The 39 Steps at the Trafalgar Theatre. Photo: Mark Senior
Patrick Barlow‘s spoof version of the Hitchcock film, itself based on a John Buchan thriller, tells the story of Richard Hannah on the run from German spies and the British police, using minimal props and multiple theatrical effects. At the beginning of the century, it ran in the West End for nine years. It won an Olivier Award for Best Comedy and a couple of Tonys for Best Play and Best Direction during its Broadway run. Although it has hardly changed, this revival has not proved as popular with the critics as one might expect for such a previously successful show. The cast were praised, but the reviews were divided between those who thought the play was a classic farce and those who found it ‘creaky’.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Marianka Swain, popping up at LondonTheatre (4★), was a fan: ‘Balancing suspense with slapstick, and a cracking yarn with theatrical in-jokes, it’s a welcome piece of thoroughly escapist entertainment.’ ‘One moment you’ll be giggling at the sheer ridiculousness, the next gasping at a surprisingly brilliant coup de théâtre,’ she promised. She praised all the cast, mentioning ‘Safeen Ladha is a hoot as Hannay’s various love interests’.
Alun Hood at WhatsOnStage (4★) liked it a lot, ‘It’s quirky, swift, ingenious and altogether a smashing hour and three quarters in the theatre.’ He explained: ‘It takes a lot of skill to make something look this hilariously ropey, and the show delights in the unashamedly theatrical … It’s inventive and often very silly, but it never sends up the story itself’. The cast were praised, in particular, ‘Maddie Rice is the epitome of somebody with ‘funny bones’.’
CityAM‘s Adam Bloodworth (4★) enthused, ‘The 39 Steps is an homage to the roots of theatre: these skits could have been performed 100 years ago. That they still work today is testament to the power of clowning and physical theatre, without massive technological bells and whistles, to amuse and delight.’
Franco Milazzo’s review for BroadwayWorld (3★) starts well: ‘Patrick Barlow’s parody The 39 Steps creaks and groans in places but still has plenty of laughs’ but ends ‘there’s a dated feel about this play that lacks the audacious physical japery of later stage spoofs like The Play That Goes Wrong.’ Fiona Mountford at i-news (3★) found, ‘Time hangs heavy as one fast-paced escapade hurtles into the next, given that emotional engagement with these characters is vanishingly hard to come by.’
Calling it ‘sluggish and lethargic’, Claire Allfree in the Telegraph (2★) pointed out, ‘Speed, in short, is of the essence. But speed is precisely what’s missing in tour director Nicola Samer’s production’. Dave Fargnoli in The Stage (2★) said, ‘for all the slickness of the staging, this is a creaky piece that displays little love for the source material’.
Chris Wiegand for The Guardian (2★) also thought it didn’t work: ‘Too often you sense the wheels turning instead of losing yourself in the fun. The play should be equal parts thriller, comedy and romance – an ambitious mix – but it doesn’t satisfy on any of those levels.’ He concluded, ‘the result can sometimes feel less like a thrilling race against the clock and more of a garbled rush.’
While his peers compared it unfavourably to The Play That Went Wrong, The Standard’s Nick Curtis (2★) had a different comparison in mind: ‘this revival looks tired compared to successors in a similar vein, most obviously the sublime mini-musical Operation Mincemeat’.
Critics’ Average Rating 2.9★
Value rating 42 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
Fiddler On The Roof at The Barbican. Photo: Marc Brenner
Following rave reviews and a successful run in 2024 at the Open Air Theatre, Fiddler On The Roof has gone indoors to The Barbican, prior to a UK tour. Once again it has been hailed with 5 and 4 star reviews.
The story of a Jewish family trying to reconcile tradition and the modern world and their settlement being driven out of Russia at the turn of the 20th century has become one of the most successful musicals of all time. The music by Jerry Bock and Joseph Stein and book by Sheldon Harnick appeal to all nationalities through the last sixty years. Inevitably the shadow of past productions, particularly those involving the great Topol as Tevye, hangs over any new one. The 5 and 4 star reviews by the London theatre critics were united in saying that Jordan Fein‘s open air interpretation is a triumphant reinvention that looks both forward and backward. Tom Scutt‘s set was seen as a winner in itself, silencing any jokes about Fiddler On The Roof being staged at the only large London theatre without a roof. Adam Dannheiser was widely praised for his toned down version of Tevye. Indeed, the whole cast including the actual fiddler received plaudits.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Reviews of the Barbican presentation
5 stars
Rachel Halliburton at The Arts Desk reassured us, ‘this transfer to the Barbican has not robbed the show of its magic. We are gripped from the opening coup de theatre, in which Raphael Papo’s astonishing fiddler – whose violin seems to conjure lightning from the air – appears in a wheat field in early morning mist that rises up to become a “roof”.’
