REVIEWS Archives - Page 4 of 579

23Apr

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Barnum – Birmingham Hippodrome

Some musicals are classics and last forever, strong enough to weather changes in socials mood and time and attitudes. Other pieces have their place, their period and should, thereafter, be quietly archived as a curiosity of its time. Barnum falls into the latter category. Not for any fault in the music which continues to be vibrant, lively and riddled with humble ear-worms, but because we are asked to support, empathise and care for a character whose real-life exploits are clearly questionable by today’s standard. In the hands of a beloved TV entertainer forty years ago this would have passed without remark but today it’s somewhat toe-curling. A tweak of a line here or there would’ve avoided that. Barnum exploded on Broadway in the eighties with the multi-talented Jim Dale in the title ...

23Apr

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

Spamalot – Hyde Festival Theatre

I had the privilege of watching the original West End run of Spamalot over 20 years ago, starring Tim Curry and Hannah Waddingham. This was after I’d become obsessed with the original Broadway cast recording, which for many years was a loyal travelling companion. I have many happy memories of coasting down the A55, singing “I Am Not Dead Yet” at full belt. So, it’s safe to say I was very excited to come to Hyde Festival Theatre with my son, Sam, to watch this production by Hyde Musical Society. For those who haven’t seen the show—or the film from which it is “lovingly ripped off”—I’m not quite sure how best to describe it, other than as a loose retelling of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table’s search for the Holy Grail, filtered through the comedic lens of Monty Python and r...

22Apr

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

13 The Musical – Z-arts

As part of an ambitious and exciting 2026 season, Manchester Musical Youth returned to Z-arts with a vibrant, heartfelt revival of 13 The Musical, only the second time in the company’s history they have staged this beloved coming-of-age musical, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn. At the heart of 13 is a story about identity, friendship, belonging, and the sometimes-painful journey of figuring out where you fit in. Set against the chaos of adolescence, the musical follows Evan Goldman (played by Jasper Holden), a young teenager uprooted from city life and dropped into the complex social ecosystem of middle school. What unfolds is far more than a story about fitting in before a Bar Mitzvah; it is a witty, honest and deeply relatable exp...

22Apr

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Red Shoes – Bradford Alhambra

Powell and Pressburger’s classic movie The Red Shoes was about a ballerina forced to choose between love and art, so it seemed natural Matthew Bourne's New Adventures company would adapt it for the stage. The movie was itself a new take on the rather gruesome Hans Christian Andersen fairytale where a haughty young girl is punished by a pair of red ballet shoes with a life of their own that force her to dance endlessly even when her feet are chopped off. Thankfully Bourne’s places his less bloody version in the late 1940s where rising star Victoria Page catches the eye of demanding ballet impresario Boris Lermontov. She joins his company becoming his star creation wearing the fabled red shoes before falling in love with composer Julian Craster, but the demanding Lermontov forces Page ...

22Apr

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Here & Now – Hull New Theatre

From the first minute the “curtain” rose on Here & Now at the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday evening, I couldn’t get over how absolutely wonderful the stage setting was. The brand-new musical is based on the music of the 1990s iconic group, Steps, with a storyline centred around the staff of supermarket Better Best Bargains (BBB for short). Set designer Tom Rogers brings that environment to life by creating floor-to-ceiling partitions, left and right, graduating to the back of the stage. Each partition is filled with “groceries” and lit continually with the most amazing colours. Overhead are aisles 5, 6, 7 and 8 (there’s a song in there somewhere), while, occasionally, a graffiti covered wall drops for outdoor scenes, and serving counters are pushed and pulled throughout the show. ...

22Apr

By Helen JonesNo Comments

North West

Noughts and Crosses – The Lowry

Pilot Theatre and Northern Stage have once more brought Sabrina Mahfouz’s adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s 2001 novel out on tour, having first produced it in 2019. Set in an alternative 21st century Britain, called Albion in the books, there is fairly strict segregation. The crosses (dark-skinned people) are in control of the country, and the noughts (light-skinned people) are the oppressed and suppressed. Jasmine, the wife of the politician and Home Secretary Kamal Hadley, had employed Meggie McGregor as a nanny to her children. As such her daughter Sephy (Persephone) and Meggie’s son Callum had become friends. But as the segregation requirements get stricter an interracial friendship is not allowed, and Sephy and Callum’s friendship is forced into secrec...

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Cambridge Theatre

22Apr

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Cambridge Theatre

Seeing Showstopper! The Improvised Musical at London West End Theatre might not immediately sound like a must-see. An entirely improvised musical? It could easily seem like a gimmick. But in reality, it’s an absolute triumph of creativity, talent, and quick-thinking, you are genuinely in for a treat. The performance begins with Dylan Emery playing the role of a writer tasked with creating a brand-new musical from scratch in just two hours. From the outset, the audience becomes a central part of the process. We’re invited to shout out ideas for the theme of the show, with suggestions ranging from “White Lotus” to “crisps escaping from a bag” to “a dysfunctional parents’ evening.” After narrowing down the options, the audience votes by cheering, and the winning theme, on this occasion, “d...

Channel Surfing at The End of Days – Hen & Chickens

22Apr

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

Channel Surfing at The End of Days – Hen & Chickens

CHANNEL SURFING AT THE END OF DAYS, written and directed by Callum Pardoe, takes the form of a series of short vignettes – glimpses into people’s lives in the moments before the world instantaneously and unexpectedly ends. Pardoe’s script excels at depicting the unusual, mysterious, and supernatural. A woman is tasked by an unsettling being to deliver an ancient letter to a private investigator. A grieving father is tormented by a beastly entity. Two brothers bicker about whether or not to contact their dead parents via séance. Pardoe demonstrates an excellent ability to build intrigue and suspense. These vignettes perfectly balance comedy and pathos along with a growing sense of dread, and the effect is gripping. By contrast, the more mundane scenes of everyday life somewhat fal...

22Apr

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Managed Approach – Riverside Studios

Holbeck, Leeds made headlines in 2014 after the local government launched a trial initiative to decriminalise and regulate the sex work industry. The scheme, known as the “managed approach”, ultimately lasted until 2020, and Jules Coyle’s play of the same name explores the programme’s impact on the women and girls living in the area at the time, including those working within the initiative. A semi-verbatim piece, Mangaged Approach threads the stories and experiences of a number of sex workers (played in turn by Áine McNamara and H Sneyd) through a central storyline about 18-year-old Abbie (Coyle) and her mother Kate (Eanna Ferguson), with the managed approach stirring up new tensions between the pair as they debate whether or not the scheme is truly protecting women. It’s immensely ...

22Apr

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

, Daniel Blake – HOME Mcr

Back in 2016, the political and cultural landscape of Britain felt markedly different: David Cameron was Prime Minister, the UK remained within the European Union, and Leicester City’s improbable Premier League triumph captured the national imagination. It was also the year Ken Loach secured the Palme d’Or at Cannes for I, Daniel Blake, a characteristically unflinching indictment of Britain’s welfare system. A decade on, this stage adaptation—presented by Northern Stage in collaboration with Leeds Playhouse—arrives not as a period piece, but as a grimly resonant reminder of how little has changed. Adapted by Dave Johns from Paul Lavery’s original screenplay, the production wastes little time in immersing us in the daily realities faced by its protagonist. Daniel Blake (Dave Nellist), a ...