King’s Theatre Archives - North West End UK

4Nov

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Operation Mincemeat – King’s Theatre

Bearing in mind the gravity of the situation that called for this outrageous 1943 wartime deception operation, not to mention the grisly, sinister details attendant to the use of a corpse, it was baffling why anyone should attempt to portray the tale as a musical. Two somewhat sombre films - and a well-researched book - were inspired by events, but seriously, a frothy, fizzy musical? Further baffling is the fact that since debuting in 2019 it’s garnered a record number (over 100!) of 5-star reviews and crossed the Atlantic, becoming one the longest-running shows on Broadway… Matching the preposterous notion required to pursue something like this is the production itself, tongue resolutely in cheek. With bells on. To brilliant effect. Fawlty-esque barely covers the lampooning of those...

29Oct

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Rollers Forever – King’s Theatre

The Bay City Rollers were a 1970s phenomenon hailing from Edinburgh. They had huge popularity with their catchy tunes, and the band travelled the globe selling an estimated 120 million records world-wide. Rollers Forever, written by Danny McCahon, is a light-hearted trip down memory lane. The story pivots around two women, Susan (Chiara Sparkles) and Jenny (Fiona Wood) who relive their teenage dreams of meeting and marrying Woody and Alan and upgrading their lives. Their dream never materialises but their happy fiction and their efforts to nab the boys before they get too famous and every girl on the planet wants them is recognisable to anyone who’s been a teenage fan or known one. It is a charming, witty, bright and lively musical. The leads are strong and the whole cast can sing an...

28Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Clown Show – King’s Theatre

There is something deliciously appropriate about entering Edinburgh’s newly refurbished King’s Theatre, one of the city’s great theatrical survivors, to discover that Geoff Sobelle has built a crumbling American big top inside it. One theatre gloriously restored, another about to fall spectacularly to pieces before our eyes. I have been looking forward to Clown Show. Sobelle is one of America’s great contemporary exponents of physical theatre, and what he and his extraordinary company deliver here is less a narrative than a fever dream, a smorgasbord of images, sounds, illusions and catastrophes which gradually coalesce into a devastating portrait of America. The arrival is magnificent. Clowns troop through the audience towards the stage, singing as the curtain is gradually draw...

24Aug

By Danielle FarrowNo Comments

Scotland

EXXY – King’s Theatre

It’s quite something when the safety feature at the start of a show is for the audience’s health rather than the performers, and EXXY from Dan Daw Creative Projects continues to be quite something throughout this highly physically accessible production, with its built in text and sign language throughout, as well as being set up as a relaxed performance, with warning cues for more extreme lighting and sound. EXXY is labelled dance-theatre. It seems more heavily theatre, but with that dance quality which places the work of understanding movement onto the audience itself. Spoken word aspects (live and recorded), along with text and images projected onto the corrugated back wall, and strong soundscapes, all provide context - including Daws’ nan’s backyard and hospital settings - in which h...

<strong>Spike – King’s Theatre, Glasgow</strong>

3Nov

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Spike – King’s Theatre, Glasgow

Spike is Spike Milligan, and this play gives us a glimpse into the man's life through his creation and run of the Goon Show, a now often forgotten (and now often politically incorrect) 1950s radio comedy show which mostly lives on today, as the announcer concludes the show pointing out, through the people it has influenced. These include The Beatles (most notably their films, Christmas records to their fans and the B-side to Let It Be, You Know My Name (Look Up The Number), Monty Python (for whom Milligan cameoed in their film Life of Brian), Eddie Izzard, Douglas Adams, and many more. Though its other chief claim to fame is as an early notable leading role for Peter Sellers, who would later star in the Pink Panther series, amongst other things. But this play, produced by Karl Sydow, Tr...

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – The King’s Theatre, Glasgow

14Sep

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – The King’s Theatre, Glasgow

Everything about Beautiful - The Carole King Musical presented by The Curve Production is top notch. The direction (Nikolai Foster) is superb with seamless transitions on a wonderfully apt set (Frankie Bradshaw) and, of course the cast, every one of them, is talented, exuberant and committed. They are multi-talented actors, singers and instrumentalists. This show is full of life. It is joyful from the very start. Carole King’s story is inspiring. Her music, and that of her contemporaries, has stood the test of time. She is one of the most successful solo acts in pop music history and the quality of this production would make her smile, I am sure. Characters mill around on stage, chatting, setting up mics etc while the audience settle down. Click your fingers and the auditorium ...

31Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Rock of Ages – King’s Theatre, Glasgow

“Amazing!” Blondie exclaimed as she dried her hands in the loo at the end of the night, while “It’s a game of two halves,” might have been uttered by the man watching football on his mobile at half-time. What he actually said was: “It’s not great. I’ve seen it before. It must be understudies.” So, there you have it. The first half was rushed and heartless. The diction was unclear. Less than half the audience were clapping along. For an audience-participation-style show that’s not great. The second half, however, brought a smile to my face and roars of appreciation from a very loyal fan-base. The final number was brilliant and had everyone on their feet. If only there had been more of that. If only they’d played to win from the start. The Page Three depiction of females as sex obje...

2Aug

By Lucy McGuireNo Comments

Scotland

Footloose – King’s Theatre Glasgow

It’s time to cut loose and head to the King’s theatre to see a show that will have you up on your feet. Footloose tells the iconic story of a boy who finds himself in the town of Bomont, where it is deemed illegal to dance due to an incident years prior. Being the new guy in town, Ren (Joshua Hawkins) causes a stir within the small community with this cheeky attitude and passion for dance. This juke box musical is not the only adaption of the original Footloose film (1984) with a remake of the classic released in 2011. However, the musical manages to merge the old with the new – paying homage to the unforgettable moments from the films while bringing its own identity to the stage. The production has a range of talented performers within its ranks. Lucy Munden, making her professio...

Sunshine on Leith – King’s Theatre, Edinburgh

9Jun

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Sunshine on Leith – King’s Theatre, Edinburgh

Just before closing for renovations, the iconic King’s theatre is lifting its curtain to David Shrusbsole’s latest version of Sunshine on Leith, an essential musical by Scottish playwright Stephen Greenhorn which was first performed in 2007 and subsequently adapted to the big screen in 2013. Directed by the harmonious tandem of Elizabeth Newman & Ben Occhipinti, this time it is the well established Pitlochry Festival Theatre in collaboration with Capital Theatre to bring this renovated version of the play to the Scottish capital. In essence, Sunshine on Leith is an open love letter to Edinburgh. By using memorable songs from the Proclaimers-Scotland’s most beloved twins-it manages to tell a universal story of belonging and finding your place in the world. In Newman’s words: “[Sun...

Wuthering Heights – King’s Theatre Edinburgh

26May

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Wuthering Heights – King’s Theatre Edinburgh

Wise Children’s Wuthering Heights takes its form as a creative and all together magical adaptation of the 1847 Emily Bronte novel: Wuthering Heights. It’s serves to tell the story of two young lovers whose social status, race and upbringing become their own downfall. Heathcliff (Liam Tamne) is a young man found and adopted at Liverpool docks only to live his life in the shadows due to his ethnic background and darker features, when he meets adoptive sister Catherine (Lucy McCormick) he falls in love with the strange and mentally unstable young lady. Unfortunately, Catherine has other ideas and instead of pursuing her romance with Heathcliff she marries another man to attain her rank in society and so Heathcliff vows to get his revenge on those he blames for the loss of his happiness. This ...