Articles by James Robert Ball

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De Profundis

De Profundis

This musical represents a massive achievement in many senses. 

Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Buried deep under Edinburgh, accessible only via a side street and past an inconveniently parked white van, Paradise in the Vault is the perfect venue for this chilling chamber ope… 

Something Fishy

Something Fishy

Another outing for put-upon mother-of-three Ruth Rich, Something Fishy charts an ill-fated school trip to Marrakech. 

The Walls

The Walls

PhD student Carrie leads us through several case studies of female mental illness, spanning centuries and hitting quite close to home. 

Who Wants to Kill Yulia Tymoshenko?

Who Wants to Kill Yulia Tymoshenko?

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been framed and is now forced to share a cell with a prostitute and possible murderer, Lina. 

Double Booked

Double Booked

Ruth Rich’s madcap scheming to avoid a diary clash fills this hour of light comedy at the Pleasance Courtyard. 

Solstice

Solstice

This darkly comedic two-hander plunges us straight into the aftermath of a murder in the Scottish Highlands. 

Terror On Presley Beach

Terror On Presley Beach

This show suffers from a major conceptual problem. 

Alex Mendham and His Orchestra

Alex Mendham and His Orchestra

Dinner and a show: a winning combination. 

Candid Cabaret

Candid Cabaret

I had never been to a strip club before. 

Another Way

Another Way

This bitter-sweet musical errs self-consciously on the side of the sweet, providing a Rom Com where everything seems to go right. 

The Happy Prince

The Happy Prince

When I was little I had a Jackanory audio tape which I would listen to as I fell asleep. 

Frisky & Mannish: Extra-Curricular Activities

Frisky & Mannish: Extra-Curricular Activities

The self-proclaimed professors of ‘pop hermeneutics’ return in stunning form to the Udderbelly, revealing their miraculous insights into the world of music and mass-culture, li… 

Orpheus and Eurydice

Orpheus and Eurydice

This was my first venture over to C eca, a venue with a reputation amongst some as being out of the way. 

Payback: The Musical

Payback: The Musical

Who am I? What price, fame? What is reality? These are just some of the inane issues dredged up to validate this otherwise empty narrative. 

Jacques Brel: In Song and Dance

Jacques Brel: In Song and Dance

The songs of Belgian-born chanteur Jacques Brel are renowned for their colourful imagery and dramatic storytelling. 

Carmen

Carmen

In this North London retelling of Bizet’s opera, our feisty titular heroine is caught between two men in a world of crime, sleaze, and skinny black jeans. 

Toulouse-Lautrec: The Musical

Toulouse-Lautrec: The Musical

Call me strange, but watching this show twice (in English and in Japanese) has been my most fascinating theatre experience in a long time. 

The Mikado

The Mikado

In this energetic operetta, The Tabard’s own in-house company Pulling Focus give us a bizarre romp through a blood-thirsty country club. 

Measures to Measures

Measures to Measures

In this offering from the American High School Musical Theatre Festival, Shakespeare’s text is revamped into a slick news room in a specially commissioned work from Chris Wynters… 

Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect

In a blank-canvas office, the corporate machine squeezes one last drop of inspiration from two ad-men at the end of their tether. 

Sunday in the Park with George

Sunday in the Park with George

‘Colour and light’ exclaims Georges, and this production takes that seriously. 

The Secret Garden: In Concert

The Secret Garden: In Concert

This picture-book musical follows a young orphan girl who casts off her mourning clothes and warms the hearts of those around her. 

13

13

Have you seen that Jason Robert Brown musical where the smart Jewish guy falls for the neurotic Irish Catholic girl? Despite being the premise of three of his shows to my mind, in … 

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

‘Ooh, he were good, that Mercutio! Shame he had to die, really. 

35MM: A Musical Exhibition

35MM: A Musical Exhibition

35MM is subtitled ‘a musical exhibition’. 

Beethoven and Schubert

Beethoven and Schubert

Sadly displaced from their usual venue, the St Andrew’s and St George’s West festival-within-the-festival have set themselves up in Royal Overseas House. 

Toxic Bankers

Toxic Bankers

Sovereign debt, bad credit, riots and scandals – the Euro, and the sky, is falling. 

American Idiot

American Idiot

Thank goodness they didn’t call it Greenday: The Musical, because if they had, they wouldn’t have got half the audience they did. 

The Boy Friend

The Boy Friend

The A-level drama students of St Marylebone CE School in London give this frothy oldie a new lease of life. 

The Devil and Mister Punch

The Devil and Mister Punch

Deep in the bowels of the Barbican lies a show which defies categorisation. 

Dick!

Dick!

Let me start by suggesting that people of a nervous disposition need not read this review, since you sure as anything won’t enjoy the show. 

Love and War: The Songs of Howard Goodall

Love and War: The Songs of Howard Goodall

It is a great honour for any composer to have their work cherry-picked by fans and turned into a revue. 

Spinach

Spinach

When is a musical not a musical? When it’s a sung play, of course. 

Bonesong / Unknown Position

Bonesong / Unknown Position

Misdirected sexual attraction is the plate of the day from the Cambridge University Opera Society. 

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical

What can a reviewer say about a musical that’s different every night? By extension, what can a reviewer say about any show, since surely no two performances are the same? If you�… 

The Deacon

The Deacon

Edinburgh is a beautiful city, with its ancient monuments, imposing churches and symmetrical townhouses. 

Dick! Comes Again: Bigger, Longer, Harder!

Dick! Comes Again: Bigger, Longer, Harder!

Are you back for more Dick, or are you inexperienced in these areas? Of course I’m referring to the madcap world of adult panto at the Leicester Square Theatre. 

Whistle Down the Wind

Whistle Down the Wind

Maybe it was lack of sleep. 

Tick...tick...BOOM!

Tick...tick...BOOM!

Tick…Tick…Boom! is a show created by Jonathan Larson (of RENT fame) centred around a promising musical theatre writer ‘Jon’, who is running out of time. 

Homemade Fusion

Homemade Fusion

If you are a fan of hilarious songs and impeccable singing then this is the show for you. 

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

What a charming narrative – a mountain man cons a young lady into marital servitude, at which point his six younger brothers steal six other women, holding them captive over wint… 

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