The West End has no shortage of spectacle-heavy musicals, but few lean on technical wizardry as nakedly as Back to the Future. This stage adaptation of the 1985 film is a noisy, restless machine whose strongest asset is its special effects. The DeLorean roars, the clock tower trembles, and the stage seems to liquefy into […]
This raw, one-act drama delivers more confusion than clarity at first, but eventually develops sharp energy as it carves a modest but memorable path through youth, class, and survival. It’s a gritty drama by writer-co-director Sam Edmunds, co-directed with Vikesh Godhwani, staged at Southwark Playhouse Borough. The central performance is by Nathaniel Christian as ‘The […]
It’s rare to see a play that doesn’t shy away from discomfort, and this one certainly doesn’t. Inter Alia is a drama written by Suzie Miller, directed by Justin Martin, starring Rosamund Pike as Crown Court Judge Jessica Parks, with Jamie Glover as her husband Michael and Jasper Talbot as their son Harry. On the […]
This one-person, interactive comedy-drama originates in the playwright-co-director Duncan Macmillan (with Jonny Donahoe) and co-direction also by Jeremy Herrin. The West End London production sees a rotating cast of Lenny Henry, Jonny Donahoe, Ambika Mod, Sue Perkins, and Minnie Driver (performing in turn across the season). A young child, burdened by a mother’s deep despair, […]
You don’t just watch I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical. You grin, you clap, and you recognise your own theatre-going habits reflected back at you with razor-sharp wit. It is, quite simply, the standout musical comedy of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Written and composed by Alexander S. Bermange, and directed and choreographed with […]
You’re watching a musical fantasy where two Second World War fighter pilots, Tommy Albright (Louis Gaunt) and Jeff Douglas (Cavan Clarke), crash into a Highland village that appears only once in a century. Directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie with a new adaptation by Rona Munro, this version sings Lerner and Loewe’s familiar songs – […]
The Other Palace’s latest offering, Saving Mozart, arrives with ambitious intentions and a stellar cast but ultimately delivers a superficial exploration of one of history’s greatest composers. While the production boasts incredible performances and impressive choreography within the venue’s notably tiny space, it struggles to create the emotional resonance that great musical theatre demands. The […]
Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel, revived by Lynette Linton, looks like a genteel turn-of-the-century chamber piece, yet within its silk and corsetry beats a contemporary heart. Set in 1905 New York, this tale of a lonely African American seamstress feels uncannily tuned to 2025’s hunger for unheard voices. Esther Mills, played with luminous understatement by Samira […]
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, at the open air Roman Theatre in Verulamium, is exactly what the title promises, a cheeky riot of mischief and melody served under the open sky. From the first blast of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Comedy Tonight’, you feel the show’s intent, pure crowd‑pleasing escapism with just […]
Derren Brown has always blurred the line between magic, psychology and theatre. Only Human, now thrilling crowds on a national tour, pushes that hybrid to a fresh peak. You do not get a tidy play with characters and scenes; instead you witness a live investigation of free will and prediction, delivered with the snap of […]