Reviews

REVIEW: Matchbox Theatre, Hamsptead Theatre ✭✭

Off West End, Reviews
Matchbox Theatre by Michael Frayn at the Hampstead Theatre

There is no complaint about the writing. Frayn creates situations and conveys ideas quickly and cleverly. His knowledge of human kind and its foibles, the things which interest and aggravate, is wide-ranging, and there is little in the world that he cannot cover in a comic sheen. Nina Wadia, alone of the six performers, has a very clear idea of the farceur, and she effortlessly creates a string of quite different characters, all of whom tick with eccentricity and tock with energy.

REVIEW: Product, Arcola Theatre ✭✭✭

Off West End, Reviews
Product at the Arcola Theatre

Directed by Robert Shaw, this fifty minute satirical monologue is well worth seeing for Olivia Poulet’s gifted comic turn. She extracts the humour rather as a surgeon lances a boil: with swift, sure, incisions that produce copious discharge, some of it unpleasant to think about. I doubt her delivery of the work could be bettered, so carefully thought through and executed is every aspect of her captivating performance.

REVIEW: The Twits, Royal Court Theatre ✭✭

Off West End, Reviews
The Twits by Roald Dahl at the Jerwood Theatre

With both Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda still playing with great success elsewhere, this is the latest attempt to bring Dahl’s unique alchemy of moralised, uplifting, yet also disturbing, and quirky childhood adventure to the London stage. However, unfortunately this current adaptation cannot stand alongside those two multi-layered yet flexible masterpieces with any great conviction.

CRITICS CHOICE: Top 10 New Plays 1 May 2015

News, Reviews, West End
Oppenheimer London Vaudeville Theatre

10 Best New Plays in London What Play should you see first in London? We have compiled this list to save you the trouble of working it out! It’s just our view – and everyone has one – based on our Reviewers’ thoughts. We will update the list regularly so new productions get on your radar and when original casts change that is factored in. Plays which have been running for more than three years are not included – this is a list for new or relatively new productions running in London. So go see them! 1. Oppenheimer Morton-Smith has written a masterpiece which Angus Jackson has cast and directed in a way which gives it full measure, lustre and power. No one here gives anything other than a first-class performance. John Heffernan, in the central role, with the bulk of the play squarely on his shoulders, is world class. … Read more

REVIEW: The Merchant Of Venice, Shakespeare’s Globe ✭✭✭✭

Off West End, Reviews
Jonathan Pryce Merchant Of Venice

Set firmly in its time, circa 1597, with costumes and accoutrements which establish an exotic, far away and, most importantly, bygone era, Munby avoids the great questions of the play and steers a course through the waters of sympathy, self-interest and capitalism. The result is a richly amusing take on the play, which is involving and clear, but which never achieves great heights of lyricism or drama, happily accepting “everyday” as its overall pulse. The high point of poetry for the evening comes with Jonathan Pryce’s heartfelt “Hath not a Jew eyes?” speech, the words wrenched from his very soul.

CRITICS CHOICE: Top 10 Musicals 1st May 2015

News, Reviews, West End
Imelda Staunton in Gypsy at the Savoy Theatre London

What Musical should you see first in London? We have compiled this list to save you the trouble of working it out! It’s just our view – and everyone has one – based on our Reviewers’ thoughts. We will update the list regularly so new productions get on your radar and when original casts change that is factored in. Musicals which have been running for more than three years are not included – this is a list for new or relatively new productions running in London. So go see them! 1. Gypsy Everyone in this company is superb in their part, everyone can really sing, really dance and really deliver the goods in terms of dramatic and comic acting. This is that rare beast: an exquisitely cast musical where the requirements of the parts have more importance in the casting process than potential box office draw or Twitter popularity. It … Read more

REVIEW: Ah, Wilderness!, Young Vic Theatre ✭✭

Off West End, Reviews
Ah, Wiulderness by Eugene O'Neill at the Young Vic Theatre London

The combination of sand, water, and romantic moon makes for a touching image towards the end of the play. It is beautifully lit by the talents of Charles Balfour and, for that one moment, it seems as though the shifting, gritty presence of the comatose sand has been worthwhile. Dominic Rowan’s rascally Sid is full blooded and he makes the most of what the part offers. George Mackay is impressive as Richard, vibrant, compelling and suitably obsessive.

REVIEW: Everyman, National Theatre ✭✭

Reviews, West End
Everyman at the National Theatre

Rufus Norris throws everything at the production. The result is garish, adolescent and intolerably dull. Too much show and too little style and substance. As Everyman, Chiwetel Ejiofor strives manfully to break through the tedious bonds of Norris’ psychedelic/hallucinogenic vision. He succeeds occasionally, and there is no doubting his conviction and passion.