London Theatre Reviews

Romeo and Juliet Review Shakespeare's Globe 2004

Launching what Shakespeare's Globe romantically calls its 'season of star-crossed lovers' is the tragedy most oft associated with this phrase, Romeo and Juliet. Its perennial popularity as a set text is attested by the enthusiastic hordes attending on a wet spring evening, the dismal weather failing to dampen their infectious good humour; an energy the cast heartily imbibed, demonstrating just why the Globe has such singular appeal with its special, symbiotic relationship between actors and...

The Beauty Queen of Leenane

"This is really, really depressing. But a wonderful play" said a woman sitting behind me to her friend before the start of this play. She had obviously seen it before - maybe the last time it was on at the Young Vic in the summer of 2010. I didn't catch it then, so I was intrigued to see if my neighbour's comments were accurate.The setting, brilliantly conceived by designer Ultz, is certainly about as depressing as you can get. There is just a living room with a door at one side and a kitchen...

Bent

The Nazis didn't reserve their highly individual and gruesomely twisted brand of nastiness simply for Jews. Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, the mentally handicapped, intellectuals, vagrants, prostitutes, Freemasons and many others were on the Nazi hit list of 'undesirables' they wanted to eradicate from the planet. Systematically rounding up these groups with meticulous precision and industrial efficiency, and incarcerating them in concentration camps, homosexuals were at the nadir of an enormous...

That Face

Writer Polly Stenham was just 19 when she wrote this, her first play. Having had it's premiere at the Royal Court and garnered a number of awards, it's now moved up to the West End. It's success is well-deserved because there's a freshness in the writing and the humour as well as the plot.Polly Stenham brings us the world of a dysfunctional family where roles are never clear-cut or as one would expect them to be. Children act like parents, and parents ignore their responsibilities, acting more...

Much Ado About Nothing Review Wyndhams Theatre 2011

Last week, I saw 'Much Ado About Nothing' at the Globe, and now here's another version playing at Wyndham's, right in the heart of the West End. Comparisons are often invidious, but here's a rare chance to compare two productions of the same play, both on at the same time.This version has the added glamour and audience pulling-power of TV stars in the lead roles. TV comedian and character actress Catherine Tate is Beatrice and a former Dr Who, David Tennant, is Benedick. With a time traveller in...

The Play That Goes Wrong Review

The theatre loves nothing more than itself, especially when things aren't going to plan: this kind of self-sustaining narcissism has made hits of everything from The Producers and Spamalot to Michael Frayn's Noises Off. And in The Play That Goes Wrong, we're here to prick the pomposities and artifice of theatre yet again in a bustling portrait of an amateur dramatic company from Cornley Polytechnic, as they attempt to put on a 1920s murder thriller called Murder at Haversham Manor.The result is...

Thriller Live Review

There's no question that Thriller Live is a genuine crowd-pleaser. But is it the answer? It depends on what you want the West End to stand for. Is it a place to showcase the best in world theatre, or just a home for mindless but colourful variety spectacles?Actually, let's not to be too snobbish. There's room for both. I may personally miss the fact that the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue -- one of the best, most perfectly proportioned playhouses in town -- has been lost to straight plays...

The Snowman Review

As escapist fantasies go, Raymond Briggs' book is a perfect seasonal treat for children. It's now developed into something of a colourful Christmas institution as this musical adaptation returns for a 6th year at the Peacock Theatre. A boy embarks on a magical adventure with his snowman, the pair venturing to the North Pole for some festive frolics before returning home in time for Christmas morning.Containing all the right ingredients to delight the under sixes, the show's big pluses are Paul...

Disney's Beauty and the Beast

This fairytale story concerns an old beggar woman who offers a spoilt, selfish prince a rose in return for shelter from the cold night, but he refuses. She warns him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. However, when he does not help her, she turns in to a beautiful woman and then casts a spell on the young prince, turning him into a beast and casting a spell on his castle and all his servants, who are turned into utensils and furniture! She leaves him the rose and...

The Comedy About A Bank Robbery review of new comedy at the Criterion Theatre

The appropriately named Mischief Theatre have been making merry mischief with the West End since 2014 when their fringe-born hit The Play That Goes Wrong transferred to the Duchess, which went on to win last year's Olivier Award for best comedy and is still running, and is now Broadway-bound. Their second show Peter Pan Goes Wrong, which ran at the Apollo last Christmas, was also Olivier nominated. That, too, was honed via a pre-London tour; but now for the first time they are even more...