Review – Kiss of the Spider Woman, Studio Theatre, Leicester Curve, 13th April 2026

Posted on April 14, 2026 by therealchrisparkle

It’s been over 30 years since Kander and Ebb’s Kiss of the Spider Woman opened on Broadway and in London to rave reviews and great success – harvesting no fewer than seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. Coinciding with the release of the new film version of the musical this week in the UK, Paul Foster’s extraordinary revival of the show at the Leicester Curve unearths a true hidden gem of musical theatre.

Adapted from Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel, which he himself adapted into a play in 1985, it tells the story of two prisoners in the same cell in a dingy, violent prison in Argentina. Molina, a window dresser, is in prison for sexual offences; his cellmate Valentin is a Marxist revolutionary whom the authorities torture to discover the identities of the rest of his cohort. Molina keeps his spirit up by engaging in a series of fantasy re-enactments about Aurora, the screen goddess of his youth, who appeared in so many glamorous movies; reliving them in his mind provides an escape from his desperate situation. At first, Valentin is very suspicious of Molina and cannot stand his company; but over time the two men form an unlikely bond, with Valentin also becoming entranced with the magnificent Aurora. The prison warden constantly puts pressure on Molina to get incriminating names from Valentin – but Molina is a loyal friend. Will he betray his cellmate?

You know those people who say musical theatre is just light-hearted, frothy entertainment, incapable of saying anything serious or meaningful? They’d learn a lesson or two here. Through the story of a developing relationship, the show poses questions of trust and integrity, self-respect and honesty, idealism and realism, and resilience and resistance. It asks to what extent fantasy can replace reality, and how much are you prepared to sacrifice for love. Spoiler alert: you won’t get any easy answers.

Few shows tell you you’re in the presence of something special within the first five minutes – but this production of Kiss of the Spider Woman is one of those rarities. Every element of the production is outstanding. Howard Hudson’s lighting design provides so many thrilling and simply beautiful effects. Gabriella Slade’s costumes are superb – especially those worn by Aurora and the Spider Woman. Andrzej Goulding’s video design delights and excites – those intricate spider web manifestations and the horror of the full black spider are just magnificent.

Matt Peploe’s eerie sound design constantly reminds you of the tortures taking place in this hellhole of a prison – and every single word of every single song is enunciated beautifully by the cast through the perfectly moderated amplification, so that we don’t miss a moment of those telling lyrics or that exceptional book. And, of course, Dan Glover’s amazing out-of-sight band deliver that tremendous score with more expression and guts than is decent for just six musicians.

Eleven members of the cast make you believe there’s at least twice that number of people on stage. The ensemble actors are the hardest working and most versatile group of performers you could imagine, playing prisoners, guards, movie dancers; you name it, they’ll do it. Joanna Goodwin’s expertly judged choreography is lively and dynamic and perfectly pitched for the relatively small acting space; and the dancing is outstanding.

All the acting is of the highest quality. Damian Buhagiar’s guard is an intensely brutal and violent presence – the stage combat by the way is exceptional. Tori Scott is perfectly cast as Molina’s mother and delivers her songs with powerful emotion, Jay Rincon is chillingly sadistic as the vengeful warden, and there’s excellent support from Gabriela Garcia as Valentin’s lover Marta and Davide Fienauri as Molina’s straight crush Gabriel.

The partnership of Fabian Soto Pacheco as Molina and George Blagden as Valentin just works brilliantly. The warmth that grows between them is totally believable, expressed with true intensity but also great subtlety. Their harmonies work perfectly, they both have remarkable stage presence, and they tell their characters’ stories with conviction; you feel their increased understanding of themselves and each other as the performance progresses.

As if all that wasn’t enough, the production is blessed with Anna-Jane Casey in the dual role of Aurora and the Spider Woman, an extraordinary performer who can turn her voice and high kicks to anything; here radiating star quality as the glorious Aurora with her big show numbers and then inhabiting the alarming and creepy presence of the Spider Woman, gliding sinisterly across the stage in a seduction of entrapment. You can’t help but beam with delight every time she comes on stage.

During the first couple of minutes of the interval, all Mrs Chrisparkle and I could say to each other was “wow”, followed by the occasional “just wow”. Convention limits me to five stars, but there’s an argument for more. If I was free, I’d go and see it again tomorrow in a heartbeat. Kiss of the Spider Woman plays at the Leicester Curve until April 25^th and then tours to the Bristol Old Vic 29^th April to 16^th May and the Southampton Mayflower from 2^nd to 6^th June.

Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!

Review – Kiss of the Spider Woman, Menier Chocolate Factory, 18th March 2018

Posted on March 19, 2018 by therealchrisparkle

When I saw that the Menier’s next offering was to be Kiss of the Spider Woman, my initial reaction was – great, I’ve always wanted to see that musical. It wasn’t until a day or two before seeing the show that I discovered this is not the Kander/Ebb production from 1992 that starred Chita Rivera. This is a new dramatization by Jose Rivera and Allan Baker of Manuel Puig’s original 1976 novel, set in a Buenos Aires prison, about the developing relationship between window-dresser and film fan, Molina, and left wing political activist Valentin. The novel was originally only published in Spain and was for many years banned in Argentina. Considered Puig’s finest work, not only did it become the aforementioned award-winning Broadway musical, but Puig also adapted it as a play (1983), and it became a film in 1985.

