The resplendent partnership of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman – which produced Disney hits Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid – first took root with this 1982 Off-Broadway musical, based on a low-budget Sixties film, about a man seeking love and fortune via a bloodthirsty plant. This revelatory revival from Maria Aberg embraces the work’s B-movie dichotomy: equal parts dark, gory fable and riotous carnival of delights.
Read my full theartsdesk review here
There’s an explosion of spirit and – yes – “cheer face” at Southwark Playhouse, hosting the long-awaited UK premiere of this 2011 musical; last year’s planned national tour was sadly postponed.
But Ewan Jones’s dynamic British Theatre Academy production, with its minimal scenery and tight ensemble perfectly filling a midsize space, suggests it’s the ideal piece to go on the road – not to mention its timely, uplifting message of inclusion.
On my August MoveTo Town and Country Arts page:
Classic Spring’s year-long season ends with Wilde gone wild: a free love riot that yanks the queer subtext into text, with everyone from masters and servants to, er, the long-lost brothers sharing snogs and cigarettes. The famous passive aggressive tea party turns into a food fight, and even Lady Bracknell is at the sherry.
The actor discusses appearing in the Wilde classic, plus Downton Abbey and the upcoming Mary Poppins Returns.
The first thing we see is Anna Fleischle’s Fifties-tastic giant doll’s-house set: each period-perfect room bathed in a different twinkling hue, flowers painted onto the brick wall, and jaunty music setting the tone. But Katherine Parkinson’s Judy is able to open the front wall like a folding door – clearly establishing that this life, and this contentment, is just a façade.
From starry Shakespeare and a new musical to family entertainment.
Gerard Alessandrini is not throwing away his shot. The creator of satirical revue Forbidden Broadway realised that the unprecedented success of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical warranted a standalone show, and thus Spamilton was born. A 2016 Off-Broadway hit, the affectionate spoof now follows Hamilton over the pond.
This highly anticipated new play from 84-year-old Alan Bennett premieres at the Bridge, continuing his long-standing relationship with Nicholas Hytner. It’s an exciting get, and there are wonderful flashes of Bennett wit, wisdom and stirring empathy, but also polemical outbursts and baggy plotting that lead to a ponderous and not entirely justified run time.
BroadwayWorld reviewers reflects on their experiences and share their all-time favourites.
