Lazarus (dice.fm) Rating: Verdict: Required viewing for Bowie fans Let’s not pretend to be surprised that the David Bowie musical Lazarus is a teeny bit pretentious. That was certainly the view of many critics when it first appeared in London five years ago. But for those of us who were certified Spiders From Mars, back … Read more
In the spirit of abiding self- delusion, here are five shows I’ll be wishing, and hoping, and praying go ahead, as scheduled When it comes to predicting the future, I always defer to that old joke about The Big Fella: ‘How do you make God laugh?’ Answer: ‘Tell Him your plans.’ So it is with some … Read more
A Christmas Carol (Old Vic, London; Bristol Old Vic; Dickens Museum, London; Polka Theatre, Watermill, Newbury) Verdict: God bless them, every one! Can it be a coincidence that so many theatres are doing A Christmas Carol this year? I think not. I reckon it’s the spirit of Christmases Past, rising up to banish our 2020 … Read more
A Christmas Carol (Bridge Theatre, London) Verdict: A delicious nut roast Rating: The first of this year’s cornucopia of Christmas Carols opened this week with the revered Simon Russell Beale as Ebenezer Scrooge at London’s Bridge Theatre. And, wholesome and nourishing though Sir Nicholas Hytner’s adaptation of Dickens’s festive tale is, it is, in all … Read more
The Cherry Orchard (ntathome.com) Verdict: Bittersweet cherries Rating: I Want My Hat Back (ntathome.com) Verdict: The hat fits, so I’m wearing it! Rating: Dear reader, dare I ask if, like me, you’ve lost track of your monthly entertainment subscriptions? I am thinking Netflix (£5.99), Now TV (£9.99), Apple TV+ (£4.99) and Disney+ (£5.99). However, I … Read more
Jane Eyre (Blackeyedtheatre.co.uk) Verdict: Trusty literary classic Rating: Rent (Hopemilltheatre.co.uk) Verdict: Put your mortgage on it Rating: Red (stage2view.com) Verdict: Dark red Rating: Jane Eyre is one of the hardest working heroines in all of Victorian literature. She’s a cast-iron steam engine of a character who really puts in the hours, shuttling from stage to … Read more
An American In Paris (stage2view.com) Verdict: Swish, swanky and ‘s wonderful! Rating: Falling Stars (stream.theatre) Verdict: Put it in your pocket Rating: Marry Me A Little (barntheatre.org.uk) Verdict: Polished Sondheim Rating: With a little bit of luck, before too long we’ll all be vaccinated, freed from the shackles of Covid and feeling (I imagine) like … Read more
What A Carve Up! (whatacarveup.com) Verdict: What a mash-up Rating: 15 Heroines (Jermyn Street Theatre) Verdict: Heroine overdose Rating: Emilia (emilialive.com) Verdict: Rambo-esque rad-feminism Rating: You don’t need to be a Maggie-sceptic to relish this brilliantly inventive recreation of Jonathan Coe’s 1994 anti-Thatcher murder mystery novel…but it may help. Coe’s deliciously macabre 1980s satire has … Read more
This Is Going To Hurt (Apollo Theatre, London) Verdict: Queasy rider Rating: The Great Gatsby (Immersive LDN) Verdict: Fizzy Fitzgerald Rating: Lone Flyer (Watermill, Newbury) Verdict: Little gem Rating: Given the fevered state of the nation, re-opening the West End with a hospital doctor who’s gone rogue was a stroke of mischievous genius. The … Read more
Betrayal (Theatre Royal, Bath) Rating: Verdict: Pinteresting Love From A Stranger (Theatre Royal, Windsor) Rating: Verdict: Who do you think you are kidding Mr Covid? A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Flute Theatre (flutetheatre.co.uk) Rating: Verdict: Shakespeare for autistic people Harold Pinter is a good choice for socially distanced theatre. The characters in his plays usually like … Read more