REVIEW: Waitress – An utterly charming production, & a rom-com with a difference
Wendy Mae Brown ‘Becky’, Chelsea Halfpenny ‘Jenna’ and Evelyn Hoskins ‘Dawn’. Photo Johan Persson Venue: Birmingham Hippodrome Performance Date: 17 May 2022 Reviewer: Alex Birch Star Rating: ★★★★★ Based on Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 indie film of the same name, Waitress is a rom-com musical about an underappreciated pie chef, Jenna (Chelsea Halfpenny), who spends her days […]
REVIEW – Cluedo: A barmy night of murder mystery high jinks
Cluedo Production Image – 2022 UK Tour Credit Craig Sugden Venue: The Alexandra, Birmingham Performance Date: 03 May 2022 Reviewer: Alex Birch Star Rating: ★★★★ Debuting last month at Bath’s Theatre Royal, Cluedo is a new offering from Mark Bell, the director of The Play That Goes Wrong. This week, it’s playing at Birmingham’s beloved Alexandra Theatre until Saturday. […]
REVIEW: Footloose – it’s got the motor but still needs the key…
Oonagh Cox (Rusty), Jake Quickenden (Willard) and Lucy Munden (Ariel) in Footloose (Image: Mark Senior) Venue: The Alexandra Birmingham Performance Date: 19 April 2022 Reviewer: Ely King Star Rating: ★★★1/2 Everybody knows the iconic song Footloose, the title track of the 1984 film of the same name starring Lori Singer and a youthful Kevin Bacon. There […]
REVIEW: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – A show just as dazzling as his coat of many colours
Jason Donovan & company in JATATD (Credit Tristram Kenton) Venue: Birmingham Hippodrome Performance Date: 06 April 2022 Reviewer: Ely King Star Rating: ★★★★★ Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a production that many have seen, or experienced, in school plays, however, to see it on a large stage is such a phenomenal experience and definitely […]
REVIEW: Fatal Attraction – A tempting, thought-provoking thriller
Oliver Farnworth and Susie Amy in Fatal Attraction Tour Credit: Tristram Kenton Venue: Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Performance Date: 05 April 2022 Reviewer: Jo Neville Star Rating: ★★★1/2 When Fatal Attraction opened in 1987 it soon became the film everyone was talking about. The psychological thriller terrified cinema audiences earned multiple Oscar nominations, and took more than […]
REVIEW: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – a moving adaptation of a remarkable novel
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Photo credit – Brinkhoff-Moegenburg Venue: Birmingham Hippodrome Performance Date: 29 March 2022 Reviewer: Alex Birch Star Rating: ★★★1/2 Award-winning production The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is back at Birmingham Hippodrome, where it will be playing until Saturday, April 2. Based on the 2003 […]
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: 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: 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: School of Rock – a commitment to excellence that shines throughout
The cast of School of Rock UK Tour – Photo Paul Coltas Venue: The Alexandra, Birmingham Performance Date: 31 January 2022 Reviewer: Alex Birch Star Rating: ★★★★★ Remember School of Rock? In 2003, almost twenty years ago, the Hollywood comedy film helmed by a youthful Jack Black was an international box office hit. Family-friendly without being […]