2019 has been a fabulous year for theatre and it’s given me a grand total of 154 performances to enjoy - 147 of which have been reviewed here on the site. So what’s been seen in 2019 and what are my top picks I hear you ask? You can find both answers below! January took... Continue Reading →
Roots: The Bad, the Worse & the Awful – Obscure Folklore for the ‘Brave’ Child
Saturday 21st December 2019 at HOME, Manchester. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Created by the always wonderful and ever original 1927 Productions, Roots delves into obscure folklore, delivering an array of weird, warped and decidedly macabre tales for ‘brave’ little children. With their enchanting combination of live music, live action and animation, 1927 will open your eyes to entertainment... Continue Reading →
A Night at the Musicals: Thrillingly Theatrical, Thoroughly Fabulous
Wednesday 18th December 2019 at Leeds Playhouse. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is one of those relentlessly fabulous shows which leaves you smiling and giggling away to yourself long after the house lights come up. In A Night at the Musicals, we’re treated to a delicious feast of theatricality which delivers genuinely fantastic voices, sassy sardonic stand up... Continue Reading →
Elephant and Castle: Refreshingly Different & Very Funny
Wednesday 7th June 2017 at Harrogate Theatre (Studio) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Elephant and Castle is a gig-theatre show which explores the humour, the confusion and the darker side of sleep walk and sleep talk. Real-life couple Tom Adams and Lillian Henley use recordings from three years of sleep talk as the catalyst for songs and narrative snippets... Continue Reading →
The Butcher: Great Music, But Mis-Marketed
Saturday 11th March, 2017 at Leeds Carriageworks Theatre (Upstairs). ⭐️⭐️ The Butcher is marketed as a 'fantastical 4 star folk tale' from the talented Paul Mosley; part gig, part ghost story and part puppet show. In fact, let me add the seductive description here: I happen to love gripping ghostly tales and music, and I... Continue Reading →
The Book of Mormon: More Than Just Outrageous
The Prince of Wales Theatre. Saturday, 26th November, 2016. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'The Book of Mormon' proved to be everything we'd heard it would be. It was funny, shocking, fiery and definitely, definitely 'not for the faint-hearted'. The show is the creation of 'South Park' creators Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone - and I've only... Continue Reading →
Macbeth: Ambitious, but like Macbeth, ‘O’erleaps itself’
York Theatre Royal. Tuesday 22nd November, 2016. ⭐️⭐️ This production from Volcano Theatre is hugely ambitious and very modern; as the advertising promised, it's 'a furious two hander' and both Mairi Phillips and Alex Harries, playing all roles, are bursting with energy and grit throughout (which must be utterly gruelling with such a high level... Continue Reading →
The Boy with Tape on His Face: The Comic Brilliance of a Verbal Embargo
Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds. Tuesday, 18th October, 2016. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'The Boy with Tape on His Face', or Sam Wills as his nearest and dearest likely still address him, is a whirlwind of clever, creative, comic fun. As the name suggests, he stands before his audience with his mouth taped. For most, this would mean game over,... Continue Reading →
Don’t Wake the Damp: Bonkers
Harrogate Theatre, Friday, 7th October, 2016. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This show from Kill The Beast is off-the-charts wacky; crammed with energy exhausting to watch, craziness worthy of certification and big laughs enough to warrant the label 'success'. It is also bonkers enough to require both investment and significant acclimatisation. I try to avoid too much prior knowledge... Continue Reading →