Simon Ward reviews Average Bear at the Soho Theatre Michelle Brasier’s Average Bear is billed as comedy, and it is frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious, but it is also thought-provoking and devastatingly emotional. Delivered as a mixture of stand-up, songs and ‘bear-lesque’, the audience never quite knows where Brasier’s irresistible banter […]
Simon Ward reviews Handel’s Messiah: The Live Experience at Theatre Royal Drury Lane For one night only, as a festive treat, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane gives the cast of Frozen a night off and is taken over by what is billed as a ground-breaking version of Handel’s […]
Simon Ward reviews Indecent Proposal at Southwark Playhouse Jack Engelhard’s bestselling novel was published 33 years ago. The movie version came out 28 years ago. So it is a curious decision to return to the notorious moral dilemma at the heart of this piece now, in 2021, in […]
Simon Ward reviews Tomorrow May Be My Last at The Union Theatre This show – described as a ‘music-driven play’ – is not for the faint-hearted. It is a loud, sweaty romp though the all-too-brief life of its inspiration and its star – Janis Joplin – lovingly brought […]
Anna Hadley reviews Courtney Act – Under the Covers at Edinburgh Fringe. Courtney Act’s ‘Under the Covers’ invites the audience to get intimate with Courtney (drag alter-ego of Shane Jenek). Most scramble under this duvet willingly. However, if you’re not a Courtney super-fan, this show may leave you […]
Simon Ward reviews Fever Pitch The Opera at The Union Chapel The Union Chapel can lay claim to be the very heart of Islington, with the Town Hall just down the road, and the old Highbury Stadium a short walk away for the fans streaming out of the […]
Paul Caira reviews The Wild Party at The Other Place This show’s leading strength is its wonderful choreography, created by its brilliant young director, Drew McOnie who won an Olivier for his work on In the Heights, the hip-hop musical that led to Hamilton. This is followed at […]
Paul Caira reviews Death Takes a Holiday at Charing Cross Theatre There is no reason not to like this show. It is a well-written, well-staged, expertly-performed adaptation of an Italian play by Alberto Casella, turned, with characteristic aplomb, into a musical by Thomas Meehan, who seems to have […]
Sam Lewes reviews Promises Promises at Southwark Playhouse Despite an occasional lack of polish, this adaptation of Billy Wilder’s 1960 film ‘The Apartment’ hits most of the right notes. Gabriel Vick stars as Chuck Baxter, a self proclaimed ambitious and resourceful employee at the bottom of the corporate […]
Harriet Bignell reviews O’ Come All Ye Divas at Charing Cross Theatre From golden oldies like Barbra Streisand and Shirley Bassey to more modern divas like Adele and Lily Allen, Christina Bianco takes them all on in her performance of festive classics. Although an American YouTube sensation, Christina Bianco doesn’t […]