Olivia Rook at LondonTheatre didn’t miss the outdoors. She explained, ‘Aideen Malone’s lighting design works overtime to capture the musical’s changing mood: the joyful first act is flooded with warm, rich light; after the interval, as violence threatens to invade Anatevka, the stage is marked by stark white light and long shadows.’
The Mail’s Patrick Marmion praised ‘the terrific Adam Dannheisser as Tevye…He is a proper put-upon mensch, who dutifully drags the weight of his Jewish heritage behind him like the cart normally hauled by his lame horse. With a twinkle in his eye, Dannheisser is a big softy who brings heartiness, pathos and mischief to the part.’
The Standard’s Nick Curtis was back and even more impressed: ‘The transferred show is pretty much faultless, despite the loss of connection to the elements and the thrill of the cast passing through the audience one got at Regent’s Park. But I see I only gave it four stars back then. What was I thinking, God? This is a must-see.’
Chris Omaweng of LondonTheatre1 delivered this verdict: ‘On balance, having seen the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre run of this production last year, I prefer seeing it indoors’. He said it was ‘never difficult to maintain interest in a show that flows so incredibly well from start to finish. The audience is left to make connections between 1905 and 2025 for themselves. A confident, slick and assured production, it may not be Fiddler as you know it, but then Fiddler is all about challenging old traditions. An excellent and enjoyable experience.’
The Times’ Clive Davis declared, ‘Stripped of schmaltz and imbued with a genuine folk sensibility, this version of the story of Tevye the milkman and his neighbours in Anatevka is simply glorious.’
4 stars
Alex Wood for WhatsOnStage observed, ‘Rather than the rural sprawl evoked last year, Scutt uses rows of chest-height crops to pen in the town, while a looming slab of granite is suspended above. It creates a sense of claustrophobia, a community simultaneously teetering on a cliff-edge and ready to fall into the abyss, while also living under a great weight positioned directly overhead.’
Alexander Cohen for BroadwayWorld missed the outdoor sunset but ‘the comparatively confined Barbican has sharpened its dramatic knife edge that slices even deeper into the soul.’ He pointed out, ‘Dannheiser is the show’s beating heart, but it’s the women who serve as its lifeblood, pulsing energy through every vineagery exchange.’
It was The Stage’s Sam Marlowe’s first time at the show. She spoke of ‘the power and passion of the show, and the startling alacrity with which the union of story and score regularly cause the heart to soar and the skin to tingle.’
The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish also missed it first time around. He felt he had missed the magic of the sunset but was still impressed: ‘Fein privileges emotional truth over experimentation, the imperishable score rendered with musical heft and folksy simplicity, the lighting beautiful without being self-advertising. Julia Cheng’s choreography, particularly in the famous bottle-balancing dance sequence, replete with precise, angular, sweeping leg moves, is a joy.’
Another newcomer was Time Out’s Andrzej Lukowski. He was impressed by Jordan Fein’s ‘superb take’ onnthe musical as a ‘dark clown show’. He noted ‘The air of dark absurdity is aided by a wonderfully evocative set from Tom Scutt – a nocturnal wheat field with a huge sward sliced out and raised above the stage to form the titular roof, while the band sit at the back, only partially obscured by the crops. I missed the show at the OAT last summer, but here Scutt’s set has an alluringly Beckettian claustrophobia to it’.
Critics’ Average Rating 4.5★
Value rating 36 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
If you’ve seen this production of Fiddler On The Roof, please add your review and rating below
Reviews of the premiere at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park
Calling the show ‘Absolutely terrific’, Sarah Crompton at WhatsOnStage (5★) wrote, ‘The quality of Jordan Fein’s wonderful, emotional production is that it perfectly holds the balance of Fiddler on the Roof, neither tilting towards saccharine nor bitterness, towards schmaltz or politics.’ She was equally impressed by the cast: ‘At the heart of all this is the quiet underplaying and resonant voice of Dannheisser, who turns Tevye not into a Topol-style caricature but into a wry, ironic man, buffeted by events he cannot control, yet always finding it possible to assert love. He is matched by Laura Pulver’s Golde, full of emotion she doesn’t often express, but finding tenderness in gesture and stillness.’
