UK / West End Theater Reviews

Review: FASCINATING AIDA: 40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW, London Palladium
by Franco Milazzo - February 05, 2024

The UK can’t claim too many music groups with the impressive longevity or sheer depravity of Fascinating Aïda. Celebrating forty years of dropping jaws with a set of songs that still amuse, shock and titillate, they return for yet another tour up and down the country. ...

Review: SOMETHING ABOUT GEORGE, Floral Pavilion Theatre
by Sarah OHara - February 05, 2024

Moving, poignant and with timeless classics that will have you singing throughout the night, if I could give more than 5 stars to Something About George, I would. It is a must see....

Review: TESS, Peacock Theatre
by Franco Milazzo - February 02, 2024

Filled with a couple of operas’ worth of tragedy, Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles is not the likeliest source of inspiration for a dramatic circus show but Ockham's Razor are here to prove us wrong. ...

Review: THE HANDMAID'S TALE, English National Opera, London Coliseum
by Gary Naylor - February 02, 2024

Paul Ruder's opera, based on Margaret Atwood's celebrated novel, has, frighteningly, gained more relevance since its premiere in 2000...

Review: A MIRROR, Trafalgar Theatre
by Abbie Grundy - February 02, 2024

Jonny Lee Miller and Tanya Reynolds shine in this debate between art and artifice....

Review: GWYNETH GOES SKIING, Pleasance London
by Kat Mokrynski - February 05, 2024

Gwyneth Goes Skiing is a fun and delightfully queer show that has lots of hilarious audience participation and some great musical moments (even if it is a play with music). It is full of joy and some truly silly puns that had be groaning with a smile. I look forward to seeing more from Awkward Produ...

Review: BRONCO BILLY - THE MUSICAL, Charing Cross Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - February 02, 2024

Bronco Billy is a fun show with some great performers and catchy songs. While a more developed plot would have been appreciated, it is still a show that will have you smiling throughout. If you’re a fan of pantomimes and/or a fan of country music, you’ll definitely be a fan of this!...

Review: ANTECHAMBER, The Barbican Centre
by Franco Milazzo - February 01, 2024

Meshing together live artwork, puppetry and music, Stereoptik’s latest work Antechamber is a theatrical experiment that largely delivers on its intriguing premise....

Review: BROKEN WATER, Arcola Theatre
by Cindy Marcolina - February 02, 2024

Three women live parallel lives on the same London street. One desperately wants a baby, one regrets her choices, one is haunted by the past. Michèle Winstanley addresses motherhood and the female experience in a tender piece that becomes a sad reminder that, as women, we rarely fully win. ...

Review: THE KING AND I, Dominion Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - February 01, 2024

What is classic for some feels dated to others. Those who were horrified by Daniel Fish’s starkly stripped back version of Oklahoma! should rush to the Dominion Theatre for something much more traditional. After a UK tour, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I settles in for a brief six week run....

Review: TILL THE STARS COME DOWN, National Theatre
by Alexander Cohen - February 01, 2024

Till the Stars Come Down is a sparkling bundle of light and luminous love. If you don’t believe me, believe the colossal disco ball hovering above the stage....

Review: THE BEAUTIFUL FUTURE IS COMING, Jermyn Street Theatre
by Katie Kirkpatrick - February 01, 2024

The Beautiful Future is Coming is a play that’s at once expansive and intimate. In the hidden little underground space of Jermyn Street Theatre, the cast of four lead us on a journey from the past to the future, in a story made up of three separate but connected narratives....

Review: JODIE MITCHELL: BECOMING JOHN TRAVULVA, Soho Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - February 01, 2024

'Jodie Mitchell: Becoming John Travulva is a fantastic comedy show that does an excellent job in discussing the role that gender plays in comedy, whether consciously or unconsciously. Whether they are Jodie Mitchell or John Travulva, Mitchell is a great comedian and I look forward to seeing more fro...

