Lovers Actually – The Other Palace

A perfectly floppy-haired Hugh Grant. A “quite pretty” Keira Knightley. A child dressed up as a lobster for the school nativity. ‘Tis the season for Love Actually, of course.

The Yuletide classic gets a cheeky send-up in The Other Palace’s Lovers Actually, penned by Neil Hurst and Jodie Prenger. With Alex Jackson directing, the creative trio have crafted a Christmas musical parody that’s fun, festive, and — most importantly — full of filth.

Covering nearly every base when it comes to spoofing the iconic characters of Love Actually is an excellent quartet of performers: Joseph Beach, Ross Clifton, Martha Pothen, and Holly Sumpton.

Each of the four get to play their fair share of hilarious characters. Beach is a gun-wielding Liam Neeson, aging rockstar Billy Mack, and surprisingly self-deprecating pornstar Johnny Deep. Clifton takes on Grant’s bumbling Prime Minister, adulterous Harry (dressed up in Alan Rickman’s notorious Snape costume) and posh novelist Jamie. Pothen gets to shine as Albert Square’s very own Tiffany (including a brilliant version of Martine McCutcheon’s ‘Perfect Moment’), pornstar Judy Gagland and the clueless Peter. And Sumpton gives us her best Keira Knightley impression as Juliet, while making a slightly dodgy wig do double duty as both Karen and 9-year-old Sam.

There’s delightful chemistry between the actors, and they have a lot of fun on stage — even more so when things go ever-so-slightly wrong. Hurst and Prenger’s script is packed with zingers and takes great joy in poking fun at Richard Curtis’s original film. Whether it’s the creepiness of Mark’s romantic obsession with Juliet or the absurdity of Jamie and Aurelia’s cross-linguistic romance, all the ridiculousness we know and love from the movie gets thoroughly rinsed.

The songs mainly parody Christmas classics, although the volume of the music means we sometimes miss some of the witticisms in the lyrics. There’s also a slight tendency to over rely on the jokes from the movie script in some parts, especially in scenes with Billy Mack. While these jokes are still as funny as they were in the film, Lovers Actually works best when it’s riffing off the material rather than repeating it. But, the script absolutely excels in its smuttiness, giving us a bucketful of crude jokes without ever getting tiresome.

Director Jackson injects the production with extra fun and silliness, with help from Kim Healey’s playful choreography and Louie Whitemore’s charming set and costume design. It’s sleek with just the right amount of rough-around-the-edges.

For fans of the movie, Lovers Actually is a wonderful evening of entertainment, gift-wrapped with a rather naughty bow.

Lovers Actually plays at The Other Palace until 4th January. Buy tickets: https://theotherpalace.co.uk

Reviewer: Olivia Cox

Reviewed: 26th November 2025

North West End UK Rating: