REVIEWS Archives - Page 458 of 547

Moulin Rouge! The Musical – Piccadilly Theatre

21Jan

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

Moulin Rouge! The Musical – Piccadilly Theatre

Based on Baz Luhrmann’s critically acclaimed 2001 film, the highly anticipated Moulin Rouge! has finally hit the West End following its hugely successful Broadway debut in 2019. Directed by Alex Timbers, the musical tells the story of Christian, a young writer who moves to Pairs’ Montmartre quarter to join the Bohemian movement and falls in love with Satine, the illustrious headline act at the Moulin Rouge cabaret club, and the villainous Duke of Monroth, who wants Satine for himself. Photo: Matt Crockett The Piccadilly Theatre has been completely transformed to bring Luhrmann’s dreamy world of glitz and glamour to life. From the neon signs shining outside to the red lights decorating the theatre and stage, Justine Townsend’s incredible lighting design truly transports you to the...

20Jan

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Conundrum – Young Vic

Conundrum, written and directed by Paul Anthony Morris is an intimate and confronting piece that follows a person discovering the hidden elements of their own trauma and the journey to forgive oneself for the cycle of abuse brought onto them from society. Portrayed through movement and text, we watch how the trauma manifests itself pushing from inside mind, to grow throughout the body and into the space around them. We watch a person very comfortably enter the stage with boxes in hand in order to sort out the mess in the room, to then crumble by the memories and collapse with the overwhelming pressure of things that quite simply didn’t exist for certain others around him. Words, written all over the stage floor, chalk in hand and a mind that is more intelligent than most, this character...

Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story – Jermyn Street Theatre

20Jan

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story – Jermyn Street Theatre

Stephen Dolginoff's musical dramatisation of the story of so-called "thrill killers" Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb has been produced over 200 times in 22 countries since its opening off-Broadway in 2005. The horrible appeal of such stories is evident: dark, unsettling, gripping tales of narcissism, passion and the underlying and enduring enigma of "why". What led these two smart young men from wealthy Chicago families, both with ambitions to go into the law, to kidnap 14-year-old Bobby Franks in 1924, kill him, hide the body then attempt to extort money from his parents? The case was dubbed "The Crime of the Century" and went on to be used as the basis for several movies including Rope, Murder By Numbers and Compulsion. Dolginoff's two-hander focuses on the twisted sexual dynamic betw...

19Jan

By Chloe StallibrassNo Comments

London

Bat Out of Hell – New Wimbledon Theatre

The award-winning musical ‘Bat Out of Hell’ revved its way into The New Wimbledon Theatre. Multiple hits rolled into one action packed musical that will get you on your feet by the end of the night, with hit songs from Jim Steinman and Meatloaf. This musical tells the story of the main characters Raven the daughter of Falco, and Strat who fall in love against family wishes. Strat is the leader of The Lost, a group of teenagers that never grow up. The reasoning behind The Lost never growing up was never quite explained in detail, however, shows a remarkable resemblance to The Lost Boys in ‘Peter Pan’ giving the audience familiarity in a childhood favourite story with a dystopian take. There are multiple subplots thought the show supporting the overarching love story with Ravens parents a...

19Jan

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

The Addams Family – The Alexandra

At last, this spooky and kooky production comes to Birmingham for the week. Based on the 60's TV show and various films, this musical brings the creepy family to life in a show full of humour and original songs. Wednesday Addams has fallen for a “normal” boy, much to her family's horror. She invites him and his parents for dinner to meet the family, will they get along or will her family and their mysterious game ruin everything. Although set in New York there is a distinctly Spanish flavour to the show thanks to Gomez and his ancestors. With a Latin beat running through some of the numbers it is hard not to tap your feet to the music. The songs may not stay etched in your memory, but they tell the story and convey the emotions perfectly with each one being a showcase for the sing...

Operation Mincemeat – Southwark Playhouse

19Jan

By Robert BartleyNo Comments

London

Operation Mincemeat – Southwark Playhouse

One of the craziest true stories in Britain’s history, ‘Operation Mincemeat’ was a wartime deception that somehow successfully fooled Hitler into changing his invasion plans in 1943, and all thanks to the well-dressed corpse of a homeless man who’d died by ingesting rat poison and was shipped off to Spain with a briefcase full of fabricated documents. Production company SpitLip got their hands on this fascinating historical nugget, thought “that would make a great musical”, threw in some ‘Monty Python’-style shenanigans alongside the catchy tunes, and the result is a brilliantly entertaining show that is playing right now at the Southwark Playhouse, after enjoying successful runs in 2020 and 2021 following its 2019 debut at the New Diorama Theatre. ‘Operation Mincemeat’ is the ...

19Jan

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Looking Good Dead – The Lowry

The absolute stunning Lowry Theatre hosted Peter James’ stage adaptation of ‘Looking Good Dead’ starring Adam Woodyatt and Gaynor Faye as Mr and Mrs Bryce a family caught up in this crime and thriller script. Peter James is a best-selling author best known for his crime fiction novels and the creator of the much loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, he has achieved global book sales of over 21 million copies which have been translated into almost 40 languages. Peter James was born in 1948 in Brighton, so it seems fitting that his script location is that of his hometown. I must be honest I have not read any of the books in the Roy Grace series or watched his two feature-length film adaptations ‘Grace’ on television which seemingly attracted over seven million viewers, so my review...

Frankenstein – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

18Jan

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Frankenstein – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

These are interesting times at the Garrick Playhouse in the leafy south Manchester suburb of Altrincham. Under the aegis of Artistic Director Joseph Meighan, their programming is broadening its appeal beyond the traditional light comedy and murder mystery, into edgier and darker territory. So, we find 2022 kicking off with an absolutely cracking adaptation of the Mary Shelley gothic masterpiece, both chilling and thought provoking and with a simply stunning central performance. Those patrons expecting a hoary old 'Boris Karloff with a bolt through the neck' rendition, would have been disappointed. With Direction and Set Design in the capable hands of Barry J C Purves, this was always going to be a more delicate study on the nature of humanity. By using Nick Dear's 2011 National Theatre ...

18Jan

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The Rocky Horror Show – Palace Theatre

Since the original show was spawned in 1973 the ‘Rocky Horror Show’ has gained generations of theatregoers who have been seduced by its mix of horror-comedy and science-fiction script, backed with some iconic songs such as ‘The Time Warp’ whilst dressed up in glittering corsets and eye-catching lingerie has become an institution that encourages glamour, silliness and having a damn good time. It is hard to believe that this show is nearly half a century old as it has absolutely no signs of ageing as it continues to entice the old and the youth of today through its doors with its bright, bold and extremely risqué script that bursts into life from the beginning through to the finale. I remember my first viewing as a teenager in the 1980’s with my mum and grandmother and I was mortified ...

18Jan

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Snow Maiden – Hull New Theatre

Winter is my favourite season, so you can imagine my glee when snow fell in Hull on Monday evening - huge flakes, too. The fact that the snow only fell inside the Hull New Theatre didn’t dampen by excitement, as it was the beautiful, wintry backdrop to Snow Maiden, performed by The Russian State Ballet of Siberia. This amazing backdrop was almost as awe-inspiring as the talented ballet dancers and the magical music, played live by The Russian State Ballet Orchestra, under the baton of Anatoliy Chepurnoy. The story centres around a beautiful Snow Maiden (Natalia Bobrova) and her lust to escape life in the forest, even though she is surrounded by her lovely snowflake friends. Her dad, Father Frost (Grigorii Botenkov) sees how unhappy his daughter is and, reluctantly, lets her vis...