Marianka Swain for The Telegraph (5★) called it ‘a masterclass in balancing innovation with tradition.’ She said, ‘in a stripped-back but exquisitely crafted production, Fein gets to the very soul of the work.’ She noted, ‘Fein’s staging is also beautifully attuned to the park’s natural magic. The shiver-inducing coup de théâtre is the sun actually setting during the bittersweet song Sunrise, Sunset. The bleaker second half then takes place in the dark of night.’
The Observer’s Susannah Clapp (5★) noted, ‘its painful progression can suggest any group of people struggling with internal change, under threat from authorities, bullied into movement. It’s hard to imagine a production that would do so more powerfully than Jordan Fein’s. His is also the best use of the Open Air theatre I have seen for ages.’ Among the many aspects of the production liked by Mark Lawson in The Guardian (5★) were the way ‘Fein foregrounds comedy, setting the piece in the tradition of deflective Jewish humour’, and ‘Adam Dannheisser perfectly times the one-liners … but also conveys the character’s deep faith’.
David Benedict for The Stage (5★) was impressed by ‘Fein’s arrestingly intelligent second-act directorial decisions (which) deepen and darken the action and make the show richer and stronger than any recent London revivals.’ Cindy Marcolina at Broadway World (5★) called it ‘Charming, heart-rending, and utterly gorgeous’.
Gary Naylor on TheArtsDesk (5★) handed out plaudits to the star: ‘Adam Dannheiser…brings charisma to burn to the role’; to the director: ‘maintains a breakneck pace (I cannot recall time passing so swiftly in the stalls) and uses the unique qualities of his stage beautifully’; and to everyone involved.
Tim Bano for Time Out (4★) called it ‘a production about reinventing a classic musical through small gestures and symbols, rather than radical high concepts’. He praised ‘using the sun almost like a design element. It’s all gorgeous evening sunshine for the earlier, happier parts of the story, but the haunting wedding tune ‘Sunrise, Sunset’ is designed to kick in just as the light fades, and then the bleaker second half takes place under black skies.’
Suzy Feay for The Financial Times (4★) wrote ‘Adam Dannheisser brings huge warmth but dials down the bombast as this timid man in a big man’s body’.
Neil Fisher writing for The Times (4★) was not entirely convinced by the star: ‘The paterfamilias of this story can be stoic, wry, fierce, anguished, uproarious, pious. The appealing Adam Dannheisser goes for something between all these things — not entirely convincingly.‘ But he had no doubt about the production: ‘Consider Jerry Bock, Joseph Stein and Sheldon Harnick’s masterpiece revved up rather than revamped. Underneath a mighty canopy of wheat — a dramatic set by Tom Scutt that shows us both the deep roots of this Jewish community and its fragility — Fein’s production is a fast-paced, ensemble-driven night.’ He pointed out, ‘perhaps Fein’s greatest work is to balance the joy with the pain’.
Aliya Al-Hassan at LondonTheatre (4★) said ‘(Fein) manages to bolster all the joy, humour and sense of community, then brings us back down to earth as the insidious creep of antisemitism destroys the integral fabric of this society. ‘The Standard‘s Nick Curtis (4★) called it, ‘a liberating, exuberant and humane production where the great songs – Tradition; If I Were a Rich Man; Sunrise, Sunset – touch you to the core. It also feels sadly contemporary without even trying.’ Fiona Mountford for i-news (4★) called it ‘a musical triumph’.
The Express‘s Stefan Kyriazis (4★) liked so much about the show: For starters, he loved the set: ‘I felt like I was dreaming.’ He observed, ‘The ensemble are strong, the musicians (tucked at the back of the set and costumed like villagers) wonderful and the dancers are a joy.’ As for the production: ‘Set against Tom Scutt’s magnificent stage and costume designs, director Jordan Fein beautifully treads the tightrope of respecting and celebrating the 1964 show while sensitively adding some modern nuances’. The ending, he reported, ‘is pure, powerful theatre’. His only reservation seemed to be about the star: ‘Adam Dannheisser has a rich singing voice and brings warmth and easy wit to Tevye’s innate charm. I just didn’t quite feel the sense of a weary towering figure struggling to keep himself and his family afloat.’
Jane Prinsley at The Jewish Chronicle (4★) was not alone in thinking ‘this production is Golde’s, with Olivier-award-winning Lara Pulver’s sharp and knowing performance’. She was impressed that ‘Innovations never distract from the narrative, and the play’s relevance today speaks to its enduring power.’
Critics’ Average Rating 4.4★
Value rating 66 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
Thomas Treadwell and Cherry Jones in The Grapes of Wrath.
