Monstering the Rocketman at the Arcola Theatre takes on 1980s tabloid journalism through the lens of Elton John and The Sun. Monstering the Rocketman I briefly considered sprinkling this review with Elton John puns. It’s easily done, and I’ve seen it work elsewhere in writing about Henry Naylor’s one-man show Monstering the Rocketman, now at […]
Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley brings a landmark 1965 Cambridge Union Society debate to Wilton’s Music Hall, and proves that it still has plenty to say. Note: this post uses outdated terminology in a historic context. Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley I love Wilton’s Music Hall for the possibilities its space and programming embody. In the past […]
Today’s review is a rare opportunity to engage with an interconnected play and exhibition: Mary Lincoln & Frida Kahlo UNFRAMED at the Royal Watercolour Society Gallery, and Mrs. President at the nearby Charing Cross Theatre. Both are the work of John Ransom Phillips, who took inspiration from Mary Lincoln herself to tell this story. A […]
Cable Street returns to London at a moment when its story of community resistance to fascism feels worryingly relevant. Cable Street Well. I can’t imagine that when Tim Gilvin and Alex Kanefsky independently had the idea for a musical about the Battle of Cable Street back in 2018, they quite realised how timely it would […]
There’s a noticeable appetite in London theatre right now for American history, particularly where private lives and public power collide. Our American Queen fits squarely into that trend. Our American Queen What is it about the American Civil War? That period is certainly having a moment on the London stage. Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln […]
London continues to provide a fine selection of adaptations of A Christmas Carol, with a hip hop dance version and a West End comedy on the cards for this year. Two New Scrooges for 2025 You knew this post was coming, didn’t you? You long-time readers, at least. For as much as the Salterton Arts […]
My festive Dickens habit took a slight detour this year with The Signalman at the Drayton Arms Theatre – a brief, atmospheric ghost story I hadn’t encountered before. The Signalman I’m always up for a Dickens ghost story at Christmas. A Christmas Carol is my perennial favourite, and I’ve written about it here before. But […]
Beauty and the Beast at the Bridge House Theatre is a small-scale panto that still manages to feel generous, lively and properly Christmassy. Beauty and the Beast Beauty and the Beast at the Bridge House Theatre in Penge is a panto stripped right back to essentials. There are four performers, projections taking the place of […]
A light-hearted, musical adaptation of the classic vampire tale, Dracapella promises to be an entertaining, non-traditional seasonal show. But does it deliver? Dracapella Dracula, in its original form by Bram Stoker, is an intriguing work. It’s late for Gothic horror, first published in 1897. It has modern flourishes that seem somehow out of place: a […]
The tale of the Snow Queen and its lessons of friendship and understanding takes shape for young audiences at The Albany in Deptford. A great Christmas theatre pick for families. The Snow Queen Icon Theatre’s The Snow Queen is a charming family production, full of the warm glow that people look for at this time […]
