UK / West End Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 7

Review: THE GRAPES OF WRATH, National Theatre
by Cindy Marcolina - August 01, 2024

The piece is heavy in topic and method, but Carrie Cracknell’s quiet direction smooths out the nearly three hours of running time. It’s by any means not an easy-breezy show to experience, but it sinks into your soul in a way that only an epic does. The problem is that it’s so, so slow. ...

Review: MISCHIEF MOVIE NIGHT, The Other Palace
by Kat Mokrynski - July 31, 2024

After a run at the Vaudeville theatre and on livestream during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Mischief Movie Night returns to London with a run at The Other Palace. The show, which started as Lights! Camera! Improvise! at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, brings the original Mischief Theatre troupe mem...

Book Review: RECIPES AND REJECTION by Karen Cecilia
by Cheryl Markosky - July 31, 2024

Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning Saul Bellow had this to say about rejections: 'I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, 'To hell with you.''...

Review: THE PROMISE, Minerva Theatre, Chichester
by Debbie Gilpin - July 30, 2024

'To promise nearly fifty million people truly universal health care - ‘cradle to the grave’ - is crackers.' Despite this quote featuring quite prominently in promotional material, and the poster image showing a pair of midwives, The Promise isn’t wholly about the founding of the NHS. Paul Unwin’s ne...

Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 13, SARAH VAUGHAN: IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW, Royal Albert Hall
by Louise Penn - July 29, 2024

A lively, varied and yes, sassy night celebrating a groundbreaking artist. If only a few of the audience headed off to listen to Vaughan's original recordings, that is a bonus. As Sarah Vaughan 'married operatic grandeur with the coolness of jazz', so this concert digs deep to showcase her range, p...

Review: ROUGH MAGIC, Shakespeare's Globe
by Christiana Rose - July 29, 2024

At Rough Magic prepare to enter Shakespeare’s wondrous world to become a Guardian of Destiny. The audience interaction is aimed at children in the audience, who choose which department they wish to join. Options include Fairy, Ghost, Spirit or Witch. The playful atmosphere is instantly set at The Sa...

FANTASTICALLY GREAT WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, The Other Palace
by Christiana Rose - July 27, 2024

Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World presents bold beats from HERstory's trailblazers with a catchy soundtrack, a message of belief in capability and ultimately finding your voice....

Review: SHREK THE MUSICAL, Eventim Apollo
by Kat Mokrynski - July 30, 2024

Shrek the Musical, with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, has arrived in London. Directed by Samuel Holmes, this adaptation of the iconic 2001 movie stars Antony Lawrence as Shrek, a lonely ogre who ends up falling in love with the unusual Princess Fiona (Joanna Cl...

Review: NAMASTE BAE, Riverside Studios
by Kat Mokrynski - July 29, 2024

Namaste Bae, performed by Rob van Vuuren, a South African comedian, brings us into the world of the titular character who has gone viral around the world for his “power of comedic catharsis.” Being guided by the Mother Scoby, whom he claims to be an oracle of, “Namaste Bae is the guru you both need ...

Review: AFRIQUE EN CIRQUE, Queen Elizabeth Hall
by Matthew Paluch - July 26, 2024

There’s been a number of skill-based shows in London of late, and joining the current trend is Afrique en Cirque created by Yamoussa Bangoura, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. ...

Review: GO! THE MUSICAL, Upstairs at the Gatehouse Theatre
by Gary Naylor - July 25, 2024

New musical runs into familiar structural issues but has strong singing and pleasing songs...

Review: OLIVER!, Chichester Festival Theatre
by Gary Naylor - July 25, 2024

Matthew Bourne brings sensational dance routines to the stage, adding a cherry to the cake of one of the greatest scores in musical theatre history...

Review: BANGERS, Arcola Theatre
by Matthew Paluch - July 24, 2024

Bangers, written by Danusia Samal was first performed at the Soho Theatre in 2022, and in Edinburgh in 2023. It returns for a third stint at the Arcola Theatre and one can understand why. ...

Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 6 – VERDI'S REQUIEM, Royal Albert Hall
by Debbie Gilpin - July 24, 2024

“I believe in nothing.” Listening to Verdi’s Requiem would certainly suggest otherwise, its 85-minute journey from “Introit and Kyrie” and “Dies irae” - via “Offertory”, “Sanctus”, “Agnus Dei” and “Lux aeterna” - to “Libera me” explores a wealth of emotions, and is rooted in spirituality....

Review: FANGIRLS, Lyric Hammersmith
by Katie Kirkpatrick - July 24, 2024

Australian smash hit Fangirls encapsulates everything it is to be a mega fan of something. A sequin-embellished crusade of obsession and desperation, Yve Blake’s musical stretches from euphoric highs to gutting lows, without ever losing its sense of fun....

Review: RED SPEEDO, Orange Tree Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - July 22, 2024

The world of professional swimming has been dogged by stories of doping and Hnath's play seeks to explore the ethical aspects of this issue and how far someone will go to be a winner. So far, so intriguing, but Red Speedo feels unfinished and Hnath fails to either dig deep enough or offer any intere...

Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 2, EVERYBODY DANCE! THE SOUNDS OF DISCO, Royal Albert Hall
by Aliya Al-Hassan - July 21, 2024

Never to shy away from embracing new genres, BBC Proms introduced its first ever Disco Prom at a glitter ball-bedecked Royal Albert Hall. Everybody Dance! The Sound of Disco was a heady mix of infectious grooves, slick vocals and dynamic floor-fillers that shook the venue to its very foundations....

Review: THE WITCHING HOUR, Bridewell Theatre
by Cindy Marcolina - July 20, 2024

It’s haunted by a script that’s as creaky as the house investigated by the characters, but it’s captivating enough here and there. After a fascinating lecture held by Professor Dubois, Erin sets off to find out why people keep disappearing at Torhill Wood. ...

Review: SAM WU IS NOT AFRAID OF GHOSTS, Polka Theatre
by Kat Mokrynski - July 30, 2024

Sam Wu Is NOT Afraid of Ghosts, directed by Emily Ling Williams, is an adaptation of the popular book of the same name. Written by Kevin and Katie Tsang and adapted for the stage by Julie Tsang, we are introduced to Sam Wu (Sam Liu), a young boy who insists that he is NOT afraid of ghosts....

Review: SECONDS TO MIDNIGHT, Riverside Studios
by Josh Maughan - July 21, 2024

Queer friendships and the end of the world. It’s an unusual, but exciting, premise that underscores Love Song Productions’ new show Seconds to Midnight. Both concepts hold challenging, complex, and interesting pathways for exploration. However, in only 50 minutes and despite the effort of its cast, ...

Review: ACIS AND GALATEA, Opera Holland Park
by Michael Higgs - July 21, 2024

Opera Holland Park’s staging of Handel’s beloved Acis and Galatea is a smashing success that finds just the right balance between musical finesse and tongue-in-cheek comedy....

Review: BBC PROMS: FIRST NIGHT OF THE PROMS 2024, Royal Albert Hall
by Debbie Gilpin - July 20, 2024

Unlike the Last Night of the Proms, which has developed its own mythology and status (thanks to the traditions that surround it), the First Night of the Proms is not bound by any particular structure or the need to play any specific pieces; there’s a freedom to it that spills out into the audience, ...

Review: THE HOT WING KING, National Theatre
by Alexander Cohen - July 19, 2024

When food takes centre stage, it is usually as a conduit for humanity. Somewhere in the pseudo religiosity of ritual and the flurry of flavours we summon stories of cultures, families, histories across time and geography....

Review Roundup: Did Imelda Staunton Delight in HELLO, DOLLY! at The London Palladium?
by Aliya Al-Hassan - July 19, 2024

What did the critics think of Dominic Cooke's long-delayed production?...

Review: ECHO, Royal Court Theatre
by Katie Kirkpatrick - July 18, 2024

Intricately weaving together a tapestry of different times and places, Nassim Soleimanpour’s ECHO is a feat of creative technology. Performed by a different celebrated actor each night, the performance offers a sharply intelligent take on immigration and national identity. ...