Latest Reviews

Grease

There’s nothing like a large cast, seventeen in this case, giving it their all for the whole show to raise the spirits of an audience.

Our Cosmic Dust

Even to read the basic premise of Our Cosmic Dust is to successfully capture the imagination: Acclaimed Japanese playwright Michinari Ozawa uses haunting puppetry to chart a young …

ACNE ROMEO

Acne Romeo opens in a noisy bar, where we are introduced to two characters: R (played by Callan Ridgwell) and J (played by Luc De Freitas).

Deeptime Atomic Waste Pleasure Party

Science fiction as a genre takes many forms.

The Merry Widow - Scottish Opera

On paper, transposing The Merry Widow from Belle Époque Paris—with diplomats and Ruritanian princes—to 1950s New York and Sicily, with Mafia gangsters, looks like a bold move.

The Red Shoes

Fear of what the neighbours will say, fear of the priest’s penance and fear of God’s judgement hang over a fun-loving and somewhat rebellious young girl in The Red Shoes at Pra…

Shylock

It's 24 years since Gareth Armstrong opened the first Prague Fringe with his monodrama Shylock.

Anna's Apartment

Siobhán arrives, or, as she puts it, is “chucked off” the airport bus, in central Paris.

Gobstopper

Some people simply don’t have a filter, managing to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

The World of Madness

Acclaimed Indian actor Vkinn Vats brings his highly anticipated monodrama The World of Madness to premiere at Prague Fringe, and it certainly lives up to its title.

Pip Utton - King Lear

Pip Utton is a self-styled "strolling player," a point he emphasizes by noting that he has performed in venues "ranging from London’s Royal Albert Hall to Prague�…

Cafe de Profundis - A Surreal Portrait of a Circus Artist

Some performances—especially those featuring circus and juggling—can only truly work in a large space.

End Game

In End Game, Katie Reddin-Clancy’s mesmerising one-woman play, cabaret performer Joanie is having a difficult day.

Scottish Opera: Trial by Jury & A Matter of Misconduct! 

Scottish Opera delivers a gleefully cynical goodie bag of the old and new in this double bill of operettas – Gilbert & Sullivan's Trial by Jury and the brand-new A Matter…

Little Drops of Rain

There’s a moment early in Little Drops of Rain – a Taiwanese import from Bon Appétit Theatre – when you realise you’re in for something delightfully different.

The Chai Queens - A Tale of Love & Longing

Tea is for every occasion, and in India it comes in an array of flavours with glorious perfumes that waft from the cup.

Blasé

It doesn’t seem so long ago that, to go shopping, you’d head for your nearest town centre or mall.

House of Life

House of Life is back – and this time it’s bigger, bolder and more euphoric than ever.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywoodland

Nigel Miles-Thomas is no stranger to the Prague Fringe.

The Night that Ali Died

Christopher Sainton-Clark has scored another triumph with his new monodrama, The Night That Ali Died, which makes its debut at Prague Fringe.

Tales of the Boudoir

Grand Guignol de Milan presents three vignettes inspired by real-life events.

Stealing Stories

After last year’s wonderfully chaotic Getting Over Hugh, I made a point of catching Acting Out’s return to the Prague Fringe with Stealing Stories.

Hemlines

I almost didn’t see Hemlines.

Heart of the Country

There’s a version of Heart of the Country that I’d love to have seen.

The Magic of Terry Pratchett

If you put on a show about a man with a huge following, his devotees are almost guaranteed to turn up in droves to honour their hero - which probably explains why Marc Burrows play…

Hide My Porn

Letters have power.

Blip

Blip is charming in its simplicity, telling the story of a father, a son, and a mysterious portal in a mirror.

Priya Malik & Simar Singh - Love, Laughter & Longing

The delightfully engaging Simar Singh and Priya Malik from the company UnErase Poetry return to Prague Fringe with their new show Love, Laughter & Longing after another highly …

Once Upon a Time in Ukraine

Actors as messengers.

Do Birds Hide to Die?

I’ve often wondered why both the rural and urban landscape is not littered with dead birds.

There is a light and a whistle for attracting attention

“There is a light and whistle for attracting attention.

Murder at the Manor

Murder at the Manor starts strong with a witty nod to 1940s film noir, complete with detective narration and moody intrigue.

Julia. After 1984

It has become a cliché to say that George Orwell’s 1984, published more than 75 years ago, is relevant to our turbulent times.

FRAT

Fraternities are an integral part of university life in the USA.

