REVIEWS Archives - Page 6 of 554

22Dec

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

The Highgate Vampire – Omnibus Theatre

Based loosely on real events, The Highgate Vampire is a dark comedy play which follows the occurrences surrounding reported supernatural sightings near Highgate Cemetery in the late 1960s. Alexander Knott plays a Mark-from-Peep-Show-esque, self-serious, uptight Catholic priest/exorcist. James Demaine contrasts as a flamboyant psychic investigator with a flair for the dramatic. Together, they deliver a lecture on how they supposedly defeated the Highgate Vampire, although with the psychic investigator’s showy influence the lecture ends up more like a theatrical play, replete with props, costumes, and lighting effects. Even as the characters butt heads, there is good chemistry between the performers, both comedically and in the more tender and sincere moments. Knott makes for an excellent...

22Dec

By Eleanor HallNo Comments

London

Christmas Day – The Almeida

Sam Grabiner's 'Christmas Day' is a deft exploration of religion and family politics. Over a Chinese meal in a barely habitable warehouse guardianship, a Jewish family debate their sense of belonging within their faith, giving rise to deep rooted tensions within their respective relationships. From the off, the exposed brick wall of the Almeida and the cold warehouse setting chimed carefully with the budding theme of familial expectations. With a boxy heater hanging ominously overhead, tension literally began to swelter within the play's closed space, where characters gradually shed Evie Gurney's smart costumes. Steadily, the outside world permeated the somewhat isolated setting. Aided by the intrusive rumbling of the Northern Line and the pervasive glare of the Christmas tree, the audi...

Beauty and the Beast – The Atkinson, Southport

22Dec

By Rebecca CaseyNo Comments

North West

Beauty and the Beast – The Atkinson, Southport

KD Productions have been bringing Southport’s professional pantomime for the past three years. This year the traditional tale of Beauty and the Beast. Obviously, there are things that cannot be done due to copyright. But all of the things are in there, a goody a baddie and a happily ever after. Even the it’s behind you moment. With live band of musicians led by musical director Alex Holley. I will say I find it a little bit of a shame that they are not able to use people from the north west to appear in a pantomime taking place in the north west. I understand that you find talent where you find it, but we have a lot of talented professionals from the area. Having said that, of course, the cast were very talented; Safia Bartley gave us a lovely Belle, a stunning vocal with lovel...

Jack and the Beanstalk – Festival Theatre

22Dec

By Susan CohenNo Comments

Scotland

Jack and the Beanstalk – Festival Theatre

What never fails to amaze about Edinburgh’s panto is that year after year, it seems to reinvent itself. This year the city’s beloved panto team delivered the most intriguing combination – an unpredictable quirkiness on a stage dressed with the most spectacular set. This production was exquisitely lit and its set extravagantly and effectively designed so that it felt like something special, something pretty swanky well before the first flash of (many) pyrotechnics. Indeed, it was so extravagant that the cost was comedically referred to by Allan Stewart (Dame May McTrot) on more than one occasion, pointing out that sacrifices had to be made in the budget elsewhere. Funny? Yes. True? Most probably. And so, there we all went, flying headlong into Panto...

22Dec

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Finding Balance – Traverse Theatre

Five writers, five directors and twenty five actors come together for the inaugural event from Balancing Act Theatre. Scratch nights are a little like winter allotments: the soil is cold, the beds are uneven, and what you’re really being asked to admire is not the harvest but the intention. Finding Balance, Winter, hosted by David Gardner and Benedict Hoesl, wears that honesty openly. This is an evening about writers finding their feet rather than actors polishing their shoes, and the Traverse’s Traverse 2 becomes a kind of rehearsal room made public, scripts in hand and possibilities hovering. The temperature of the night is best described as promising but baggy. Five short works in progress make for a long evening, and the cumulative effect can feel diffuse, particularly w...

17Dec

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Indian Ink – Hampstead Theatre

The desire to see this Hampstead Theatre revival of Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink, was initially fuelled by the theatrical double whammy of Felicity Kendal, combined with one of the UK’s most celebrated living playwrights. This dramatic cocktail of talents is an established winner as the pair were once an item and their partnership garnered much critical acclaim. Kendal is often referred to as his muse and Stoppard wrote the character of Flora Crewe specifically for her. The original text is dedicated to her mother, Laura Kendal, who like her daughter, spent a childhood in India. Born in 1937, Sir Tom Stoppard died on 29 November 2025, during rehearsals for this production. In this show, Kendal was no longer playing a scandalous, spirited 1930s poet, but the matriarchal sister of Flora Crew...

17Dec

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Twelfth Night: RSC at the Barbican

Sometimes a director tries too hard to bring a novel or unusual interpretation to Shakespeare's work, producing a confused and ultimately unsatisfactory production. This unfortunately is the case with Prasanna Puwanarajah's version of Twelfth Night for the Royal Shakespeare Company, recently transferred to the Barbican from Stratford. There is much to like about this production. The acting was universally good and used Shakespeare's words for the most part, only annotated with the occasional modernism, and the delivery of the lines made the story very easy to understand. Music is intrinsic to this play and the musical score produced by Matt Maltese was excellent. The costumes were eclectic, reflecting a modern era with one or two extraordinary exceptions such as Feste's initial costume,...

Prashasti Singh: Divine Feminine – Soho Theatre

17Dec

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

Prashasti Singh: Divine Feminine – Soho Theatre

Over the course of a very entertaining hour, Prashasti Singh reckons with her relationship to femininity and womanhood, while discussing childhood, dating, aging, and self-help podcasts. Although it may seem like Singh is rehashing topics that have been covered to death in stand-up comedy, she brings an individual and hilarious flair. The content of the show is largely cynical and pessimistic but is delivered in an energetic and playful manner. From the very beginning, Singh’s biting but good-humoured crowd work reassures the audience that they are in safe hands and primes them for the sardonic humour to come. The show’s cynicism is tempered by descriptions of Singh’s (attempted) self-reflection and self-improvement, which is the source of some of the funniest material. From Sing...

17Dec

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

London

Top Hat the Musical – Southbank Centre

90 years after Irving Berlin’s 1935 classic film ‘Top Hat’, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers enthralled audiences, this latest musical adaptation by Matthew White and Howard Jacques is doing the same. The opening scene of ‘Putting on the Ritz’ kicks off the show with an energetic tapdancing routine readying the audience for a splendidly choreographed night that will thrill any ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ fan. The story is a simple love farce of mistaken identity. Jerry Travers (Phillip Attmore) is the big star of a new show Horace Hardwick (Clive Carter) is bankrolling. Jerry falls for the charms of Dale Tremont (Amara Okereke) and instantly love bombs her. Dale is at first unsure but then falls for him. Only to then erroneously think he is already married to her friend Madge Hard...

Shaun The Sheep’s Circus Show – Aviva Studios

17Dec

By Harry AltyNo Comments

North West

Shaun The Sheep’s Circus Show – Aviva Studios

For families looking for an alternative production this festive season, Aviva Studios has the European premiere of Circa and Aardman’s Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show. First appearing in Wallace & Gromit’s 1995 classic A Close Shave, Shaun has established himself as a firm favourite with families. Combining the cast of characters from Muddy Bottom Farm with acrobatics straight from a circus tent, this family-friendly extravaganza is primed to keep the kids entertained during the show’s run until January 4th. Our farm set fills the large stage of The Hall at Aviva Studios, with green fields and rural landscapes building out Shaun’s world. The impressive, sloped backdrop acts as a slide for our cast of adventurous sheep, drawing the biggest reaction from the audience as they launch down...