It’s nearly 100 years since Noel Coward’s farcical comedy about the eccentric Bliss Family was first staged in the West End and it seems appropriate to mount a new production at the lovely Mill at Sonning in Berkshire just 12 miles from Cookham where the play is set. Yet the play is something of a curiosity of the period filled with theatrical games played by the self-centred egotistical family. Its artificiality may have amused us 100 years ago but now it all seems a little tiresome and we never care for any of the characters or are particularly amused by their affected behaviour. It does n ..read more

As a writers theatre, The Royal Court consistently programmes exciting new work showcasing the voices of artists who come at the world with perspectives of our current social climate with honesty and an intention to challenge the comfort of our moral compasses. Black Superhero, written by Danny Lee Wynter and directed by Daniel Evans, continues this legacy with humour, heart and a really fun soundtrack. Black Superhero is a charming dark comedy centring around David (Danny Lee Wynter), a 38-year-old black gay man loosely holding onto dreams of becoming a successful actor and finding love. T ..read more

First came the euphoria of VE Day in May 1945. People rejoiced after six long years of war came to an end. The first summer of peacetime ambled gently into view. But war was still raging in the Far East. Come August an atomic bomb will land in Hiroshima and provoke Japan’s unconditional surrender. The aftershock would be equally felt at Farm Hall in the Cambridgeshire countryside. Six of Germany's top nuclear scientists have been detained at the mansion following their capture by allied forces. Known collectively as Hitler's 'Uranium Club' they gradually adjust to t ..read more

Anyone familiar with pitching a theatre show these days will know there is one question you always have to answer to be in with a shot of doing your show; ‘Why now?’ This is a question that this production of Accidental Death of An Anarchist at the Lyric Hammersmith answers with every second of its stage time. Though Dario Fo’s classic satire was based on the death of a real-life anarchist in police custody following the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing, at its heart it is a play about corruption in the police that is not limited to a time or place.  A maniac walks into a police station im ..read more

Bartlett Sher’s magnificent revival of Rogers and Hammerstein’s wonderful 1951 musical was first produced for the Lincoln Centre in New York in 2015 before being remounted at the London Palladium and released to cinemas in 2018. The production has been recast and remounted for an extensive UK tour which began in January 2023 in Canterbury and currently continues until November in Norwich and last week visited the Swan in High Wycombe for a sell-out week. It is well worth catching with its beautiful score, simple slick staging and appropriately diverse cast lead by Helen George as Anna and Da ..read more

Wanted: London’s Most Wanted Musical, and winner of Best New Musical at the WhatsOnStage Awards 2023! You want a tip-off? You can find them at The Garrick Theatre, in the heart of central London in the form of Bonnie & Clyde the Musical. Romanticized by the media at the time, the story of Bonnie and Clyde was far from your traditional love story. However, despite their appalling legacy of violence, it was in fact their undeniable dedication and love for one another that has made its mark in the history books. The story follows two small-town kids from rural America, each with dreams of ..read more

The Great British Bake Off - the hit TV show that’s taken audiences all over the world by storm. Also, the musical nobody asked for, and maybe there’s good reason.  If you’ve seen the TV show you’ll be very familiar with the basis of this musical. Eight bakers, two presenters and two judges. Through the musical, we lightly explore these eight aspiring bakers guided by our two presenters with the occasional appearance of our two very well-loved presenters. Other than that, there’s not much basis for this show.  With a very loose storyline that appears clunky and drawn out, we neve ..read more

Reading Rep is celebrating its tenth anniversary of its formation and a second season in its new venue with some bold and original adaptations of familiar stories. After the glorious success of a one-woman version of Jekyll and Hyde with the incredible Audrey Brisson and an intriguing resetting of Christmas Carol in the Huntley and Palmer Reading Biscuit factory comes a modern adaptation of Hedda Gabler set somewhere near London. This risk-taking approach to theatre combined with a £10 ticket price for those under 30 appears to be engaging the local communities and bringing a younger excitab ..read more

  Every musical theatre fan is going to want to slap me silly when I say that I've never actually seen Rogers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! I didn’t grow up watching those classic musicals but now as an adult, I make an effort to go and see them to make up for lost time. What I didn’t expect, was for this production to have such an emotional effect on me.   Oklahoma! is a Rogers and Hammerstein staple, first performed in 1943 on Broadway this piece has certainly stood the test of time as it remains to be one of the most famous musical classics. This production, which is currently pla ..read more

Anna-Jane Casey is currently starring as Cilla the Goose in Mother Goose alongside Ian McKellen and John Bishop. Mother Goose previously played Duke of York’s Theatre in London before touring various cities. The show is touring to Liverpool, Oxford, Leicester, Dublin Cardiff, Salford and Bristol until mid April.  Anna-Jane Casey has most recently been seen in the Olivier Award winning revival of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club starring as Fraulein Kost, and her prolific stage career includes the West End productions of Billy Elliot, Starlight Express, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dr ..read more