Ballet BC (British Colombia)

A memorable, hugely exciting double bill, Passing and Frontier, performed by Ballet BC – the leading Canadian dance company – feels as if it’s at the forefront of contemporar…

The Angel of Death Will See You Now...

Review
★★★
Lois Zoppi
Brighton Fringe
Brighton Unitarian Church / Ironworks Studios
23rd May, 2025

A teacher lingers between life and death and wonders what it was all for, while the Angel of Death decides his fate in a liminal waiting room, longing to realise her dream of becom…

In Other Words

A tragic romance story about dementia set to the backing track of Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon, In Other Words is a veritable tearjerker.

I've Never Met Anyone Quite Like You Before

Shame around love and sexuality remains a stultifying and challenging part of self-acceptance, especially for gay men.

The Seagull

A big cast, a challenging text, and a very small stage.

The Man who was Thursday

Review
★★★★
Roger Kay
Brighton Fringe
Brighton Open Air Theatre (BOAT) / The Rotunda Theatre: Bubble
19th May, 2025

Identity confusion sits at the heart of this re-telling of G.

PROVOCATEUR

Tish (Letitia Delish) is stuck.

Medium

Review
★★★
Susanne Crosby
Brighton Fringe
Grania Dean Studio (Lantern Theatre @ ACT)
19th May, 2025

Isaac Freeman’s Medium offers an intriguing glimpse into the fascination with Victorian spiritualism.

KELI

Do not be misled by the headline descriptions of this new play.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Magic, puppetry, dance, aerial acts and snowflakes inside an illuminated circle fill this musical version of C.

Water Colour

It’s the new season at Pitlochry and it is off to a flying start with the world première of Milly Sweeney’s debut play.

Is She Really Going Out with Jim?

"Are you having a stroke?" Not exactly what inventor Jim (Paul Richards), pitching an idea to his long-term girlfriend Alison (Ruby Florence), wants to hear.

AS IF YOU KNOW ME

How well can you ever really know anyone? How much do we fundamentally understand about someone, and what are the masks and defences we all employ?A stage solely occupied by a keyb…

Noises Off

Brian Rix, the Whitehall Farces, and their successors from the 1950s were part of my life growing up, as they must have been for almost everyone packed into what felt like a matine…

Parlour Song

Who knows what lies beneath the seemingly respectable, very ordinary, and rather bland lives of those who occupy suburban London? Jez Butterworth’s Parlour Song, at Greenwich The…

Faygele

Ari Freed (Ilan Galkoff) strolls down the side aisle of the Marylebone Theatre and casually addresses us as though we were friends.

Moby Dick

“Call me Ishmael” is one of the most recognisable opening lines in literature, and the story of Moby Dick isn’t a mystery to many people.

Titus Andronicus

As befits one of his earliest plays, Titus Andronicus has all the hallmarks of a Shakespeare honing his craft in a studenty troupe full of bold ideas, incautious language, over-wee…

Krapp’s Last Tape

Some 12 years ago, Stephen Rea contemplated the possibility of performing Krapp’s Last Tape.

Before You Go - A new musical

A nervous young man stands on stage with a guitar at a microphone, ready to perform.

Becoming Maverick

Starting with a child discovered locked in a trunk in 1919, this one-woman show tells a hard-hitting story of triumph over adversity.

Almost Famous

An actress alone on chaise reminiscing about her life suddenly becomes much more interesting at a pivotal point in the show where the penny drops as to what is going on.

With Ruby and I

Mags’s mum has recently died.

Don't Let Me Die Before Sunday

Anxiety.

Giant

This is your second chance to see the Olivier award-winning Giant in its 14-week limited run on the West End: a gripping new play that brings to light the dark views of children…

C'est Magnifique

Review
★★★★★
Susanne Crosby
Brighton Fringe
Laughing Horse @ The Walrus / WundaBarn at the SpiegelGardens
3rd May, 2025

It’s rare to find a show that has absolutely everything, is literally all singing, all dancing, with copious handfuls of magic sprinkled on it – yet here it is.

Mettle

Review
★★★
Susanne Crosby
Brighton Fringe
Grania Dean Studio (Lantern Theatre @ ACT)
3rd May, 2025

Nicholas Collett tells a moving true story of his father, who served in the Royal Navy during the second world war, almost as an oral history encounter in this one-person show.

The Crucible

Scottish Ballet’s revival of Helen Pickett’s The Crucible is a sensation.

Restless Natives: The Musical

It’s a special year for Perth Theatre as the grand old lady of Scottish theatre celebrates her 125th anniversary.

