NEWS: Ladies, gentlemen & those who are yet to make up their minds… Basingstoke Amateur Operatic Society (BAOS) gear up to present Kinky Boots
By Leyla Demirel Soon to be running their latest musical production, Kinky Boots, Basingstoke Amateur Operatic Society (BAOS) are throwing everything they have into rehearsals before their opening night at the Haymarket Theatre in Basingstoke on the 30th March. And if the rehearsals are anything to go by, the full show itself will be a […]
REVIEW: Dreamboats and Petticoats: Bringing on Back the Good Times!
Venue: The Alexandra, Birmingham Performance Date: 21 March 2022 Reviewer: Alex Birch Star Rating: ★★★ Jukebox musical Dreamboats and Petticoats is set in mid-sixties Essex and is unapologetic about being targeted at the baby boomer demographic. Featuring beehive hairdos, live singing, and energetic dance numbers aplenty, it’s a trip down nostalgia road for mature audiences. The production is the […]
REVIEW: The Osmonds – A gloriously nostalgic trip down memory lane
Venue: Wolverhampton Grand Theatre Performance Date: 15 March 2022 Reviewer: Gemma Fincher Star Rating: ★★★★1/2 For modern day audiences The Osmonds might not be particularly familiar. However, if you were to imagine a hybrid of the Jackson 5 and the hysteria that a young One Direction yielded when they rose to prominence, then that might go some way […]
REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast is a dazzling revival of this tale as old as time and quite frankly… If it’s not Baroque, don’t fix it
Nigel Richards as Cogsworth, Sam Bailey as Mrs Potts, Gavin Lee as Lumiere in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast – Photo by Johan Persson © Disney Venue: Birmingham Hippodrome Performance Date: 09 March 2022 Reviewer: Gemma Fincher Star Rating: ★★★★★ Disney is enjoying somewhat of a UK stage renaissance of late. With Frozen, and Mary Poppins […]
REVIEW : The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – See the Lion and hear him roar
Chris Jared as Aslan (Image: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg) Venue: The Alexandra, Birmingham Performance Date: 08 March 2022 Reviewer: Ely King Star Rating: ★★★★ Many may know the story of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe from the best-selling books by C.S Lewis, or by movie trilogy The Chronicles of Narnia. Watching the stage adaptation takes you back to […]
REVIEW: Chicago – a polished night of musical theatre that indeed proves why Chicago remains a titan
CHICAGO: Djalenga Scott as Velma Kelly and The Company. Photo: Tristram Kenton Venue: Milton Keynes Theatre Performance Date: 08 March 2022 Reviewer: Josh Bullin Star Rating: ★★★★ There are few musicals quite as enduring as Chicago. This year marks twenty-five years since the original Encores! revival transferred to London and cumulatively ran for around sixteen years, […]
REVIEW: Fatal Attraction – the iconic movie is given a new lease of life
Oliver Farnworth as Dan and Kim Marsh as Alex in Fatal Attraction Tour Credit: Tristram Kenton Venue: The Alexandra, Birmingham Performance Date: 01 March 2022 Reviewer: Alex Birch Star Rating: ★★★★ Whatever your views on the 1987 erotic thriller Fatal Attraction, it certainly made a lasting impact on our culture. Starring Michael Douglas as Dan, a […]
REVIEW: Mimma – A musical of war & friendship – extremely memorable, for all the wrong reasons
Celinde Schoenmaker (Mimma) John Owen-Jones (Lorenzo) and Louise Dearman (Sarah) Photo Credit: Danny Kaan Venue: Cadogan Hall Performance Date: 28 February 2022 Reviewer: Ely King Star Rating: ★1/2 Mimma: A musical of war and friendship, without featuring much war, or friendship. Advertised as a ‘charity gala concert’ it was inferred that the focus would be on […]
REVIEW: Life of Pi – In a word, Life of Pi is spellbinding
Life of Pi, Wyndham’s Theatre Photograph: Johan Persson Venue: Wyndham’s Theatre, London Reviewer: Leyla Demirel Star Rating: ★★★★★ Life of Pi is an unusual story you wouldn’t think would initially capture people’s attention – a boy stranded on a boat for 2.5 hours – a story that could be potentially tricky to tell in a way […]
REVIEW: Jersey Boys – Oh, What A Night – An excellent show that really does hit the high notes
LtoR Michael Pickering, Blair Gibson, Dalton Wood, Lewis Griffiths in Jersey Boys UK & Ireland Tour, credit Birgit + Ralf Brinkhoff Venue: Milton Keynes Theatre Performance Date: 23 February 2022 Reviewer: Jo Neville Star Rating: ★★★★ Great music, great singing, great acting. The boys are most definitely back. Since its Broadway debut in 2005, Jersey Boys […]