Category Archives: Theatre

Review – The Holy Rosenbergs, Menier Chocolate Factory, London, 29th March 2026

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Ryan Craig’s The Holy Rosenbergs premiered at the National Theatre in 2011, but it feels as though it could have been written yesterday, which perhaps only goes to show that we learn nothing from our mistakes. Set in 2009, the play brings two threads together – a grieving family with a failing business and reputations in the balance; and the politics of the Middle East, sharply focussed on the Israeli Defence Force which is being challenged in Geneva for war crimes. The link between the two comes in the form of Danny Rosenberg, the son who left the rest of the family in Edgware, set up home in Israel, became a member of the IDF, and was questioned under the Geneva Convention over his part in military operations in Gaza.

Flying helicopters over Gaza, Danny is now dead. He has been buried in Israel and his memorial service in Edgware is tomorrow. Danny’s human rights lawyer sister Ruth has been asked to give the eulogy by their father David; but she is assisting Sir Stephen Crossley in writing the report looking into the actions of the IDF. Conflict of interest much? With rumours of a protest at tomorrow’s memorial, specifically targeted against Ruth, should she stay away or attend? As The Holy Rosenbergs takes place over the course of the one day, that’s something we never discover.

With a few nods to Arthur Miller – the unseen Danny casts a similar shadow to the dead Larry in All My Sons and David Rosenberg has more than a whiff of Willy Loman about him – Craig’s writing is intense and compelling and creates a thoroughly believable story with totally recognisable characters. Questions of family loyalty, membership of a wider community, and adherence to one’s faith all play a vital part in this play. David Rosenberg needs someone to continue his family kosher catering business into the future, and with Danny having chosen to move to Israel, and Ruth a gifted lawyer in Geneva, it falls to layabout younger son Jonny to take up the mantle; so that’s never going to happen. The play also examines the contrast between those things which unite us and those things that divide us, especially when they’re so closely connected. For the Rosenbergs, is there a point or an attitude which will unite them all – and is truth more or less important than putting on a solid front?

The Jewish elements of the play are central to its core. Craig presents the Edgware community as having a genuine adherence to the faith, belief in the cause of Israel, and recognising the importance of family, ritual and respect. War, and the actions of war, are at odds with the kindness and generosity at the heart of the Jewish community; and the actions of the Israeli government inevitably create tensions and divisions of loyalty. The Rosenberg family are almost uniquely caught up in the fractious attitudes towards this first Gaza war; and the play does not shy away from the personal tragedy as well as the wider political issues.

One of the joys of seeing a show at the Menier is to discover how the seating configuration and staging has changed since the last time you visited. For The Holy Rosenbergs, Tim Shortall’s immaculately detailed set dominates the space and feels all-encompassing. It’s a living room we all recognise – especially if you were around during the 1980s – with its busy patterned carpeting and elegant, sophisticated G Plan furniture which you can imagine has been polished to the nth degree. Family photos and all the trappings of middle-class Judaism are everywhere – it’s a room that the family will have been so proud of about forty years ago and somehow time has stood still in the interim.

Lindsay Posner’s extraordinary cast deliver totally engrossing performances. Nicholas Woodeson and Tracy-Ann Oberman as David and Lesley Rosenberg are astounding with their perfectly observed, immaculately executed characterisations of the heart of this solid family, effortlessly delivering all the humour inherent in their characters but ruthlessly revealing the inner torture they both face. They’re mesmerising. Dorothea Myer-Bennett is also extraordinarily good as Ruth, treading a fine line between standing up for what she believes in and wanting to grieve as a family member as much as the rest of them.

Dan Fredenburgh is excellent as family friend and respected client Saul, carefully navigating a disastrous dinner party and then later vociferously championing his cause, and Nitai Levi gives us an amusing and credible portrayal of the contrary wastrel Jonny. There’s terrific support from Alex Zur as the young and well-meaning Rabbi Simon, and Adrian Lukis as Ruth’s boss Sir Stephen, awkwardly put on the spot and receiving the full blast of family criticism; his delightful coping mechanism for dealing with the discomfort put me in mind of a younger version of John Le Mesurier.

The play is at its best when fully examining the family dynamic, observing the minute interactions between the family members. Perhaps it gets a little bogged down in the second act where there are some lengthy and slightly didactic speeches – necessary for the plot development but nevertheless weighty for the audience to take in. However, it’s a memorable production which poses many difficult questions and you leave the theatre in awe of some truly first class acting.

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – Henry V, RSC at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 24th March 2026

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Alfred Enoch and Valentine Hanson ©Johan Persson

O for a Muse of Fire is the traditional opening for Shakespeare’s Henry V, as the Chorus apologises to the audience for the writer’s and the production’s inevitable inadequacies at representing the vasty fields of France and the casques that did affright the air at Agincourt. But in RSC co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey’s new production, it starts with a cheeky flashback to Act Four (not even Act Five) of Henry IV Part Two, which has been scissored and stitched together to reveal the seemingly late king lying in state whilst the new king Henry V tries his crown on for size, only for his father to wake from his slumber and shame his son for his impatience.

Alfred Enoch ©Johan Persson

There’s no doubting it’s a good joke and it reveals how keen Henry V is to get on with it. But you can already tell this production is probably not for purists. Shakespeare structures the play around the Chorus for a good reason, as a conduit between the scenes, and playing with that structure has its perils. It’s Henry V himself who, for the most part, takes on the role of Chorus, whose lines integrate, again for the most part, nicely with what the king wants to say. Not always: it does, for example, sound clumsily arrogant for Henry to deliver the Chorus’ famous reference to a little touch of Harry in the night. The Chorus’ introduction to Act Two explains that the traitors Cambridge Scroop and Grey will be getting their come-uppance; by removing that speech the revelation of their treachery comes as an unexpected surprise which wrongfoots your understanding of what’s happened so far and feels disjointed. However, their punishment by hanging is splendidly done and is a surprisingly mesmerising piece of visual theatre.

Sion Pritchard and Alfred Enoch ©Johan Persson

That’s at the heart of what’s wrong with this production. Visually it’s very impactful, with an enormous amount of activity on stage, with specially recruited supernumeraries from local colleges and universities to give the impression of the large number of people it takes to wage a war. Their performance of Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster’s movement direction and Kate Waters’ fight direction is vividly and immaculately done, from preparing ropes and cloths on the revolving scaffold (a very smart set design by Lucy Osborne) to opposing armies going at it, hammer and tongs.

Alfred Enoch ©Johan Persson

It’s all very watchable; however, it frequently detracts from the words that are being spoken and takes your attention away from the main matter of the text, sometimes devaluing it so that it interferes with your understanding of the play. The production sacrifices clarity for spectacle; and the one thing that you really want from a Shakespeare production is properly to understand what’s going on. It must be a deliberate directorial decision to make the English and French soldiers indistinguishable from each other, thereby making the point that they’re all human, they all endure suffering and, basically, they’re all the same. But that can be confusing for the audience – and it’s not true to Shakespeare’s own words. The victorious Henry reads out the numbers of French dead – 10,000 – versus the numbers of English dead – 25. If anything emphasises the inequality of the soldiers, it’s that.