Review: Roundup: What Did the Critics Think of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick in PLAZA SUITE?
by Aliya Al-Hassan - January 29, 2024

Neil Simon’s three-act play about couples in crisis, Plaza Suite, has now opened at London's Savoy Theatre, already extended until 13 April. Celebrity couple Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick reprise their roles from the Broadway production. Excitement (and tickets prices) are high, so, wha...

Review: LOUISE YOUNG: FERAL, Soho Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - January 29, 2024

Louise Young: Feral is a fun show that will have you thinking your life is pretty tame compared to what Young has gone through. And, according to her, there are still plenty of stories she hasn’t told - I look forward to hearing them!...

Review: THE FAGGOTS AND THEIR FRIENDS BETWEEN REVOLUTIONS, Queen Elizabeth Hall
by Christiana Rose - January 29, 2024

The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions has relocated to the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall for its London premiere, having run at Manchester International Festival. The performance is billed as a ‘music theatre piece rewriting the history of the world through a joyful and utopian...

Review: PLAZA SUITE, Savoy Theatre
by Debbie Gilpin - January 29, 2024

Following a long-anticipated Broadway run, John Benjamin Hickey's production of Neil Simon's Plaza Suite has now made it over to the West End, where it takes over from New York-bound Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy Theatre. This version sees real life couple Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick ...

Review: HEART, Brixton House
by Debbie Gilpin - January 26, 2024

“This is perhaps a story for all the misfits, all those who have ever felt ‘other’.” Jade Anouka’s debut play tells the story of love, heartbreak, mental health challenges, and fresh starts - it’s (mostly) a monologue, backed by music from Grace Savage, and has previously been produced by Audible Th...

Review: AHIR SHAH: ENDS, Soho Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - January 29, 2024

Ahir Shah: Ends is a fascinating show, but it ends up feeling like more of an aggressive talk than a comedy performance. The comedic moments are brilliant and really let Shah’s sense of humour shine, but I would have liked more of them throughout the show instead of just towards the beginning....

Review: NORTHANGER ABBEY, Orange Tree Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - January 25, 2024

It's no wonder that the Orange Tree Theatre is such a fan of Zoe Cooper. She received critical acclaim with both the beautifully touching Jess And Joe Forever in 2016 and the wonderfully perceptive Out Of Water in 2019 at the venue. There are many similaries here, with Cooper's deft handling of sexu...

Review: THE MOST PRECIOUS OF GOODS, Marylebone Theatre
by Alexander Cohen - January 25, 2024

The Holocaust is not an easy subject to tackle. Balancing storytelling without over-indulging in  trauma whilst being respectful is a delicate affair. For every Schindler’s List there are swathes of plays, books, and films that drown themselves in schmaltz. The Most Precious of Goods can be added to...

Review: THE EU KILLED MY DAD, Jermyn Street Theatre
by Gary Naylor - January 25, 2024

Aaron Kilercioglu's play may, or may not, be an allegory for Turkey's changing state in a changing world...

Review: RICKY SIM: COMING OUT TO DEAD PEOPLE (AN ASIAN QUEER STORY), Soho Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - January 26, 2024

'Ricky Sim: Coming Out to Dead People (An Asian Queer Story) is a beautifully heartbreaking show that does a wonderful job of toeing the line between grief and humour, giving Sim the chance to make the audience laugh and cry within an hour.'...

Review: JOHN TOTHILL: THE LAST LIVING LIBERTINE, Soho Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - January 26, 2024

Ultimately, John Tothill: The Last Living Libertine is a fascinating, rambly take on not only Catholocism but a range of topics that will have you in stitches. Tothill somehow manages to prove his hypothesis that Catholicism is the same as Acid Techno with a brilliant ending that has the audience me...

Review: TRANSGRESSION, White Bear Theatre
by Gary Naylor - January 24, 2024

Loretta Monaco's play introduces interesting ideas, but lacks the characterisation and dialogue required to build convincing and engaging characters...