir fever dream’ into a disgustingly tactical succession of phrase. Its programme says the show ‘changed from a fiction wrapped in a concert to a concert sprinkled with words.’ That’s true. There are now only two worded segments among a relentless soundscape, […]