The unique selling point in this production of The Tempest is an all-female cast (though I note, without further comment on this point, that the director, producer and musical director are all men). It’s not the first time it’s been done – the Donmar Warehouse staged a trilogy of Shakespeare plays with an all-female cast:…
There were outcries from certain quarters when Bat Out of Hell The Musical had a stint at the London Coliseum, home of the English National Opera, where performances of the likes of Carmen and The Barber of Seville would ordinarily grace the stage. But it brought punters in, including many people who would not have…
‘The Gate’ in Gate does not lead to Purgatory. Entering Purgatory assumes a period of ‘purification’ prior to entering Heaven. For these characters, even the ultimate assurance of going “upstairs” or “downstairs” is not given, and in a plot twist, it appears the chances of the ‘candidates’ entering Paradise have been scuppered through no fault…
A sense of anticipation was wholly transparent amongst the audience at Five Guys Named Moe. A significant number recalled the first time it ran in the West End in the early Nineties, and from what they tell me, the major difference here in the purpose-built Marble Arch Theatre is the immersive and interactive elements of…
With a title like Boys in the Buff, and musical numbers with titles such as ‘Size Doesn’t Matter’, ‘We Can Strip For You!’ and ‘My Foreskin And Me’, what was I to expect? This wasn’t exactly going to be a Greek tragedy. But, interestingly, this production isn’t all about singing and dancing and having a…
I have sometimes pondered on the usefulness on reviving rarely performed theatrical works – surely there are sound reasons why certain some plays and musicals have stood the test of time. On the other hand, there were questions from some quarters about whether now really was the right time to launch a revival of 42nd…