Alfred Enoch ©Johan Persson

Another element of the spectacle is the surreal slow-motion movement of the ensemble as they walk across the stage or lean at perilous angles in order to hear important conversations. It made me wonder, at what point does being stylised become being pretentious? This production doesn’t always manage to stay on the right side of that dividing line. For me, that powerful speech where the king reads the numbers of the dead was ruined by the over-dramatic death swoons of cast members; beautifully executed no doubt, but almost laughable in its pretentiousness.

Alfred Enoch ©Johan Persson

In fact, for all its visual enaction of the horrors of war, the production remains totally – and perhaps figuratively – bloodless. None of the sword wounds or battle bombardments ever requires the props department to fetch the tomato sauce. And why do they end the first Act leaving the first word of the second Act – Now – hanging in the air as if Henry has accidentally mistimed his cue by twenty minutes? I fear that some of the content of this production is there just because they can rather than because there’s a good reason for it.

Natalie Kimmerling ©Johan Persson

Nevertheless, there are some excellent staging choices. The otherwise bland “English lesson” scene where Princess Katherine – Natalie Kimmerling on brilliant form – learns the English words for parts of the body is transformed by having her walking among the fields of the wounded and jiggling their agonised limbs to learn the words for their various body parts. That’s probably the funniest (and maybe sickest) presentation of that scene for many a year.

Ewan Wardrop, Paul Hunter and Emmanuel Olusanya ©Johan Persson

The performances are largely extremely good, with some of the minor roles excelling; Jamie Ballard is superb throughout, as the self-important Archbishop of Canterbury, mildly foppish and manic but then devastated in grief King of France, and perhaps best of all, as the soldier Williams, whose frank and challenging battlefield conversation with the man who turns out to be King has significant consequences. Paul Hunter brings fantastic bombast and pomposity to the role of Pistol, picking and nicking his way among the dead; Ewan Wardrop and Emmanuel Olunsanya are also excellent as his partners in crime Nym and Bardolph, whose parts are sadly rather cut out of this production.

Diany Samba-Bandza ©Johan Persson

Catrin Aaron brings a simple practicality to the role of Queen Isabel and provides an early highlight in the play as a wonderful Mistress Quickly. Tanvi Virmani impresses as The Girl, the hanger-on who comes to realise there’s more to life than just revelry. There’s also excellent support from Valentine Hanson as a dignified Henry IV and Erpingham, Sam Parks as Westmoreland, Sarah Slimani as the no-nonsense herald Montjoy, and Diany Samba-Bandza as a flirtatious Lady Scroop. Michael Elcock’s Dauphin strangely lacks the quirkiness to make him stand out as a fop – the whole tennis balls gift scene is surprisingly underplayed – or the gravitas to make him a credible ruler-in-waiting. However, Micah Balfour is outstanding as the noble Exeter, perfect as both soldier and courtier.

Alfred Enoch ©Johan Persson

Alfred Enoch plays the title role; he looks the part, he speaks with authority and grandeur and can deliver a stirring speech whilst making it sound natural rather than proclaimed, which is an enviable gift. There isn’t much sense of character development, however. Henry V has a lot to learn about life, having been largely a wastrel in his Prince Hal days, too much under the influence of Falstaff. He has to learn to be statesmanlike, to be an inspirational leader, to be ruthless in quashing opponents, to be a battlefield mastermind, to be magnanimous in victory – and also how to woo a lady. But Mr Enoch’s tone and delivery is pretty much straightforward and unwavering throughout, as if he’s trying to be all those things all the time. This one size fits all approach means that it largely succeeds but occasionally you’d like a little more nuance.

Michael Elcock and Jamie Ballard ©Johan Persson

A solid and visually impactful production but it’s low on clarity and, unless you’re intimately well acquainted with the text, not always easy to follow. At the start, the Prologue tells us that we the audience have to work hard to use our imaginations to fill out the swelling scene because it’s beyond the actors’ ability; but then this busy production tries to do the very thing that Shakespeare tells us it can’t achieve, and Shakespeare was right all along. Henry V continues his reign at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre until 25th April.

3-starsThree-sy Does It!

Review – Top Gs Like Me, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 26th February 2026

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Aidan

©Manuel Harlan

Nothing beats the biting relevance of a powerfully executed, raw slice of contemporary theatre to examine the darkest problems of the age. Top Gs Like Me explores the part that the Internet plays in damaging ordinary folk, allowing them to fall prey to others with evil intent. Every week we hear of a new online scam where people have been tricked into giving away their money – or indeed their heart and soul. The Andrew Tates and – in this play – Hugo Bangs of this world are skilled, sophisticated operators, people scammers who know exactly the strings to pull to achieve what they want (which is, secondarily, your admiration and primarily, your money.)

Mia and Aidan

©Manuel Harlan

Samson Hawkins’ Top Gs Like Me, set firmly in Northampton, tells the story of the likeable, impressionable and naive Aidan, a classic underachiever like most of us, who whiles away his free time at Radlands skate park, accompanied by his daily peanut butter and jam sandwiches, trying to master a trick on his scooter that is just too skilful for him to get right. Earning minimum wage at Morrisons and Deliveroo, with a frustrating homelife and no love life, there must be more that he can do to gain a foothold in the world. Best friend Mia is off to Bristol to study photography, and she’s got a new boyfriend, Charlie, who’s a pukka product of the Boys’ School, naturally confident with his charming bonhomie. There’s nothing quite like finding out that the girl, who you hope could be your girlfriend, is introducing you to her new boyfriend, to make you realise quite how much you’re missing out.

Hugo

©Manuel Harlan

In amongst the ever-changing noise and messages that he observes as he doomscrolls, Hugo Bang comes into insidious focus on his phone, all sharp red suit, successful aura, and magnetic charisma. If he can do it, how come I can’t, thinks Aidan (precisely as Hugo Bang intends him to think). His mantra is simple: get the cash first, then you’ll get the girls. And once you get the girls, you get more girls. Happy days, as long as you remember never to treat the girls as human. As Aidan starts to fall under Hugo’s spell, Grace wanders into his life, attempting to give off streetwise vibes, and willing to be his friend, maybe more. Aidan sees how he can use Grace as part of his new business – his plan to get the cash first. Thus starts a chain of events that ends up disastrously for everyone involved.

A convincing Hugo

©Manuel Harlan

It gave me great satisfaction to realise I had to Google what a Top G is. It’s a Top Gangster, one of those terms that Andrew Tate and his ilk have created, to lure unsuspecting young men, Pied Piper like, into their way of thinking. Being a Top G may sound tempting, but it’s no way of life for a decent human being. It’s a gateway into misogyny, prejudice and blaming everyone else for the situation you find yourself in – except yourself. Take responsibility for your own actions and situation, and you need never fear falling into this pernicious trap.