John Steinbeck’s 1930s novel The Grapes of Wrath tells of a family’s trek across America lookibg for a better life it’s a grim story and this new production is faithful to it The critics were divided on whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. Many praised xx’s grinding production but others were bored. Few had a good work for the old fashioned 1988 adaptation The cast were universally praised with US star Cherry Jones more than justifying her plane ticket.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Accepting ‘there is little joy here’, JN Benjamin for the Financial Times (4★) found solace in the acting: ‘(Cherry) Jones’s tender performance is like a warm embrace‘ and ‘Harry Treadaway is quietly fierce’. Dave Fargnoli in The Stage (4★) also centred on the actors: ‘Although the production feels perhaps overly reverent towards the source material, these powerful, heartfelt performances remain absorbing, channelling the desperation, hope and fury of Steinbeck’s story.’
Fiona Mountford for i-news (4★) said, ‘Carrie Cracknell’s sweeping and epic production of stylishly sculpted ensemble work…makes us uncomfortably, insistently aware of the modern-day parallels’. Julia Rank at LondonTheatre (4★) spoke of ‘a brilliantly striking production’ coupled with ‘a superb ensemble’. Claire Allfree in the Telegraph talked about a ‘stealthily exacting production’.
Nick Curtis in The Standard (3★) worried ‘the melodramatic scenarios and the stylised dialogue threaten to tip over into parody’. Fortunately it was saved by ‘the elegance of Cracknell’s direction and Alex Eales’ set’. He found it ‘lacking in drama’ but said the cast ‘remain compelling to watch’. The Independent’s Alice Saville (3★) declared, ‘It’s brutal, powerful stuff. But somehow this production still doesn’t have the aesthetic or thematic boldness to link together its two halves’.
Andrzej Lukowski in Time Out (3★) said, ‘It’s not awful or anything, but its reverence for Steinbeck’s text – and determination to retain most of his characters and much of his dialogue – leaves it feeling like a radio play’. He added helpfully, ‘Great story, great cast, great accents; but it’s not Cracknell’s most imaginative hour by a long shot – a fresh adaptation might have made all the difference.’
The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar (3★) found it lacking in boldness. ‘Slow-paced and with a lack of incident in the first half, it feels more like a stately procession than a moving, breathing piece of theatre,’ she said. Cindy Marcolina at Broadway World (3★) called it ‘so, so slow and stagnant’
Alun Hood for WhatsOnStage (3★) summed up: ‘For all the astonishing and sometimes beautiful stage pictures, the understated brilliance of Jones’s performance, and the haunting musicality, I’m not convinced that this isn’t a story that is better told on page or screen.’
The Times’ Dominic Maxwell (2★) made his feelings clear: ‘What a miserable evening!’ Susannah Clapp in The Observer (2★) was equally scathing: ‘it is hard to feel the need for this theatrical version’.
Critics’ Average Rating 3.2★
Value rating 36 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
Thomas Coombes in Death Of England: Michael. Photo: Helen Murray
The original Death Of England play by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams opened at the National Theatre in early 2020. It was followed later in the year by Death Of England: Delroy (the original being renamed Death Of England: Michael). A third play Death Of England: Closing Time came to the National in September 2023. Now all three plays are getting a run at Sohoplace. The first two, slightly updated, have opened, with Closing Time opening on 22 August. Each can be enjoyed separately or in any order. Michael and Delroy are best friends, one white, one black. Their monologues describe their experiences of class, race and masculinity. Thomas Coombes plays Michael, Paapa Essiedu is Delroy. The director is Clint Dyer. Some critics reviewed them separately, some together.
Paapa Essiedu in Death of England: Delroy. Photo: Helen Murray
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Death of England
Dzifa Benson in the Telegraph (4★) concluded ‘This blistering cycle of plays is a compelling case for why England needs fresh ideas. The overarching message seems to be: England is dead, God save England.’ She was impressed by ‘Coombes’ and Essiedu’s astonishing physicality and bravura performances portraying multiple characters through switching accents and mannerisms with convincing ease.’ For Olivia Rook at LondonTheatre (4★) ‘Thomas Coombes (Baby Reindeer) gives a startling performance as a confused young man, simultaneously rejecting and perpetuating his father’s legacy of prejudice’ and ‘Essiedu’s performance is incendiary’.
Anya Ryan for Time Out (4★) noted, ‘At its best, the script feels like poetry. Words are sung out in repetition, phrases are echoed as memories in future scenes.’ He felt that Delroy was ‘the stronger and fuller of the two plays…It is a vigorous, loud and exhilarating act from Essiedu’.
