These Theatre Thoughts

  Date: 20th May 2024  Seat: Unallocated Tickets: Gifted Rating: 4 Stars Maddy thinks this is her story, but it’s not. It’s not even her friend, Maria’s story. It’s our story, all of us, or at least it could be. What a terrifying thought.  Girls Really Listen to Me , written and performed by Eleanor Greene and directed by Alex Prescot, is a compelling, perhaps even devastating, one-woman play about Maddy, a spoilt 15-year-old girl private school girl from New York who, at first glance, seems far removed from any experience the audience might have had, but who, as the play progresses, becomes more like everyone else than she might realise.  Maddy is trying to grow up too fast; she’s obsessed with older boys and clubs and drinking, but when her friend Maria is assaulted, Maddy becomes a social outcast – she’s blamed (in part, at least), for what happened. Because, as it turns out, the girls really do listen to her, and she’s used that power in the wrong way. But th...

  Tickets: Gifted Rating: 4 Stars What do you want from a play? Something new? Something interesting? Something that gets your mind nicely working and the cogs whirring around? If that’s the case, you’re in luck; these are the things that Torben Betts’ Murder in the Dark gives you in a neatly wrapped-up package full of scares and twists. Just when you think you’ve definitely worked out exactly what’s going on, the rug (or in this case, perhaps sofa or maybe dining table) is very firmly yanked out from under you, and you have to start all over again, with just the merest scraps of clues to help you.  Here's a hint: those clues won’t help. By the time you get to the end of this masterclass in psychological horror, you’ll barely know what’s up and what’s down, let alone what’s real – and what’s just a shadow.  Photo credit: Pamela Raith Murder in the Dark is the story of Danny Sierra, a has-been pop idol who, along with his brother, William, ex-wife, Rebecca, son, J...

  Photo credit: Jack Merriman Date: 9th April 2024  Seat: S11 (Stalls) Tickets: Gifted Rating: 4 Stars In a world where cynicism often overshadows genuine human connection, Calendar Girls is a warm, fun, genuine musical that lifts spirits and puts smiles on faces wherever it goes. Based on the true story that inspired the beloved film, this stage adaptation transports audiences into the heart of Yorkshire, where a group of ordinary women embarks on an extraordinary journey of friendship, courage, and self-discovery – they are members of the WI, and they decide to do a ‘tastefully nude’ calendar to raise money for their local hospital after the death of one member’s husband there.  Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle with sensitivity but with a smidgeon of naughtiness thrown in, the production captures the essence of the original story, whittling it down to its bare bones but keeping in all the important elements. From the moment the curtain – with its wonderful sunflower depi...

Photo credit: Simon Vail Date: 5th April 2024  Seat: B23 (Large) Tickets: Gifted Rating: 3 Stars Sherlock Holmes is a well-loved and well-known character, and adapting one of his stories for the stage is potentially a thankless task – there will always be fans who find fault. However, there will also always be fans who are happy that their hero has yet another life, and when the adaptation is done well, it can be a true joy to see Holmes, Watson, Mrs Hudson, and the rest of the gang brought to life in front of your eyes.  Blackeyed Theatre has done well with this adaptation by Nick Lane, and Sherlock Holmes: The Valley of Fear is a fun murder mystery story that allows the audience to investigate along with the titular detective to come to a conclusion that, if not altogether shocking, still offers enough of a twist to entertain.  There are 20 characters in the story from beginning to end and only five performers, and although that could make things confusing – e...

Tickets: Gifted Rating: 4 Stars Solo performances, which seem to be all the rage at the moment, can be a bit hit and miss, especially if the performer has to take on multiple roles, but in Original Theatre’s Jekyll & Hyde , Forbes Masson is a hit, taking on the varied roles in the story, from Utterson the lawyer (and perhaps somewhat unreliable narrator) to the titular dual role itself, with gusto, able to switch personalities on a whim, it seems, all with little more than the buttoning up of a waistcoat, a rolling down of sleeves, and a change of accent or, in some cases, just tone of voice. It’s a remarkable performance that draws you into the story quickly, so that within the first couple of minutes the audience is hooked – we can’t leave now, not when there’s so much happening and such an eerie tale to get to the bottom of.  The story has been adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s source material by Gary McNair, who has managed to take the original story and condense it d...

  Photo credit: Mark Senior  Date: 22nd March 2024 Seat: H21 (Stalls) Tickets: Gifted Rating: 2 Stars Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry … that’s what we had to tell ourselves by the time we got to the end of Wild About You , a new musical by Chilina Kennedy with a book by Eric Holmes that took place on 25 th  and 26th March at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane as a staged concert.  That’s because the final scene is one that stirs up all kinds of emotions about grief, loss, regret, and, luckily, some hope thrown in too. The problem is, however, that it takes so long to get to that pretty good ending that you might not really care anymore. And that’s not because it’s a long musical (it clocks in at about two and a half hours including the interval), it’s just that it has a tendency to drag. There’s so much chatting and fluff and filler that seems completely unnecessary (why do we keep hearing about Michael’s religion when it comes to nothing?) that no matter how rousing the...

  Date: 22nd March 2024 Seat: Unallocated (Front Row) Tickets: Gifted Rating: 3 Stars Dr John D.O.G. Dolittle has written a book all about his exciting exploits, and he wants us to know about it. That’s why we’re there, after all – he’s going to read extracts from that book and regale us all with his amazing adventures.  To be fair, that’s pretty much what Dolittle (played by Aidan Pittman who also wrote the play) does over the course of a hilarious and absolutely bonkers hour in Dr Dolittle Kills A Man (and reads extracts from his new book) , and I am absolutely here for it. If you’re a fan of The Mighty Boosh or The League of Gentlemen , this is exactly the show for you.  The titular book is massive, and Dolittle can only choose one story to read to his audience, so he picks one about a f*cking huge ruby, which includes Nazi birds, bodybuilding puffins, a “small little man” called Dog, references to Indiana Jones galore, a brain-eating worm, Charles Darwin, Curious Geo...