Aidan

©Manuel Harlan

The cunning twist in Hawkins’ writing is that, whilst exposing the harm and indeed criminality that the likes of Hugo Bang can induce, Aidan doesn’t suffer all the consequences of his actions that he might. Hawkins recognises that Aidan is a victim too. In a programme note, director Jesse Jones writes “I don’t believe we can live in a world where mistakes made at eighteen define someone forever”, and the end of the play allows for both an optimistic and pessimistic future, with both a hint at redemption and the likelihood that the Internet will continue to do its worst.

Traverse staging

©Manuel Harlan

Anyone familiar with the usual configuration of the Derngate auditorium will be astounded when they see how it has been transformed to incorporate a skatepark as the centrepiece of traverse staging. It becomes a huge, thrilling acting space, which can comfortably host the full cast of 31 actors, which includes 25 third year Acting students from the University of Northampton who perform the vital, and hugely effective, role of Internet Ensemble – the constant cacophony of disconnected voices and images that appear for seconds on our phones until you swipe them away. It’s a fascinating concept which they deliver seamlessly with great humour and insight.

Lighting

©Manuel Harlan

Technically, the production is also an outstanding achievement. Rebecca Brower’s set totally nails the graffiti-covered functional but comfortless space, and I lost count of the number of positions from where a cast member can enter the stage – there are at least ten, giving it a truly immersive feel. Rory Beaton’s creative lighting and Benjamin Grant’s sound designs work together in a mosaic of intricacy and enviable slickness. Hats off too, to Monica Nicolaides’ outstanding movement direction and Kiel O’Shea’s fight direction, which gives us some superbly believable stage combat.

Aidan and Grace

©Manuel Harlan

On top of it all are six main performances of outstanding quality. Daniel Rainford convinces us that Aidan is a true Everyman character; restless, guileless, and without a plan for the future. He also shows us that the manosphere version of himself is an unnatural warping of his character; artificial and without the necessary charisma to become the next Hugo. He’s never off stage in a physically demanding and powerful performance. Encouraging his descent, Danny Hatchard is perfect as Hugo, constantly reinforcing the simplicity of getting what you want, appearing heroic, dishing out his diktats in bite size chunks; and, when everything ends in disaster, he simply slinks off quietly, unnoticed, without saying a word – until his next victim comes along.

Dave

©Manuel Harlan

Fanta Barrie gives a terrific performance as Mia; eloquent, insightful, and delivering probably the best speech of the play, that examines the consequences of Aidan’s actions on other people. Finn Samuels is also excellent as the effortlessly urbane Charlie, Emily Coates gives a superb performance as Grace and David Schaal brings the character of Dave, the alcoholic who spends this time drinking at the skate park, to life with a remarkable speech about how one must always take responsibility for one’s own actions.

Hugo Bang

©Manuel Harlan

If you know decent people who have been radicalised, and have no idea how this happened, this play may help you understand why. It offers no easy answers or solutions and no happy ever afters. But it does make you think, and talk; it challenges you to find a way out and dares you to judge those who ought to do better. A tremendous achievement by writer Samson Hawkins, director Jesse Jones and the entire cast. A must-see!

Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!

Review – The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 19th February 2026

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Villagers of Wimbe

©Tyler Fayose

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is the true story of the remarkable William Kamkwamba, who, as a schoolboy living in the poor, drought-stricken village of Wimbe in Malawi, created a windmill out of junk and scraps, thus bringing electricity and water to his community. His story first became known through his blog, then a book, then a film made by Chiwetel Ejiofor, and now it’s a musical, with book and lyrics by Richy Hughes and music and lyrics by Tim Sutton.

Hyena and Khamba

©Tyler Fayose

An inspiring tale about an inspiring young man; and who can resist a stirring story about succeeding against all the odds? His farmer father and his friends all think he is deluded to believe that he can achieve the impossible – but William’s determination and hard work pay off. But this is no simple, Cinderella-style rags to riches story. The toughness, indeed brutality, of the setting is never far away. As the drought kicks in, and food is scarce, William’s constant companion, the stray dog Khamba, dies of starvation. When the village Chief dares to question the methods of political leader Bakili Muluzi, he is beaten up for his pains.

William and Khamba

©Tyler Fayose

And whilst William spends his time tinkering with old bits of machinery, developing the fascination for engineering that will eventually lead to success, his father is furious that, at the ripe old age of 13, he is not toiling the fields alongside him, harvesting the maize that will provide at least some form of income and food for the family. There’s a powerful scene where the farmers are working rigorously together on the fields whilst the boys get in their way, engrossed in understanding how a radio works; each set of characters antagonising the other with their opposing priorities. With hindsight, clearly William and his friends were on the right track – but hindsight is a wonderful thing and doesn’t put food on the table.

Village Life

©Tyler Fayose

Frankie Bradshaw’s set shows Wimbe as an unremarkable village with basic accommodation, offset by a glorious sky. Traps open up from the stage floor to reveal the dry, dusty track of field at which William’s father Trywell relentlessly works. The costumes are evocative of rural Malawi, with a rather smart cloak for the Chief, and colourful but meagre clothing for the rest of the village – although I did think that some of those trainers were perhaps a little stylish and chic for the setting. The lighting, sound and video all combine to give a strong impression of the challenging weather conditions, with some very effective raindrop splashes on the surface of the stage.

Village Life

©Tyler Fayose

The likeable, gifted cast belt out Tim Sutton’s tunes with true gusto, creating some tremendous harmonies and goosebump-inducing sequences, although 90% of it is delivered at supercharged fortissimo volume; there’s no denying it, this is, overall, a very loud show. With a couple of notable exceptions, the songs are, however, incidental to the narrative; undeniably, they add flavour and colour, but they halt the progress of the story rather than drive it forward. Also, given that the story deals with very serious issues – poverty, starvation, malaria, corruption to name but four – I found it surprising that some of the characterisations were pantomime-silly; very effectively done but detracting from the seriousness of the work.

McCallam Connell

©Tyler Fayose

The lead roles, however, are superbly well performed; McCallam Connell brings marvellous authority to the role of the Chief, making his untimely end even more impactful. Tsemaye Bob-Egbe and Owen Chaponda bring a delightful romance to the roles as Annie, William’s sister and Mr Kachigunda, his teacher, with William performing an engaging Go-Between role between the two of them.  Idriss Kargbo brings an element of cheeky vanity to the role of Gilbert Mofat, William’s best friend, and Madeline Appiah is excellent as Agnes, his mother, determined to bring her children up in the modern style; her recovery from malaria is one of the show’s most heartwarming moments.

William and Gilbert

©Tyler Fayose

Alistair Nwachukwu is terrific as William, showing superb comic timing as well as a true feel for the emotions of the piece; an embodiment of quiet resilience and determination through thick and thin. For me, the stand-out performance is by Sifiso Mazibuko as William’s father Trywell, battered by contrasting needs and wishes, a traditional, honest fellow just trying to do his best. Sutton and Hughes give him the best song of the night, This I Know, a soaring ballad of epic proportions that wouldn’t be out of place in Les Mis.