Suzy Feay for the Financial Times (3★) referred to ‘the performers’ charisma, stagecraft and mastery of the space’ but preferred Michael to Delroy. She said of Essiedy in the latter: ‘his speeches seem slangy, improvised, sometimes hard to catch; overall, the piece has much less structure.’ Whereas Michael, ‘with its less sympathetic protagonist, is for that reason the more interesting piece and the tougher task for the actor.’
Dominic Maxwell in The Times (3★) said, ‘The writing crackles with contemporary life, while Dyer’s staging artfully uses every inch of the playing area.‘ Thomas Coombes gives, he said, ‘an extraordinary display of energy, presence and outsized wit’. Paapa Essiedu the speed of his wit and the variety of the voices he uses in this garrulous role — Delroy, like Michael, is a funny guy — are phenomenal’.
Like some other critics, Fiona Mountford at the i (3★) had reservations about the writing. She said, ‘while the staging and performances are near faultless, the writing is more of a challenge, and not always in a positive way. For starters, the 100-minute running time of each piece is far too long, greatly outstaying its potency’.
BroadwayWorld‘s Alexander Cohen (3★) decided Thomas Coombes’ ‘unmodulated firing-on-all-cylinders-attack-from-all-sides method results in a scorched earth rather than a clinical strike and clean kill’. Sam Marlowe of The Stage (3★) described ‘raw, unstinting performances from Thomas Coombes and Paapa Essiedu’. She talked of ‘Essiedu’s charisma sets the tinderbox account ablaze; it’s a phenomenal turn, vivid, witty, agonising and exhilarating.’
Death of England: Michael
Theo Bosanquet for WhatsOnStage (4★) said, ‘Watching Michael unravel in the close confines of @sohoplace is a visceral experience; it’s like being strapped to a rocket powered by fury.’ Arifa Akbar in The Guardian (3★) praised ‘an energetic central performance’ but said, ‘the tortured undertow of filial inadequacy, split loyalties between his father and his friend, Delroy, and jittery mournfulness, are not felt sharply.’ BroadwayWorld‘s Alexander Cohen (3★) thought ‘Roy Williams’s brilliance as a writer lies in the way he delicately coils intimacy into Michael’s soul’ but he decided Thomas Coombes’ ‘unmodulated firing-on-all-cylinders-attack-from-all-sides method results in a scorched earth rather than a clinical strike and clean kill’.
Death of England: Delroy
BroadwayWorld‘s Alexander Cohen (5★) wrote, ‘Essiedu really is a force of nature. Totally at ease, working the audience like a stand-up comic, then, with fox-like agility, backstabbing them with guttural force and working up to a symphonic crescendo.’
The Guardian (4★) said Paapa Essiedu’s ‘must-see’ performance ‘elevates this play into its own, one-man coup de theatre. Essiedu has astonishing poise, bringing tragic depth and integrity to Delroy but lilting joy and comedy, too. His enraged injustice, when it comes, is immense and you feel it burn. The sentimentality, when that comes, is transformed into a tenderness which brings tears to your eyes.’ Theo Bosanquet for WhatsOnStage (4★) declared, ‘Essiedu gives nothing short of a tour de force performance. He demands our focus and our judgment, literally turning us into his jury.’
Fangirls at the Lyric Hammersmith. Photo: Manuel Harlan
Fangirls is a musical by Yve Blake that originated in Australia. It concentrates on the experience of a 14 year old female fan of a boy band. It seemed those critics who best remembered what it was like to be a young fan loved it the most but all of them quite liked it. The original Australian director Paige Rattray is in charge of its UK premiere.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
‘For two hours and 30 minutes, you feel like a teenager again,’ enthused Olivia Rook for LondonTheatre (5★), praising it as ‘a celebration of young female expression’. Jessie Thompson at The Independent (5★) was another reviewer who revisited her teenage years: ‘although Blake succinctly targets the cynical capitalist exploitation of teenage girls, this celebration of vulnerability, bravery and self-acceptance will win you over for something more. Fangirls doesn’t just evoke the untamed inner life of being a teen, it reclaims it – making you wistful for when you felt things so deeply that they actually hurt.’
Charlotte Vickers at WhatsOnStage (5★) said, ‘Rattray’s direction … is impeccable, moving us between humour and the deadly serious on a knife edge’ and added, ‘All of the songs are really strong’. Katie Kirkpatrick at BroadwayWorld (5★) was a fan: ‘Fangirls has everything that you could want from modern musical theatre: it’s a visual spectacle, full of talented performers, catchy songs, impressive dance numbers, and an exciting story. It’s the definition of a feel-good night out at the theatre.’