But I hadn’t seen any of its previous incarnations and I’ve never read the book, so I was completely ignorant as to the story; and, gentle reader, if you plan to see this show and also don’t know the story, then I’m going to break one of my usual rules. I normally outline at least the initial plotline; but this time I’m going to keep you in your blissful ignorance. Because both Mrs Chrisparkle and I found this an absolutely riveting piece of drama; stunning story-telling with multi-layered characters, and visually highly impactful. And it really helped that we didn’t know where the story was going.

It’s always a delight to come to the Menier and walk down into the auditorium to see how they have rearranged everything to suit whatever new show you’re seeing. Unusually, this time, you have to walk up and into the auditorium, and then walk down to your particular row. Jon Bausor’s design for this show hits the mark from The Word Go and there is so much to take in before the play actually starts. Molina and Valentin’s cell is there in a corner; the two prisoners are on stage right from the start, quietly idling through their day. The walls to their cell are broken down and removed so we can see inside; around it, you find the most convincing representation of fresh wet mud you could ever imagine. Behind it, darkness, but which will come into use in the final scene. On a higher level, you see the walkways of the other prison cells, creating a superb, but oppressive setting of harsh, cruel prison life. You can’t imagine the prisoners in the Villa Devoto jail in Buenos Aires playing pool or benefiting from university courses.

But those walkways have an ulterior purpose. Molina whiles away the endless hours in prison, and entertains Valentin at the same time, by re-telling the plots of favourite old films. Andrzej Goulding’s brilliant projection design depicts these stories on the walkways, where silhouette characters act out Molina’s reminiscences. The silhouettes are real enough to fix those stories in our heads, but not so clearly defined that they replace our own imagination of what we’ve been told. It’s both technically impressive and artistically enjoyable.

Another of the reasons why I wanted to see this was because it has been directed by Laurie Sansom, ex-Artistic Director of the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, where he created so many memorable and extraordinary works. The last show of his we saw was the huge (in so many ways) The James Plays, where he did his usual trick of creating a seamless ensemble from a large and varied group of actors. Kiss of the Spider Woman only has three characters, so ensemble isn’t really the right word, but what Mr Sansom is so good at is creating a work where his actors have such complete trust, respect and faith in each other. You could see it in the bold relationship he created between Dionysus and Pentheus in his The Bacchae a few years ago. In this current play there are a number of scenes where Samuel Barnett as Molina and Declan Bennett as Valentin have to share a lot of intimacy and there isn’t a hair’s-breadth of awkwardness or artificiality to their stage relationship. As a result, it’s compelling and rewarding viewing; not remotely embarrassing, which would have really killed the semblance of reality.

Samuel Barnett is outstanding as Molina. Although at first he entertains us with the character’s short-tempered show-offishness, he quickly invests the character with so much kindness, and so many hidden depths, that you realise you want to find out so much more about their dreams and motivations. Mr Barnett can turn bright, cheeky comedy into sombre tragedy at the flicker of an eye. It’s a bold, funny, moving, elegant performance that stays with you long after curtain down. Declan Bennett is also fantastic as Valentin; sullen, tortured, lost in his own disgrace. It’s a superb portrayal of a powerful and charismatic leader, brought down by institutionalised deceit and corruption, and slowly, blindly, walking into the Spider Woman’s web. The third member of the cast is Grace Cookey-Gam, whose crisp and forthright performance as the warden reveals a more complex role than it might at first appear.

We saw a preview, so there’s always a chance that they might change something before press night – but that would be bizarre because it works so well as it is. I know I should really wait until after press night before reviewing, but, hey, what the hell. If I can encourage you to book quickly for this stunning production before those who wait for the first night reviews, then I will have done A Useful Thing. It’s a fascinating story, delicately told by a magnificent cast and a creative team at the top of their game. Just a short season until 5th May, but surely this should have a life after Menier? Highly recommended.

P. S. So, regular readers may well remember, the current trend for “no interval” is one of my pet hates. This show comes in at around 1 hour 40 minutes without an interval, and I do think the story and performances are strong enough to sustain a 20-minute break in the middle just to ensure the audience’s comfort. Those Menier benches aren’t the most luxurious in London and who wants to worry about needing to nip to the loo halfway through and then not being allowed back in to the auditorium?

P. P. S. I noticed Laurie Sansom deep in conversation with some guys as we were leaving. Should I interrupt and say hi, or should I just walk away? Of course, I said a quick hello. I told him it was great. I didn’t get around to telling him we’d be seeing his Nightfall at the Bridge Theatre in May too. One can be too much of a groupie.