Agnes and Trywell

©Tyler Fayose

Despite all these excellent elements, aspects of the show didn’t quite work for me. The staging is sometimes cluttered, even chaotic, with too many people on stage at the same time, especially in the big musical/dance numbers; and sometimes the ebullience and enthusiasm of what’s going on simply descends into what feels like an uncontrolled mess. Also, it’s way too long – three hours including the interval – and although it tells the story clearly, it also tells it very slowly! The slow pace strangely diminished the emotional aspect of the story and I found myself surprisingly unmoved by some of those moments clearly meant to give you a lump in the throat.

Success!

©Tyler Fayose

That said, the show does come to a triumphant conclusion with the assembly of the windmill and the switching-on of the lights, and it would be a hard-hearted person who didn’t share in the moment of victory as William and Trywell mount the steps up to the top of the windmill to partake in its glory. Certainly, Messrs Nwachukwu and Mazibuko were fighting back the emotions (not entirely successfully!) at the end. But maybe that’s because they knew that Mr Nwachukwu was to bring on the real-life William Kamkwamba to join them on stage for the final bows – and that was undoubtedly a moment to treasure.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind plays at the Swan Theatre until 28th March, and then it transfers to the Soho Place in London from 25th April to 18th July.

3-starsThree-sy Does It!

Review – All is But Fantasy, Royal Shakespeare Company at the Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, 4th February 2026

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Whitney White

©Marc Brenner

Arresting, challenging and innovative, Whitney White’s All is But Fantasy blasts the stage of the RSC’s Other Place like a subversive hurricane, tossing out ideas and insights as debris in its wake. Whitney White speaks with passion and conviction of her love for Shakespeare that started at an early age and has become unstoppable, and she is obviously thrilled to be performing her play at the heart of Shakespeare Country in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Whitney White

©Marc Brenner

It’s an ambitious project and it’s clear to see that Ms White herself is an ambitious person – and if that includes playing Richard III, sobeit. She’s certainly not content with being just the maid or playing one of the roles that inevitably gets cut. What disturbs her is that all Shakespeare’s strong women never seem to make it to Act Five. Their ambitions, their dreams, their potential, never get to full fruition – and Ms White says it’s time she did something about it.

Witches

©Marc Brenner

All is But Fantasy – that must be a quote from Shakespeare, no? Well, actually not quite. But Whitney White certainly had fantasy in mind when she created this two-part gig-theatre production, examining four of Shakespeare’s iconic characters from a fresh, new perspective. She takes the formidable Lady Macbeth, Emilia (from Othello), Juliet and Richard III out of their natural environment and places them centre stage in a rock gig. Actors playing instruments on stage is now commonplace, but the concept of placing them in a live concert is something else.

Witches

©Marc Brenner

But there’s much more to this than some kind of elaboration on Six. Accompanied by her protective posse of three witches – that’s how they’re described in the programme, don’t blame me – White delves deeper into who these women really are, what they represent, and the assumptions made about them over centuries of men being in charge, particularly in respect of the problems that black women additionally face when tackling Shakespeare’s works. For me, the most exciting aspect of the two productions is that they allow you – indeed encourage you – to question everything you know about Shakespeare’s work and characters. Who, for example, when asked is Othello a good play, would dare reply no? To be fair, at yesterday’s performance we all agreed that Othello is a good play, but it made me think again of those assumptions that have indoctrinated us through our English Literature lessons and the general received wisdom of the years.

Witches and Man

©Marc Brenner

You could watch both plays in either order, but to get the deepest understanding of what’s going on, definitely start with Part One – Lady Macbeth and Emilia. Whitney White sets the informal tone right from the start, instantly breaking the fourth wall, introducing us to the other cast members, and explaining what has led her to this point. At times it feels like a Dramaturgy Group Therapy Session, with everyone chipping in their thoughts as to where the emphases should lie and which risks to take. There’s also a lightly suggested ongoing narrative about the relationships between the cast members as well as the parts they’re playing. It’s not quite at Kiss Me Kate levels, but it adds an entertaining side intrigue.

Juliette Crosbie

©Marc Brenner

The productions constantly reveal fresh insights into Shakespeare’s characters, not just those named in the titles of the four separate playlets. Iago making sexist and racist jokes is an outstandingly uncomfortable moment but gives us a terrific glimpse of what he would be like in the 21st century. Juliette Crosbie sweeps on stage as Desdemona, her style, costume and confidence channelling full-on 1960s Marianne Faithfull. Whilst Whitney White finds it hard to get under the skin of Juliet, again needing Ms Crosbie to provide a shadow Juliet to use as a theatrical template, Daniel Krikler, the only man in the company, shows us how he learns what it is to become Romeo. When the gender roles are reversed in the final sequence, Richard III, what primarily comes across is that it doesn’t matter which gender plays which part, it’s the individual characterisations and motivations that count.

Juliet's balcony

©Marc Brenner

Soutra Gilmour has wisely left a largely empty set for the actors, with the addition of simple but very effective elements to create context – a red carpet for Macbeth’s banquet, a coffin for Richard III, and a playground climbing frame to suggest both Juliet’s balcony and the playfulness of the youngsters who find themselves at the heart of that particular tragedy. Ryan Day’s lighting design is also simple but extremely effective in adding atmosphere and tension.

Romeo with Juliet

©Marc Brenner

It’s full of theatrical brilliance; a surprise gunshot at one point terrifies the life out of both the cast and the audience, Romeo betrays the thrill at getting close to Juliet by excitedly cavorting on her climbing frame, White’s supporting crowd surprise us when they turn on her for making it all about her, and there’s an unexpected disappointment for musician Nick Lee when Macbeth loses it at the banquet.

Rock gig

©Marc Brenner

And I haven’t mentioned the music! It’s more a play with music than a musical, but Tom Knowles and his band of four do a splendid job with not only White’s songs but also the frequently sinister incidental music that just hovers ominously in the background. The tunes are enjoyable and atmospheric, although the lyrics have a tendency towards being repetitious, occasionally hammering home their message without subtlety – but then, what do I know, I’m no rock expert.

The Macbeths

©Marc Brenner

The cast are uniformly excellent – Renee Lamb, Georgina Onuorah, Timmika Ramsay, Juliette Crosbie and Daniel Krikler are a constant delight with all that attitude, humour, and the essential mix of strength and vulnerability that is at the core of humanity. Their vocals are outstanding and each lends their own power and individuality to every characterisation. And, at the heart of it all, Whitney White holds the whole show together with a must-see performance of voice, presence, integrity and sheer wow factor.

Lady M and the WItches

©Marc Brenner

Despite its best intentions – maybe even because of it – All is But Fantasy is an uneven piece, with the clarity and insights of Lady Macbeth and Emilia diminishing to the point where Richard III sometimes feels messy and hard to follow. Teeming with ideas, nevertheless, it leaves you teeming with ideas of your own, sparking your own debate about these characters and the relationship between Tudor/Jacobean Shakespeare and his 21st-century counterpart. A thrilling and endlessly surprising subversion of traditional Shakespearean opinions, performed with true heart and commitment.