Holly O’Mahony for The Stage (4★) found ‘Blake delves into the intense, insecure minds of young female fans, and ultimately serves them justice.’ Calling it ‘fantastic’, Sarah Hemming in The Financial Times (4★) noted that ‘at its core is a sympathy for the disorientation and despair that can cloud teenage years, sometimes seriously.’ She was impressed by a cast ‘peppered with talent’. Isobel Lewis reviewing for the i (4★) called it ‘an impressive, bombastic production’.
Claire Allfree in the Telegraph (3★) told us not to worry about the ‘completely barmy plot’ because ‘what matters here is the punchy hip-hop routines’. She added, ‘Paige Rattray’s neon-lit production,(is) undeniably superbly executed’. The Guardian‘s Arifa Akbar (3★) concluded, ‘the musical goes from what might have been a penetrating exploration of young femininity to an absurdist comedy caper which never quite captures the quietly tortured ache of that first crush.’
The Standard‘s Nick Curtis (3★) said, ‘The dancing is dynamic, the singing largely good, the design a pulsating mix of music-video graphics and deranged close ups projected onto three curved screens. But the veil of kookiness covering a thin, derivative plot really bugged me.’ Clive Davis in The Times (3★) praised ‘the exceptional quality of the performances‘
Shrek The Musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire is back in a new production by Samuel Holmes and Nick Winston. Antony Lawrence and Joanne Clifton are the leads. Following a short tour, it has arrived in London but it seemed most of the critics, posting the worst reviews of the year so far, would be happy to send Shrek straight back to the swamp.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Aliya Al-Hassain at LondonTheatre (3★) was the only mainstream critic who seemed to have any time for it, calling it a ‘buoyant stage musical adaptation’. She picked out Antony Lawrence’s performance as Shrek for praise.
Chris Wiegand in The Guardian (2) experienced ‘sludgy monotony and often unmemorable songs’ in a ‘show often feels flatly unadventurous’. Theo Bosanquet from WhatsOnStage (2★) was disappointed that ‘a production that relies so much on laughs just simply isn’t as funny anymore’. Kirsten Grant for the Telegraph (2★) called it ‘a cheap attempt to cash in on a cult favourite’ but she did draw a crumb of comfort from ‘a stand-out performance from Cherece Richards as Dragon, whose powerhouse vocals momentarily lifted the production’.
Labelling the musical ‘an atrocity’, Anya Ryan for The Times (1★) said ‘Their love story is in crying need of chemistry — instead, everything is shouted at a torturously loud volume.’ Nick Curtis in The Standard (1★) called it ‘pretty lame’. ‘The sets are a skimpy collection of poorly projected animations and flown-in flats,’ he said.
Critics’ Average Rating 1.8★
Value Rating 24 (Value Rating is the critics’ average rating combined with the typical ticket price)
The Hot Wing King at the Dorfman Theatre. Photo: Helen Murray
It doesn’t look like Katori Hall‘s Pultizer Prize winning comedy about race, masculinity and homophobia will be winning many awards this side of the Atlantic, if the predominantly three star reviews are anything to go by. The critics like the characters and the comedy in Roy Alexander Weise‘s production, as four black gay men in a Memphis kitchen prepare for a hot wings contest, but they found it overlong and some craved more depth.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
The Observer’s Kate Kellaway (5 ★) found it ‘a heartwarming, refreshing and original show’. Frey Kwa Hawking at WhatsOnStage (4★) found it long ‘But the characters are so likeable, and being in this house with them is so irresistible, that slowness can’t really be resented.’
Andrzej Lukowski’s review in Time Out (3★) made a similar point: ‘Hall’s play is a pleasure, but there are moments where it feels like an endurance test’. A similar thought came to Alexander Cohen at Broadway World (3★): ‘Hall’s flavours may not always mix and the bombastic jauntiness makes the melodramatic moments feel drawn out by contrast, but so what. This is a summer comfort watch.’ Nick Curtis in The Standard (3★) felt something similar: ‘Though overlong, this is a tasty, stimulating experience.’
The Times’ Clive Davis was warm rather than hot in his review in The Times (3★) saying it ‘trundles along merrily enough without justifying its ample running time.’ Arifa Akbar in The Guardian (3★) enjoyed the ‘humour, Black joy and relationship drama – in that order.’ Sarah Hemming in the Financial Times (3★) found much to appreciate, ‘Weise’s production savours both the playfulness and the emotional truths in the plot, and his cast all give affectionately observed and beautifully rounded performances.’
