Admittedly I am a bit of a bah humbug when it comes to the British Christmas tradition of a panto visit - I try it every couple of years and have experienced by now various formats (pub theatre, adult and drag versions included). I do enjoy the festive cheer everyone else experiences around me but … Continue reading Finally a panto for the bah humbugs – Peter Pan at the Greenwich Theatre
The massive auditorium at the Dominion Theatre at Tottenham Court Road is heaving on this Sunday evening, the last one before the advent season begins. Not that Oxford Street minds: The surrounding buildings and rikshaws are already wearing their Christmas best and have opted in for loud festive tunes. Who is ready for Christmas yet? The Dominion … Continue reading An English man, a Scottish woman and an Irish cast are… A Fairytale For Christmas at the West End’s Dominion Theatre
Its advisable to arrive early at the Polka Theatre when visiting with playful children - after a half-term visit to see Well Done, Mummy Penguin this is my third trip to Wimbledon's children theatre but the first one of today's 8 year old co-reviewer. And so I have only found out today that the venue has a second patio garden with a … Continue reading See it now: The Firework Maker’s Daughter at the Polka Theatre
It is an exciting morning: For the first time I but also my assistant mini-reviewers are visiting the Unicorn Theatre, since 2005 only a few walking minutes away from both London and Tower Bridge. All three of us have committed to confront our arachnophobia this Halloween season ("there is an upside down bucket on the floor … Continue reading Excited about Anansi the Spider – a first trip to the Unicorn Theatre
Salome is the story of a Judean king's unmarried stepdaughter agreeing to perform a taboo-breaking dance for her mother's husband in return of the head of a prophet who has not only defamed her family but further refused her approaches. It is a dance in return for a life, an arousing, risky danse macabre on which her … Continue reading Oscar Wilde’s Salome at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Memories of Japanese summers begin with the chirping sound of the cicada for me - their high-frequented mating call filled every park in Tokyo and Kyoto during a trip of a lifetime. And it is indeed the cicadas' song which take me back, here at the West End's Gillian Lynne Theatre, acoustically illustrating the wonders … Continue reading My Friend Totoro on stage in the West End
Show revivals are a funny thing: People come to see classics, then complain when twists, dialogues, casts, setting, roles or the use of technology have or have not been dedusted and modernised and adapted to current affairs: Think of this summer's debate about the minimalistic prop-stripped, bold West End production of Evita at London's Palladium, … Continue reading Let’s do the Time Warp again – The Rocky Horror Show at Fairfield Halls
When DVDs were still a thing, every German in the UK would end up with the twelve episodes of the 1970s TV comedy Fawlty Towers at some point on their birthday table, under the Christmas tree or as their Secret Santa gift - mainly because of that one admittedly very funny line the choleric hotel owner Basil Fawlty (played by Monty Pythoneer John … Continue reading Nostalgic laughs and cackles – The Faulty Towers dining experience
If you have ever attempted any serious singing in a choir or through lessons on your own, you will never ever forget the first time sight-singing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music - I do not know if there are studies about this, but I strongly believe singing Mozart releases endorphins since my first attempts of Luci care, … Continue reading Chirpy chirpy cheerful – The Magic Flute at Wilton’s Music Hall
What do you do when planning a Christmassy day in the theatre with both children and adults who, combined, cannot stand panto or scares or elaborate musical tunes? You thank children's TV presenter Maddie Moates for putting up an one hour, interval-free, suitable-for-all show on science facts about the festive seasons without a cheesy, moral-heavy narrative which will arm young … Continue reading Advent in the West End: Maddie Moate’s A Very Curious Christmas at the Apollo Theatre
Sadie takes the Stage 