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Young Vic, London, 21st January 2026

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In the opening moments of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, we hear the recorded voice of George Dubya Bush promising figurative sunflowers and butterflies when Saddam Hussein is toppled, and we all know how well that went. Mind you, I can’t talk, I’m as much to blame as anyone, as I fully believed that Saddam had those Weapons of Mass Destruction. After all, we sold them to him! He must have hidden them somewhere… Best not go there.

Unlike Rajiv Joseph, whose play goes there all guns blazing. He fearlessly pulls apart the Iraqi war of 2003, in an attempt to analyse the nature of war and warriors, the damage they do and the consequences they have. At least, I think that’s what he’s doing; it’s a very complicated play! In the case of this particular war, he also turns his attention to the almost unique position that interpreters have, working on the ground as a link between occupying forces/liberators (your choice) and local people. Do they count as warriors, or are they more like support staff, akin to army medics? A problematic situation calls for a problematic play, and Joseph certainly delivers that.

The inspiration comes from the bombing of Baghdad which, inter alia, caused the zoo to be destroyed, and all the animals escaped except the zoo’s solitary Bengal Tiger. With no keepers to look after him and no regular meals, he was starving to death in his enclosure. He was discovered when two American soldiers reconnoitred the zoo; one of the soldiers tried to feed it, resulting in the tiger attacking him. Unsurprisingly, the tiger was shot and killed. A relatively minor incident in terms of the war as a whole, but a fascinating springboard for an exploration of the casualties of military action.

Dubya’s opening speech sets the tone for two and a half hours of dramatic irony; those sunflowers and butterflies remain noticeably absent. The play is structured as a series of episodes or stand-alone scenes; if you want a connecting narrative you have to do the work yourself. It teems with complex ideas that crash into each other, making it hard to draw conclusions or see easy solutions to putting an end to conflict. The chaos of war is everywhere – not only noise, destruction, death and disfigurement, but also miscommunication, mental breakdown and the suspension of logic (a hand job costs ten dollars more than full sex, sorry if you’re having lunch).

Omar Elerian’s production emphasises the chaos within the play, relying on many alienation techniques, with incomprehensible or inappropriate language and accents, disturbing sudden loud bangs, blackouts, flashing lights and so on, the constant presence of ghosts; not to mention a talking tiger.

Ah yes, the fourth wall-breaking tiger; whom we see as a slightly disgruntled, lazy beast in his cage until he gets shot, after which he becomes a ghost for the rest of the play. He’s the most interesting and entertaining character, with his bitchy disdain of the lions, self-loathing for being stupid enough to be caught and brought from the wild, regret for a moment of madness when he killed and ate two children – but he was hungry, what was he meant to do? – and his extraordinary progress towards a state of redemption, culminating in – he thinks – meeting God. Clearly, this is not just any tiger. In Peter Forbes’ brilliant performance he invests the tiger with a broad, gruff Scottish accent that sets him apart from both the locals and the Americans. Arguably, the tiger is the only character who behaves with dignity and without guile; truly honest from the start, whilst all the other characters are playing a part or going rogue. I’m not sure if there is actually a message in this play, but if there is, it’s probably: be more Tiger.

You definitely don’t want to be like the two American soldiers who “liberate” the zoo in the opening scene. Tom ends up with a prosthetic hand after the tiger takes a bite, and his only hope for the future is making a bit of money on Ebay by selling Uday Hussain’s gold revolver and his gold toilet seat – except that he has lost them in the chaos of war. Upbeat and arrogant Kev, who’s only interested in who’s getting some pussy (again, apologies), loses his senses in a delicate but tense operation involving locals and the interpreter Musa, becomes hospitalised as he can’t get the ghost of the tiger out of his head, and eventually becomes a ghost himself after chopping off his own hand. This is war: no one gets out alive. But then again, is it fair to expect an ordinary bloke off the street from Michigan (no offence) to excel in the theatre of war?

Even Musa is haunted by the ghost of Uday Hussain, Saddam’s flamboyant and extravagant son, for whom he gardened before the war and who regrets introducing his sister to the villainous wretch. At a rough count towards the end, I think the number of ghosts probably outweighs the number of survivors.

Rajha Shakiry’s set admirably reflects the disarray of the chaos of war, with its crumbling walls, relentless sand, and comfortless concrete platforms. Even the poor tiger only has an old tyre to play with. Jackie Shemesh’s lighting design adds to the shock horror of war, with suggestions of a burning city in the background; a small thing, but I did enjoy how the lighting made a ceiling fan turn into helicopter blades – very inventive.

Excellent performances from the always superb Arinzé Kene as Kev, his confident bluster turning to mush has he falls further into mental torment, and Patrick Gibson as Tom who lets his guard down at a fatal moment. Amma Haj Ahmad gives an intense and disturbing performance as Musa, the translator who perhaps has an overdeveloped sense of his own significance and needs to find his own course of survival; and Sayyid Aki is disconcertingly entertaining as the alarmingly unpredictable Uday. It’s a shame that there are no meaningful female voices in this play, but that is perhaps a fair reflection of the events of this war.

Imperfectly impressive, infuriatingly inconclusive, at times hard to understand and always challenging for the audience. It’s not an easy watch, and the alienating techniques can get to you. Sometimes you feel this is more of an intellectual exercise than an absorbing or rewarding play; perhaps reflecting this, there was hardly any applause at the end of the first Act, and there were several non-returners after the interval. But you have to admire the surreal originality of the play, the talent of the cast and the effectiveness of the production. And in spite of its content, it genuinely is strangely entertaining! Bengal Tiger stalks the stage of the Young Vic until 31st January.

4-stars

Four They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review of the Year 2025 – The Fifteenth Annual Chrisparkle Awards

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Greetings again, gentle reader, to the glamorous showbiz highlight of the year, the announcement of the annual Chrisparkle Awards for 2025. Slightly fewer shows seen this year – 230, twenty-four down on last year’s 254 productions; I hope that’s not a sign that I’m slowing down! Eligibility for the awards means a) they were performed in the UK and b) I have to have seen the shows and reviewed them in the period 5th January 2025 to 4th January 2026. Are you all sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin!

 

The first award is for Best Dance Production (Contemporary and Classical)

This includes dance seen at the Edinburgh Fringe, which is just as well, as I only saw two dance productions this year, and they are:

In 2nd place, Matthew Bourne’s charming but undemanding The Midnight Bell, at the Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton, in July.

In 1st place, Saeed Hani’s challenging and emotional Inlet, performed by Hani Dance at Dance Base, Edinburgh, in August.

 

Classical Music Concert of the Year.

Again we only saw two classical concerts this year, both by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal and Derngate in Northampton. The award for the best goes to their Valentine’s Day Gala in February.