Ben and Imo

Benjamin Britten was not the easiest person with whom to form an attachment, much less a friendship and to work for, but Imagen Holst, a focussed, determined and eccentric woman wi…

The Brightening Air

Conor McPherson’s latest play, which he also directs, might benefit from a more intimate setting than the Old Vic, but The Brightening Air retains an element of claustrophobia as…

Much Ado About Nothing

If recent productions are anything to go by, the RSC of 2025 season will be characterised as the summer of great spectacle.

Living With The Dead

Living with the Dead, a new play by Cosette Bolt, at Augustine Church Theatre, is Not So Nice Theatre's latest production.

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of)

Great fun, at times hilarious, Pride & Prejudice, sort of by Isobel McArthur is a high energy spoof which will appeal to both Jane Austenites and those who’ve never read a wo…

An Evening Without Kate Bush

Saying a show is ‘not for everybody’ has never been higher praise.

Bigfoot: In Plain Sight

Bigfoot in Plain Sight is the latest from theatre company A Handful of Bugs.

The Play’s The Thing: A One Person Hamlet

Mark Lockyer gives a remarkable and compelling performance in Fiona Laird’s shrewdly abridged version of Shakespeare’s Danish tragedy, The Play’s the Thing: A One-Person Haml…

Midnight Cowboy

Based on the much loved novel by James Leo Herlihy which inspired the triple Academy Award-winning 1969 film starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman, Midnight Cowboy – A New Music…

The Merchant of Venice 1936

Review
★★★
Douglas Gibson
London Fringe
Richmond Theatre (Ambassador Theatre Group)
10th Apr, 2025

One of Shakespeare’s most problematic characters, Shylock the Jewish moneylender has undergone polarised interpretations since The Merchant of Venice was first performed.

Swan Lake

Hilarious, slick, moving and deeply powerful, it is clear why Mathew Bourne’s Swan Lake has become a legend, with thousands of performances all round the world and now celebratin…

Ghost Stories

This is not Hitchcock’s Psycho.

Playhouse Creatures

After 18 years of pious, puritanical rule, theatres could at last re-open their doors when Charles II came out of exile and assumed the throne.

Death of a Salesman

Andy Arnold brings his production of Arthur Miller's modern classic Death of a Salesman to Scottish theatres, impressively with an all-Scottish cast.

Wild Rose

Based on the award winning 2018 film of the same name by Nicole Taylor, Wild Rose has line danced its way to the stage.

One Day When We Were Young

Nick Payne’s One Day When We Were Young is a neatly crafted trio of vignettes, each of which provides an insight into how the lives of Violet (Cassie Bradley) and Leonard (Barney…

Pandora

If location is everything, Teatro dei Giordi at the Coronet Theatre have espoused this sentiment in their latest work, Pandora, which transforms the stage into a unisex public lava…

The Makropulos Affair

The greatest operatic soprano in the world, with an irresistible beauty, who is 300 years old, preserved by an occult elixir – that is some role.

Road

Review
★★★
Rosa Georgiou
Edinburgh
Bedlam Theatre
27th Feb, 2025

Edinburgh University Theatre Company’s rendition of Road is an ambitious undertaking, that bravely attempts to capture all the gritty, raunchy realism of Jim Cartwright’s 1980s…

A Man For All Seasons

Rober Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons, is steeped in the politics of the age, but the dispositions of its characters have a timelessness that inescapably leads us to reflect on the …

The Testament of Gideon Mack

Impressively adapted for stage by Matthew Zajac, The Testament of Gideon Mack is transformed from James Robertson's original, and brilliant, novel into a robust and highly refl…

What A Gay Day! - The Larry Grayson Story

For those of us who lived through the era of Larry Grayson, What a Gay Day, at the Bridge House Theatre, Penge, is a joyous walk down memory lane.

Hamlet

This is, without a shadow of a doubt, a handsome production.

Vollmond

Four major elements combine in Pina Bausch's Vollmond at Sadler's Wells to create an intriguing two-hour, two-act production of contemporary dance from Tanztheater Wupperta…

We Will Hear The Angels

If you are looking for an antidote to the virus of Disney musicals, this show could have been designed in a laboratory for that specific task.

The Merchant of Venice

At times deeply shocking, sugar-coated with goofy humour, this is an extraordinary must-see production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, relevant to our dark times so fi…

Snow White and the Seven Drag Queens

Review
★★★★
James Macfarlane
Glasgow
22 Queen Margaret Union, University Gardens
15th Jan, 2025

It’s adult pantomime season again – oh no it’s not! - and with it comes a selection of x-rated jokes, filthy humour and songs a-plenty.

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