REVIEWS Archives - Page 8 of 641

14Oct

By Natalia PrucnalNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Waitress – Sheffield Lyceum

The sugar and flour the cast were sprinkling on stage must’ve gotten in my eye during the performance of “Waitress” at the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre, because I couldn’t stop the tears from running throughout the entire performance. The entire production is meticulous and crisp, and the production team have somehow managed to find a really witty cast with the warmest and smoothest tones I’ve ever heard live. With 2026 being Waitress’ 10th anniversary, it’s no surprise that the hit Sara Bareilles songs and book by Jessie Nelson bring back the fire to theatres, alongside direction by Diane Paulus, beautiful restaging by Abbey O’Brien and diverse choreography by Lorin Latarro. “Waitress” is a musical set in the American South, about a waitress named Jenna who accidentally falls pregnant with...

Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody – Underbelly Boulevard Soho

14Oct

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody – Underbelly Boulevard Soho

Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody is exactly what it promises to be: a gloriously outrageous send-up of the hit book and television series Heated Rivalry. From the moment the opening number, ‘What We Want’, begins, the production plunges us into Susan’s world, where women’s entertainment fantasies are summed up as “gay hockey players, with big butts having sex”. It immediately establishes the show’s unapologetically campy sense of humour and sets the tone for what follows: a whirlwind of innuendo, ridiculous scenarios and plenty of laughs. The music is one of the production’s biggest strengths. The catchy numbers do more than simply deliver punchlines; they help drive the storyline forward, introduce us to the characters and offer hilarious commentary on the world of He...

14Oct

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

The Choir of Man – The Lowry

Every so often, a show comes along which reminds you that theatre doesn’t need elaborate scenery, spectacular special effects or a complicated storyline to leave an audience completely captivated. Sometimes all it takes is nine incredibly talented performers, a few pints and some fantastic music. The Choir of Man, currently playing at The Lowry as part of its first UK tour, delivers exactly that; an uplifting, energetic and surprisingly moving celebration of music, friendship and the importance of having somewhere to belong. Set inside a working pub called The Jungle, the show welcomes the audience into a world where everybody knows your name, the beer flows freely and the regulars just happen to possess extraordinary musical talent. From the moment the cast take to the stage, the...

14Oct

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Sylvia – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

This is some show! Having watched Jersey Boys at the Edinburgh Playhouse the previous evening, I thought I had witnessed musical theatre at its most polished and professional. Twenty-four hours later, Sylvia at the Festival Theatre took the whole business to another level. The comparison is fascinating. Jersey Boys has the considerable advantage of being built around songs that generations already know and love. Recognition and nostalgia do much of the heavy lifting. Sylvia has no such luxury. We arrived knowing none of its songs, yet for two hours and forty-five minutes this extraordinary production held our attention almost without respite. That is no small achievement. Written by Kate Prince and Priya Parmar, with music by Josh Cohen and ...

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man – Birmingham Hippodrome

14Oct

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man – Birmingham Hippodrome

The sultry, slinky melodies of Carmen have been sliding across our collective consciousnesses since they slipped from George Bizet’s quill back in 1875 with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy in turn plundered from the novella by the gloriously named Prosper Merimee. I wonder if he ever did. At the time it was a ground-breaking and shocking presentation scandalising the good folk of Paris and within only 33 performances the composer was dead unaware of what a world-renowned classic he had given birth to. Commercials, movies, samplings, parodies, concerts and even the occasional ice dance all gleaned inspiration and clips from dear George. Opera houses across the globe rely on its crowd pleasing sauce and sex to light up the box-office which is does with relentless ease year aft...

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Cambridge Theatre

13Oct

By Charlotte MansfieldNo Comments

London

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Cambridge Theatre

Olivier-award-winning improv group, Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, are back at London's Cambridge Theatre performing their long-form improv. As their name suggests, they improvise a West End musical, based on suggestions from the audience. The company has a large amount of talented performers to draw on, but each show typically consists of around six actors, with another company member taking the role of director, whose job it is to gather suggestions from the audience and introduce them at various points to either move the action forward or make the actors look as ridiculous as possible. Co-creator of 'Showstopper!', Dylan Emery, was the director for last night's show, opening the action with a call from a producer in need of a new musical. Not to worry, he has a writer's room (t...

The Silence of the Lambs – Bradford Alhambra

13Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Silence of the Lambs – Bradford Alhambra

The Silence of the Lambs is one of only three movies to ever win the ‘big five’ Oscars, including golden statuettes for both lead actors, so creating a stage version of such an iconic film was always going to be a risk. It proved to be a gamble that totally paid off as the producers only had the rights to the book by Thomas Harris, so writer Gina Gionfriddo eschewed some of the camper elements of the movie and focused more on back stories to the twisted psychological battles between the main characters. Rookie FBI trainee Clarise Starling was dispatched to an insane system to interview seemingly urbane serial killer Dr Hannibal Lecter as the bureau attempted to track down Buffalo Bill who was on his own killing spree. Gionfriddo cleverly explored the way Starling and Lector dev...

13Oct

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Jersey Boys – Edinburgh Playhouse

There is something reassuringly familiar about Jersey Boys. This is my third encounter with the musical in approximately six years, suggesting that, rather like a distant relative, it comes calling every three years whether invited or not. But familiarity can be a double-edged sword, particularly when a show has been around for twenty years and its extraordinary catalogue of songs is already deeply embedded in our collective musical consciousness. This latest touring production, directed by Des McAnuff, takes a little longer than expected to find its feet. The first act is, dare I say it, rather pedestrian at times, despite the considerable musical talent on display. But what initially threatens to become a fairly conventional musical biography transforms in the second half into so...

The Awkward Guide to Friendship – White Bear Theatre

13Oct

By Prateek SonnyNo Comments

London

The Awkward Guide to Friendship – White Bear Theatre

An Awkward Guide to Friendship is an auditory treat featuring poetry, music, sing-alongs, and improvisation. It’s a collaborative piece by poet Beth Calverley and musician Beth Roberts, narrating the personal journey of forming and struggling with friendships throughout life. The play takes us on a metaphorical boat ride of friendship and a journey to write a guide for it. The story focuses on Calverley playing a stage version of herself, showing how she was an awkward kid, how she made friends, and the insecurities that kept her from maintaining those connections. It is a unique piece in how both performers present the story through a blend of memoir, spoken-word poetry, narration, and songs. Roberts takes charge as the musician, the guide, and a character version of herself, beaut...

Back in the USSR: Opera North’s Eugene Onegin – Leeds Grand Theatre

13Oct

By Mark HumphreysNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Back in the USSR: Opera North’s Eugene Onegin – Leeds Grand Theatre

Tchaikovsky’s life had a habit of imitating his art. In the spring of 1877, while he was sketching an opera based on Pushkin’s verse novel Eugene Onegin – starting, so the story goes, with Tatyana’s letter scene – he received a passionate letter from a former student, Antonina Milyukova, declaring her love. Determined not to turn her away as coldly as Onegin does, he married her that summer. It was a disaster, and within weeks he had fled. The story itself is simple enough. Tatyana, a bookish country girl, falls for the aloof Onegin, friend of the poet Lensky, who is engaged to her sister Olga. She pours her heart out in a letter; he hands it back with a lecture. At her name-day party a bored Onegin flirts with Olga, Lensky challenges him to a duel, and Onegin kills his friend. Years la...