 

Best Entertainment Show of the Year.

This means anything that doesn’t fall into any other categories – for example pantos, circuses, revues and anything else hard to classify. Here are the top three:

In 3rd place, our local pantomime, The All New Adventures of Peter Pan at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, in December.

In 2nd place, the spectacular extravaganza that is Sleeping Beauty at the London Palladium in December.

In 1st place, the home of great panto, Aladdin at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, in January 2026.

 

Best Star Standup of the Year.

Only four eligible shows this year, so here are the top three performances by Star Standups in 2025:

In 3rd place, Eshaan Akbar in his I Can’t Get No Satisfakshaan show at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton in February.

In 2nd place, Kae Kurd in his What’s O’Kurd show at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton in October.

In 1st place, Dara O’Briain in his Re: Creation show at the Corn Exchange, Bedford in April.

 

Best Comedy Crate/Screaming Blue Murder Standup of the Year

It just so happens that all the top five were from Comedy Crate shows!

In 5th place, Jordan Gray (at the Charles Bradlaugh in February)

In 4th place, Charlie Baker (Edinburgh Preview Weekender in July)

In 3rd place, Hal Cruttenden (at the Charles Bradlaugh in January and at the Edinburgh Preview Weekender in July)

In 2nd place, Mike Rice (at the Charles Bradlaugh in May)

In 1st place, Thor Stenhaug (Edinburgh Preview Weekender in July)

 

Best Musical

I only saw nine musicals this year, and here’s the top five:

In 5th place, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in May.

In 4th place, The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.

In 3rd place, the post-West End touring production of Dear Evan Hansen at Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton, in January.

In 2nd place, a curiosity-driven revisit to see Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.

In 1st place, Evita, at the London Palladium, in July.

 

Best New Play

Just to clarify, this is my definition of a new play, which is something that’s new to me and to most of its audience – so it might have been around before but on its first UK tour, or a new adaptation of a work originally in another format. We saw seventeen new plays this year, and I awarded five stars to five of them; it therefore follows that they are the top five!

In 5th place, Mischief Theatre’s The Comedy About Spies, at the Noel Coward Theatre, London, in May.

In 4th place, Tom Wells’ adaptation for the RSC of Roald Dahl’s The BFG, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in December.

In 3rd place, Karim Khan’s inventive and insightful Before the Millennium, at the Old Fire Station, Oxford, in December.

In 2nd place, James Ijames’ delightful reworking of Hamlet, Fat Ham for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in August.

In 1st place, James Graham’s outstanding Punch at the Young Vic, London, in April.

 

Best Revival of a Play

I saw twenty-four revivals, with six receiving five stars from me; here are the top five:

In 5th place, the RSC’s two-part production of Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga, adapted by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in December.

In 4th place, the RSC’s brave and thrilling production of Marlowe’s Edward II, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in March.

In 3rd place, Ivo van Hove’s riveting production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, at Wyndham’s Theatre, London, in December.

In 2nd place, the RSC’s superbly imaginative production of Hamlet, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in February.

In 1st place, James Graham’s extraordinary exploration of England – both the team and the country – in Dear England, for the National Theatre at the Olivier Theatre, London, in April.

 

As always, in the post-Christmas season, it’s time to consider the turkey of the year – and it’s a toss-up between the six productions to whom I only gave two stars; but the one I feel failed to deliver when it had the most potential to succeed was Unicorn at the Garrick Theatre, London, in March.

Now we come on to our four categories specifically for the Edinburgh Fringe. The first is:

 

Best play or musical – Edinburgh

We saw 106 productions of plays and musicals in Edinburgh this year, 18 of them got 5* from me, and here are the top 5:

In 5th place, Louisa Marshall’s savage and innovative exploration of weaponised incompetence, Clean Slate (Summerhall)

In 4th place, Dylan Kaueper and Will Grice’s wickedly inventive examination of childhood friendship, Cody and Beau (The Space on the Mile)

In 3rd place, Tony Norman’s beautiful musical about the Van Gogh brothers, Vagabond Skies (Gilded Balloon at the Museum)

In 2nd place, Priyanka Shetty’s shattering reconstruction of the rise of the Alt Right, #CHARLOTTESVILLE (Pleasance Courtyard)

In 1st place, creating satire where you might think it’s beyond satire, Miss Brexit (Underbelly Bristo Square)

 

Best Individual Performance in a Play or Musical – Edinburgh

As always, an impossible choice, and it’s as close as close can be. Nevertheless, here are the top five (and yes I am cheating for 5th place):

In 5th place, Dylan Kaueper and Will Grice for Cody and Beau (The Space on the Mile)

In 4th place, Priyanka Shetty for #CHARLOTTESVILLE (Pleasance Courtyard)

In 3rd place, Louisa Marshall for Clean Slate (Summerhall)

In 2nd place, Quaz Degraft for In The Black (The Space at Surgeons’ Hall)

In 1st place, Christoffer Hvidberg Ronje for The Insider (Pleasance Dome)

 

Best Comedy Performance – Edinburgh

We saw forty-one comedy shows this year, of which eight received 5* from me, and here are my top five:

In 5th place, Matt Forde: Defying Calamity (Pleasance Courtyard)

In 4th place, Sam Lake: You’re Joking, Not Another One! (Monkey Barrel at the Tron)

In 3rd place, Robin Grainger: People Pleaser (The Stand Comedy Club 4)

In 2nd place, Tom Stade: Naughty by Nature (The Stand Comedy Club 1)

In 1st place, Casey Filips as the impossible Tobias Finlay-Fraser in Virtuoso (Assembly George Square)

 

Best of the rest – Edinburgh

From a shortlist of seven, here are my top five:

In 5th place, mixing a real live date with comedy improvisation, Looking for Laughs (Gilded Balloon Patter House)

In 4th place, the irrepressible Accordion Ryan with his Pop Bangers (Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower)

In 3rd place, Broadway’s Laura Benanti in Nobody Cares (Underbelly Bristo Square)

In 2nd place, Chase Brantley’s truly hilarious Don Toberman: Ping Pong Champ (Pleasance Courtyard)

In 1st place, a star is born: Arthur Hull’s FLOP: The Best Songs from the Worst Musicals Ever Written (Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower)

Three shows received a dreaded One Star review from me: and for me the Edinburgh turkey of the year was The Fiascoholics’ 4’s a Crowd, which contained just too much of everything it didn’t need.

 

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Musical

Time to get personal. Here’s the top five:

In 5th place, Alice Fearn as Heidi in Dear Evan Hansen at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton in January.

In 4th place, Lucie Jones as Fantine in Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.

In 3rd place, Sharon Rose as Garage Girl and Kate in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in May.

In 2nd place, Frances Mayli McCann as Daisy in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.

In 1st place, Rachel Zegler as Evita in Evita at the London Palladium in July.

 

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Musical

Here’s the top five:

In 5th place, Corbin Bleu as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.

In 4th place, Luke Kempner as Thenardier in Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.

In 3rd place, Ian McIntosh as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.