Claire Allfree in the Telegraph (3★) felt that Hall ‘in the end opts for feelgood emotion’. Dave Fargnoli for The Stage (3★) said, ‘As charismatic and vividly-drawn as these characters undoubtedly are, Katori Hall’s Pulitzer prize-winning culinary comedy tells an overstretched, overfamiliar story.’ Tom Birchenough for The Arts Desk (3 ★) concluded, ‘there’s richness of writing here, and the sheer enjoyment evident from the ensemble cast carries it resoundingly.’
Caissie Levy in Next To Normal. Photo: Marc Brenner
A suburban American family cope with a wife/mother with bipolar disorder in Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s musical Next To Normal. It is becoming almost commonplace for new musicals to take on heavy subject matter and the critics have been complimentary to this one for the way it uses music to convey the woman’s state of mind. The British production started at the Donmar Warehouse and has now transferred to the West End. Some of the critics had more reservations than others about the musical but it was generally agreed that Caissie Levy was exceptionally good in the lead role. Michael Longhurst directs.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Tom Wicker for Time Out (4★) said, ‘Where this show unambiguously succeeds is in its sympathetic but clear-sighted depiction of a family buckling under buried grief and an impossible present…As Kitt’s attention-grabbing score and Yorkey’s lyrics wheel through differing genres, we get an aural sense of the characters’ messy kaleidoscope of feelings.’
Sam Marlowe in The Stage (4★) called it a ‘harrowing, tough-minded musical,’ saying it ‘rips out your heart and hands it back to you, bruised but overflowing.’ The Standard‘s Nick Curtis (4★) declared it was ‘Wonderfully sung and staged’.
Olivia Rook for London Theatre (4★) said, ‘The ‘musical soars in the hands of such an accomplished and connected cast.’ Abbie Grundy reviewing for Broadway World (4★) described it as ‘a delicate yet gut-punching exploration of mental health and grief’. He said, ‘The cast is as strong vocally as they are within their acting, giving justice to the punchy score.’
Dominic Maxwell in The Times (3★) found it a paradoxical show. He described it as ‘simultaneously sophisticated and plodding‘ and said he ‘found this tale of breakdown and potential recovery went from utterly persuasive to oddly shallow.’
Other reviewers caught it at the Donmar:
Marianka Swain in an earlier review for LondonTheatre (4★) said it ‘really puts you through the wringer in its raw depiction of mental illness and family disconnection. But this courageous and deeply moving piece provides ecstasy as well as agony, light as well as darkness.’ Suzi Feay writing for the Financial Times (4★) said it ‘stirringly depicts a woman’s steeply deteriorating condition and the havoc it wreaks on her family’.
Emma John writing for The Guardian (3★) found the main character Diana was ‘compellingly portrayed by Caissie Levy’. Her main reservation was that ‘the second half still feels overlong, as songs crash into each other without any concomitant plot development’.
Average critics’ rating 3.8★ Value Rating 44 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
Imelda Staunton in Hello, Dolly! Photo: Manuel Harlan
Jerry Herman‘s 1964 musical about a matchmaker in late 19th century New York is given a lavish revival by Dominic Cooke, with an all-conquering Imelda Staunton in the title role. The critics lavished praise on every aspect of the production but saved the highest marks for Ms Staunton.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Fiona Mountford in the i (5★) said, ‘The Palladium stage is cavernous, but the diminutive Staunton commands it utterly’. She declared, ‘It is delightful to be able to say that right here is a landmark theatrical production that will be talked about for years to come.’ Aliya Al-Hassan at Broadway World (5★) echoed the thought, ‘An immaculate Staunton is the heart of this production, but there is so much to enjoy about this truly joyful show. It will be spoken of in years to come’.
Marianka Swain for LondonTheatre (5★) called it ‘the show of the year’. She explained, ‘Every element is pitch-perfect, from Rae Smith’s delectable costumes…to Bill Deamer’s dreamy choreography…It’s like a Golden Age MGM movie come to life.’ ‘“My heart is about to burst,” the chorus sings. Same here’, said The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar (5★). She explained, ‘this production casts a magic spell. Dominic Cooke’s production is immaculately performed and slowly, beautifully life-affirming, with humour that reins in the schmaltz.’
Sarah Hemming in the Financial Times (5★) said, ‘Staunton brings her own blend of splinter-sharp comic timing and emotional depth to the part’. She was impressed that director Dominic Cooke ‘throws everything at it the vast Palladium stage can handle, relishing the chance to savour musical comedy at its bonkers best’. If that wasn’t enough, ‘Cooke and his cast find rich emotional truths and salient points in the story’. Kate Kellaway in The Observer (5★) said, ‘Staunton’s star quality…depends on her miraculous ability to stay genuine and intent, no matter how far-fetched the goings on around her. Naturalness and charm make her a joy to watch.’
