These Theatre Thoughts

  Photo credit: Manuel Harlan  Date: 22nd November 2023 Seat: L20 Tickets: Gifted Rating: 5 Stars  A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic isn’t just a Yuletide play, and it’s not just a new tradition (there’s been a version of the same play running at the theatre since 2017); it’s an experience. Arriving at the theatre, the front is lit up in green with ‘A Christmas Carol’ shining in red above the door in big, bright lights; it couldn’t get more festive. Except it does – get seated, and you’ll find Victorian merchants wandering around with satsumas and, joy of joys, warm mince pies, which are given away to the hungry hordes in a way that Ebeneezer Scrooge would certainly not approve of.  Then there’s the play itself. Written by Jack Thorne and directed by Matthew Warchus, this is a traditional re-telling of Dickens’ famous Christmas story with some lovely modern elements thrown in that make for perfect comic counterpoints when they appear – having the Ghost of Christmas P...

Date: 13th November 2023  Seat: R12 Tickets: Gifted Rating: 4 Stars It might be a hard-knock life for the orphans at the New York Municipal Orphanage, but it’s certainly no hardship for the audience to enjoy this magnificent version of the all-time classic, Annie .  So, what is it about this particular production of Annie that works so well? One thing is the same thing that works for every production of Annie – the score. These songs are so familiar that hearing them sung (and sung so impressively) on a stage in front of you makes you feel happy. That’s it. There’s a nostalgic edge to everything you see and hear, and whether it’s the iconic “Tomorrow”, the fantastic “Hard-Knock Life”, or perhaps Miss Hannigan’s desperate refrain (and my personal favourite), “Little Girls”, these are songs we’ve all grown up with. That’s special, and it means Annie holds a unique place in many people’s hearts.  Then there are the dance numbers. With Craig Revel-Horwood playing Miss H...

  Photo credit: Johan Persson  Date: 8th November 2023  Seat: E6 Tickets: Gifted Rating: 4 Stars Backstairs Billy , written by Marcelo dos Santos and directed by Michael Grandage, is the story of William ‘Billy’ Tallon who was the Queen Mother’s servant from the age of 15 until her death in 2002 – a span of 50 years or so. The play is set in 1979 when Billy has already been at work at Clarence House for 27 years and has just been promoted to Page of the Backstairs.  This odd couple, him from Coventry and she as the former queen consort, shouldn’t work – they shouldn’t really have anything to do with one another – and yet a loving and deep friendship was formed over the years, and Backstairs Billy would do anything to protect his beloved queen. It’s this love and the joy Billy takes in it that sells the character; he has no ulterior motives; he simply adores his Queen.  Backstairs Billy is, first and foremost a comedy, and it’s certainly amusing, with distinct e...

Date: 3rd November 2023  Seat: Unallocated Tickets: Gifted Rating: 3 Stars Just A Regular House theatre company has recently celebrated its first anniversary, and with a double bill of spooky stories – We Are Monsters , written by Joseph Ryan-Hughes, and Glass , written by Connor McCrory – they’re celebrating in style.  Both tales are directed by Zach Wyatt, and both have a distinct style that gives the audience pause for thought while never letting the action lag. There is a mood created here, and that mood is dark. It’s uncomfortable. It gives the audience the feeling that they’re the ones on the back foot, never quite sure what’s around the corner – or in the reflection in front of them.  We Are Monsters is a story about two siblings, Caitlyn (Laura Mugford) and Kyle (Joseph Ryan-Hughes), who take great delight in dressing up as ‘the drowned children’ (a legend about the nearby lake) and scaring campers. They take great delight in this game, that is, until Wesley (Mos...

  Date: 1st November 2023  Seat: E33 Tickets: Gifted Rating: 5 Stars The words ‘true crime’ and ‘rock musical’ perhaps aren’t something you’d normally expect to see in one sentence, but that’s precisely how Lizzie , currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant is described and, in all honestly, that’s precisely what Lizzie is. And it works.  Directed by William Whelton and written by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer, Tim Maner, and Alan Stevens Hewitt, the story is that of Lizzie Borden who, it’s alleged (although there’s no room for interpretation in this telling of the story – here she’s one hundred percent guilty) killed her father and stepmother on the 4th August 1892 in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. She claimed she was innocent, but the evidence was stacked against her. However, with the help of an expensive legal team and the support of her sister, Emma, maid, Bridget, and friend and lover, Alice, she was found not guilty.  Over the years, there have...