In 2nd place, Diego Andres Rodriguez as Che in Evita at the London Palladium, in July.

In 1st place, Jamie Muscato as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.

 

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Play

Nineteen in the longlist, and ten in the shortlist, and here’s the top five:

In 5th place, Freema Ageyman as Beatrice in the RSC’s Much Ado About Nothing, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in April.

In 4th place, Gina McKee as Annie in The Years, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London, in April.

In 3rd place, Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Kate in All My Sons, at Wyndham’s Theatre, London, in December.

In 2nd place, Beverley Knight as Rosetta in Marie and Rosetta, at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in July.

In 1st place, Tuppence Middleton as Annie in The Years, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London, in April.

 

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Play

Twenty-three in the longlist and nine in the shortlist, each of whom could easily deserve the award, However, here is the top five:

In 5th place, Daniel Evans as Edward II in the RSC’s Edward II, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon in March.

In 4th place, Jonathan Bailey as Richard II in Richard II, at the Bridge Theatre, London, in February.

In 3rd place, Olise Odele as Juicy in the RSC’s Fat Ham, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in August.

In 2nd place, Joseph Millson as Soames in the RSC’s Forsyte Saga, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in December.

In 1st place, David Shields as Jacob in Punch, at the Young Vic, London, in April.

 

Congratulations to the winners – special mention this year for James Graham whose Punch and Dear England feature so highly – commiserations to the losers and thanks for your company again throughout the year, gentle reader. Here’s to another year full of artistic excellence!

Review – A Christmas Carol, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 3rd January 2026

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Ever the businessman, I reckon Charles Dickens today would be pretty satisfied with how his Christmas Carol franchise was performing, 183 years since it was first published. From Alastair Sim to the Muppets, from the musical Scrooge to the regular Old Vic production, old Ebenezer and those ghosts are never going to go away. One of the most influential books ever written, its legacy truly lives on. And now, Aisha Khan has adapted it with a unique Sheffield twist for the Crucible stage.

In this production, Jack – a kind of Artful Dodger, briskly played by Mel Lowe – tells three young scallywags about Scrooge’s extraordinary tale, creating a distancing framework and a setting for the story. Once the story starts to unfold, it’s told in a very traditional and straightforward manner, with the revelations of Scrooge’s humble beginnings and how he threw away his chance of happiness with Belle, how he mistreated his kindly boss Mr Fezziwig, and his encounters with those oh so important ghosts.

As an aficionado, rather than a native, of Sheffield, I wasn’t aware of the area’s carol tradition. Dickens saw his story of the redemption of Scrooge as the embodiment of a carol, hence his choice of title. What could be more relevant, then, to incorporate the local tradition of carols into this show? Every year come November, local pubs ring out with the informal singing of songs like Six Jolly Miners, Hail Smiling Morn or Sweet Chiming Bells, known by all so that everyone, unrehearsed, can join in – but totally unknown outside the local area. Aisha Khan’s adaptation includes many of these rousing numbers, helping to take Dickens’ original tale away from its traditional London setting and bring it to Sheffield. This local influence is also seen in the inspired decision to make the Ghost of Christmas Past a miner, leading Scrooge through his history with the aid of his torch-equipped helmet.

Rose Revitt and Kevin Jenkins’ alluring set combines a grim, rickety, upstairs office garret with a more comfortable room downstairs, contrasting Scrooge’s solitary workplace for one with a sociable space for the Cratchits to enjoy their meagre Christmas lunch or for Scrooge’s nephew Fred to host his Christmas party. Bob Cratchit’s desk is placed centre stage, virtually cut adrift from the rest of society, with no creature comforts; just a target for Scrooge to hurl his bundles of documents from a height above so that they come crashing down next to Cratchit to work on – a very nice touch to display the inhumanity of Scrooge’s treatment of his employee.

The costume design is perfect for its era, and the production requires over 100 costumes in all, so the Crucible’s Wardrobe department had its work cut out to recreate the times so credibly. Richard Howell’s lighting design is evocative and inventive, including an ominous creation of Scrooge’s grave, and John Bulleid’s illusion designs work very effectively, adding a touch of eerie magic to the proceedings. Trundling large and heavy elements of the set into place, however, was unfortunately noisy and distracting – just a minor quibble.

Director Elin Schofield created a superb ensemble feel to the entire production, with many cast members adopting several roles, as well as joining in with the songs and choreography. Everyone gave a great performance; stand-outs are Adam Price combining the roles of Fezziwig and the Ghost of Christmas Present, Nitai Levi as the Ghost of Christmas Past,  and Ryan O’Donnell and Kimberly Blake as Mr and Mrs Cratchit, the latter’s refusal to raise a toast to their employer sending a thrill of righteous indignation in agreement with her down all our backs. The a cappella singing is electric – and put me in mind of the production of One Big Blow at the Liverpool Everyman more than forty years ago, which gave rise to the successful group The Flying Pickets.

Ian Midlane is excellent as Scrooge; this is no pantomime villain but a believably complicated and self-deluding soul who fell back on his complacency and saw no need to treat the world kindly, when he thought money was the answer to everything. His change into a charitable chap is great fun to watch and gives the audience a feelgood pickup.

A well-constructed, innovative approach to a familiar story; sadly, now closed, but it is an excellent addition to the Crucible’s ever-growing list of successful Christmas shows.

4-stars

Four They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – Aladdin, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, 2nd January 2026

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AladdinWasn’t it Chicago who sang – and I think it was – you’re a Hard Habit to Break? That could have been written about our relationship with the Sheffield panto. And why wouldn’t you – like us – go back year after year for the nostalgically effervescent thrill of an iconic production in a glorious theatre, with music provided under the direction of the most enthusiastic man in show business James Harrison, plus great performers, and all fronted by a bloke in a dress?

The showcase production from Evolution Pantomimes, this year’s offering was Aladdin. Cue an opportunity to meet villagers, a genie, a spirit of the ring, a beautiful princess, a protective policeman, a lovesick local lad, his mates, an evil baddie and a Dame. I rather like the old characterisations of Wishee Washee, Widow Twankey and Abanazar, but this is the 21st century, so instead we have Charlie, Dame Dolly and – you have to give them a lot of credit for this name – Kevin Clifton as Ivan Tochacha.

Having seen the Palladium panto a few days earlier, with all its talent and – let’s not beat about the bush, financial resources – it’s truly impressive how exciting the Sheffield panto remains. The set is a joy to behold, the lighting is exhilarating and the music is impossibly good for just four musicians. Not only that, but the script always treads the perfect balance of giving plenty for both the kids and the adults to laugh at – a balance that few other pantos manage – and is genuinely funny.