Nick Curtis at the Standard (4★) described Imelda Staunton as ‘the driving force of Dominic Cooke’s sumptuous, effervescent production, even bringing a note of pathos to the story’s wry wit and knockabout daftness.’ Neil Norman in the Express (4★) declared that Imelda Staunton brings ‘light and shade to Dolly that only a serious actor at the top of her game could achieve.’ Patrick Marmion in the Daily Mail (4★) claimed, ‘Staunton has the musical wattage of a nuclear power station.’
The Independent’s Alice Saville (4★) described the production as ‘a lean mean entertainment machine’ and praised ‘Bill Deamer’s appropriately high-spirited choreography’. Holly O’Mahony in The Stage (4★) described it as ‘Sparkling with joie de vivre and running on a boisterous charm that prevents this safe but loveable production becoming overly sentimental’. Caroline McGinn reviewing for Time Out (4★) called it ‘a terrific old-fashioned show’.
Dominic Cavendish in the Telegraph (4★) loved Imelda Staunton’s performance: ‘The way this actress can expand to fill a space even while standing still, can have you hanging on the smallest look, whether expressive of beaming mischief, beady assertion or quiet vulnerability, and can raise the roof without breaking into a sweat, reaffirms her as one of British theatre’s greats‘ However, ‘the show itself is like a parade, a succession of scenes that don’t dig very deep’.
Dominic Maxwell in the Sunday Times (4★) was another who wasn’t that keen in the musical but was sold on the production because ‘Staunton owns it all, dances the dance between sad and silly, romantic and frantic. She makes grand conceits seem easy-peasy and serves it up smiling so it hits the back of the room with a satisfying thwack. She’s a true great.’
Critics’ Average Rating 4.4★
Value rating 49 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
Justine Mitchell in Alma Mater at the Almeida Theatre. Photo: Marc Brenner
Kendall Feaver‘s drama covers the many ramifications of a sexual assault at a top university. Justine Mitchell only replaced Lia Williams in the lead role at the last minute but received excellent reviews. Some critics found the many complications of the plot satisfying, others simply confusing.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Claire Allfree of the Telegraph (5★) declared, ‘Directed with pincer-like sharpness by Polly Findlay and beautifully performed, Feaver’s drama is one of the best yet to grapple with today’s culture wars’. She said Justine Mitchell brought to the lead role ‘magnificent, acid-tongued, arrogant flamboyance’.
The Financial Times‘ Sarah Hemming (4★) declared, ‘It’s not a perfect play — it is too schematic in places — but it’s a compelling, sharply resonant ethical workout.’ Sarah Crompton at WhatsOnStage (4★) found it ‘utterly absorbing and very powerful’. The characters, she said, ‘are always fully alive in their humanity and their shifting positions.’
Matt Wolf at London Theatre (4★) praised the new lead, ‘Is there a more quietly essential actress these days than Justine Mitchell…who illuminates every production in which she appears’? He liked the director too, ‘(Deborah) Findlay steers it with a cool, keen eye for the heated rhetoric it contains’. He pointed out, ‘Like any good play of this sort, you find yourself nodding in assent to one point of view only to soon be taken by another perspective altogether’, he continued.
What Matt found ‘satisfyingly labyrinthine’, others found confusing. Cindy Marcolina at Broadway World (3★) thought, ‘Alma Mater gets a lot right, but also puts too many irons on the fire’. Ryan Gilbey for The Guardian (3★) found ‘so many skeletons tumbling out of closets that the stage resembles a crypt rather than a college.’ Nick Curtis in the Standard (2★) was notably put off: ‘it’s undermined by Feaver’s desire to constantly wrong-foot the audience and cover every base. Think this is about assault? No, it’s about race. No, privilege. No, the power-dynamics of student-teacher relationships. No, the internal fault-lines of feminism.’
Two critics looked rather than loved it. Holly O’Mahony writing for The Stage (3★) felt the play was ‘guilty of intellectualising its subject matter instead of making us feel for it.’ Dominic Maxwell of the Times (3★) gave this advice: ‘You may not surrender entirely to the fiction, but you’ll have plenty to talk about afterwards.’
Critics’ Average Rating 3.4★
Alma Mater is at the Almeida until 20 July 2024. Buy tickets direct from almeida.co.uk
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