It’s no surprise that the recently widowed Dame Dolly is after a new boyfriend, and for our show it was third row Chris who was her lucky suitor. This year his duties were not restricted to his seat, and he sportingly joined the cast on stage for a bit of banter – always irresistible fun. There was some terrific stage magic with Aladdin’s flight on the magic carpet – from our position in Row E, with Aladdin performing aerial somersaults not that far from our heads, we couldn’t work out how it operated. And I’m happy about that – you don’t always want the magic spoiled! And of course, it isn’t the Lyceum Panto without the legendary Lyceum Panto bench, which this year featured a group of mummies (Egyptian, not scrummy) terrorising the decent citizens of the village until they flee at the sight of the Dame. Charming!

The villagers were an exceptional ensemble as always – I particularly liked Dance Captain Charlotte Ross Gower’s turn as “Lorraine” in one of the comedy routines. Joey Wilby was perfect as our gang leader Charlie, George Akid a delightfully frenetic PC World, and Elliot Broadfoot showed off his terrific voice and stage presence as the Genie. Sario Solomon and Lauren Chia made a convincing couple as Aladdin and his beloved Princess Jasmine; to be honest, never has it been so easy for a young lad to win the hand of a princess, but I’m sure they’ll be very happy together.

Evie Pickerill (that’s Evie from CBeebies, as we heard many a time) was outstanding as the Spirit of the Ring, conveying just the right amount of upbeat enthusiasm to keep the story moving for the kids – who loved her – whilst always having a little knowing glint in her eye for the adults. And hats off to Kevin Clifton, who really ran with the role of Mr Tochacha, playing the baddie for all he was worth, giving us plenty of dance moves (he hasn’t lost it yet) and providing the best moments in the show as he led the ensemble in a thrilling rendition of I Predict A Riot.

Finale of AladdinBut the star of the show was, as always, Damian Williams, returning to the Sheffield panto for his 18th year in the role of the Dame – I guess that means he has now reached adulthood. There’s no one quite like him, with his amusingly ungainly presence, larger than life in all directions, tremendous versatility in physical comedy, and a true understanding of what makes panto tick. He celebrated his 1000th performance as the Dame during this run – which kind of says it all.

Next year – Cinderella, and we’re already booked in. So should you!

Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!

Review – All My Sons, Wyndham’s Theatre, London, 30th December 2025

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The American Dream: a vision that not only shaped a country and its citizens, but also its theatre. From Oklahoma! to A Chorus Line, from The Iceman Cometh to Glengarry Glen Ross, its inescapable influence and driving force steer characterisations and storylines to dramatic conclusions, both triumphant and disastrous. An arch-critic of the American Dream, Arthur Miller turned his writing career around with the success of All My Sons, first performed in 1947. Apparently, he had decided that if the audiences didn’t appreciate his new play, he would ditch playwrighting and find more lucrative employment. It’s to everyone’s benefit that it ran for 328 performances, picked up various awards, and was adapted into two films.

After the doldrums of the recession, Joe Keller has done well in the aeronautical industry, although his business partner Steve Deever was jailed for shipping defective parts during the war which caused the death of 21 pilots. Joe was also accused but exonerated. Now living in a grand house with his wife Kate and son Chris, all that’s missing is their other son, Larry, who never returned from the war. Kate is convinced Larry is still alive which is why she won’t agree to Chris marrying Ann Deever, who was Larry’s girlfriend. Ann’s brother George also can’t support their union as it would mean marrying into the family that caused the destruction of their own family. Will Larry return? Will Chris and Ann marry? Is Joe innocent? If you don’t know the answers, firstly, where have you been since 1947?! Secondly, I’m not going to tell you. It’s not for me to ruin Miller’s masterful plot revelations.

This is only the second time I’ve seen an Ivo van Hove production, the first being the thrillingly avant garde Hedda Gabler produced by the National Theatre. That production was also designed by Jan Versweyveld, as is the case with All My Sons – van Hove and Versweyveld go together like a horse and carriage, as the old song goes. All My Sons starts with a visceral shock to the system – Kate Keller caught in a violent storm in her garden, battling against the howling winds to save the tree that was planted when Larry was born, 27 years earlier. Her efforts are in vain as the tree cracks mercilessly and falls to the ground, dominating the stage. You won’t find that short scene in Miller’s original text, but it truly sets the pace for a rollercoaster of a production.

Versweyveld’s design places the tree at the absolute heart of the play, representing the lingering presence of Larry in the family dynamic. Family members walk around it and sit on its branches, like designer garden furniture. This becomes visually even more brutal in the second Act, where Chris starts sawing branches off with his chainsaw, literally eradicating Larry from the family. The grand house is relegated to somewhere in the background, captured in a circle of light, resembling a rifle sight, from where characters can look down on the action.

Elsewhere, van Hove’s direction is crisp, clear and emotional, driven by the beautifully unfolding plot and opposing characterisations, identifying the reality as a contrast to the artificiality of the design. My only quibble is that the production has chosen to remove any intervals – unnecessarily in my view, as this is a truly intense play and production which would lose nothing by having a few minutes to regain your breath and pay an urgent visit to the loo. The scene changes within the play necessitate the curtain coming down anyway, so it’s not as though it’s portrayed as one long unbroken event. I reckon something with the power of All My Sons can sustain a comfort break.

The extraordinary cast deliver some of the best performances currently on stage. Hayley Squires gives a clear, powerful performance as Ann, the epitome of reason, conveying that difficult balancing act between being as accommodating as possible with her potential in-laws and asserting her right to live her own life and marry who she wishes. Marianne Jean-Baptiste is outstanding as Kate, portraying those maternal qualities that have always served her – and the wider community – well, but also create her own psychological damage. The interactions between Ms Squires and Ms Jean-Baptiste emphasise how Arthur Miller stands out as one of the few 20th Century male dramatists who can get to the essence of what a woman thinks and feels.

Paapa Essiedu, who was one of the most intriguing Hamlets you’ll ever see, beautifully underplays the role of Chris as the typical second son and people-pleasing underachiever. He is a master of the quietly delivered, throwaway line that conveys so much of the character whilst never demanding attention. This makes his moments of true assertiveness even more effective. Leading the cast, Bryan Cranston gives a tremendous, finely judged performance as Joe; a mixture of happy bluster and family man, teetering on the edge of taking responsibility and slowly coming to terms with the enormity of his secret. The confrontations between Joe and Chris spark with theatrical electricity and you cannot take your eyes off them.

Miller populates the play with a number of minor roles, including an entertaining performance by Zach Wyatt as the astrology-mad Frank, Aliyah Odoffin as his upbeat, positive wife Lydia, Cath Whitefield’s down-to-earth and fearless Sue, Richard Hansell as her frustrated husband Jim, and Tom Glynn-Carney as the seethingly resentful George. At our performance, 8-year-old Bert was played by Sammy Jones who was crackingly confident opposite such esteemed actors.

Issues of responsibility, deceit, the handling of grief; the need to move forward versus the desire to look back, and how emotional selfishness and instability can affect all those around you, All My Sons piles on the themes to create a blistering piece of theatre that will remain with you long after curtain down – as will the memory of those remarkable performances. The show runs at Wyndham’s until 7th March; a surprising number of tickets remain available but watch out for that dynamic pricing.

Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!