Bread & Roses Theatre – 19 October 2024

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

2014 – the year of avocado toast, Conchita Wurst and conscious uncoupling. Sarah Saxby’s show starts with a sweetly awkward hit of nostalgia as she plays Just Dance on her Wii. What follows is a funny and bittersweet trawl through memories of 2014, and the lasting effects on a girl growing up in the middle of nowhere, with the benefit of hindsight and 10 more years of life experience.

Saxby’s sharp and witty writing captures the paradoxical certainty and crippling self-doubt of teenagers, with her self-proclaimed feminist devouring fanfiction romances and dreaming of Harry Styles. Describing 2014 as a golden time – pre-Brexit, pre-Weinstein and post-Gangnam Style – Saxby looks back at events that confused her with a clearer eye and calls out the behaviour for what she now knows it was. Remembering the ferocity and bravery of teen years and regretting that loss in the modern reality of keeping a job and a roof over her head, things begin to get more sombre as grief for the loss of childhood and the loss of a dear family member meld and intensify in this entertaining and insightful hour.

Saxby is a warm and relatable performer, and her brilliantly judged interactions with the audience and the tech booth are comic highlights of the show. As a writer, Saxby shows extraordinary promise, with assured direction from Isabella Westveer de Mul, and they and Sticks Theatre are names to look out for in the future.

CELEBRATES BACK TO THE FUTURE DAY ON 21 OCTOBER 
WITH SPECIAL CAMEO PERFORMANCE FROM LEIGH FRANCIS AS

‘PRINCIPAL STRICKLAND’

ROYAL CARIBBEAN PRODUCTION IN AUGUST 2025

Lead producer Colin Ingram, together with Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, the creators of the Back To The Future film trilogy, are delighted that Leigh Francis will make a special cameo appearance as ‘Principal Strickland’ to celebrate Back to the Future Day this evening on Monday 21 October. Back to the Future Day is celebrated by fans of the beloved franchise across the world each year on 21 October, marking the date the Marty McFly travels to the future in Back to the Future II.

It is also announced today that there will be a German production of the show opening in the 2025/2026 season with further details to be announced soon.

As well as the German production, Royal Caribbean will bring to life a reworked 100-minute version of the show that will take centre stage on the vacation brand’s new ship, Star of the Seas, when it debuts in Port Canaveral (Orlando), Florida, starting August 2025.

Following the recent London cast change, exclusive backstage shots have been released. 

The critically acclaimed Olivier, WhatsOnStage and Broadway World Award-winning Best New Musical is going into its 4^th year, having had its opening night in London on Monday 13 September 2021. Performances also began on Broadway on 30 June 2023, with the official opening taking place on 3 August 2023. The North American tour opened in Cleveland, OH, in June 2024 and is currently running in cities across the US and Canada until August 2025. In addition to the newly announced German and Royal Caribbean productions, a production will also open in Japan in 2025.

The musical is currently booking until Sunday 27 July 2025 at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End. Tickets are on sale now.

The recently announced new cast of the show includes recent graduate Vasco Emauz, who is making his West End debut as ‘Marty McFly’, Orlando Gibbs (Mr Burns: A post-electric play at the Bunker Theatre), as ‘George McFly’, C.J. Borger (Kristin Chenoweth: An Evening With Friends In Honor Of Todd Haimes at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, Broadway) as ‘Goldie Wilson’ and ‘Marvin Berry’, Alex Runicles (Barman in Choir Of Man on the US and Canada Tour) as ‘Biff Tannen’, Talia Palamathanan (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie on the Original UK Tour and at Ahmanson Theatre Los Angeles) as ‘Jennifer Parker’, Ellis Kirk (JD in Heathers the Musical at The Other Palace) as alternate ‘Marty McFly’ and Liam McHugh (Grease the Musical at the Dominion Theatre) as ‘Dave McFly’. The newest ensemble are Kofi Aidoo-Appiah, Billie Bowman and Gracie Caine. They are joined by returning cast members Cory English as ‘Doctor Emmett Brown’, Sarah Goggin as ‘Lorraine Baines’, Lee Ormsby as ‘Strickland’ and alternate ‘Doctor Emmett Brown’ and Patricia Wilkins as ‘Linda McFly’ and ensemble members, Ella Beaumont, Sia Dauda, Alexander Day, Helen Gulston, Matthew Ives, Connor Lewis, Adam Margilewski, Bryan Mottram, Anna Murray, Samuel Nicholas, Louis Quinn, Zachkiel Smith, Grace Swaby-Moore and Alexandra Wright.

The Original Cast Recording, released on Sony Music’s Masterworks Broadway label, is now available and has had over 20 million streams. It features the new music by multi-Grammy Award-winners Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard alongside classic songs from the movie including The Power of Love and Johnny B. Goode. 

In celebration of last year’s Back to the Future Day, Sony Masterworks Broadway released a Deluxe Edition of the Original Cast Recording both digitally and as a 2-CD set. Available everywhere now, the Deluxe Edition includes 13 never-before-heard demos, alternate and early versions of many of the show’s major numbers, most performed by Glen Ballard himself.

In July 2023, a brand new behind-the-scenes book documenting the of the show, Creating Back to the Future the by Michael Klastorin, was released worldwide, published by abrams&chronicle books.

BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, four WhatsOnStage Awards, including Best New Musical, and the Broadway World Award for Best New Musical. The productions in London and Manchester have so far been seen by over 1.6 million people and the musical has broken box office records at the Adelphi Theatre.

Based on the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment film, BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical has a book by Bob Gale and new music and lyrics by Emmy and Grammy Award-winning Alan Silvestri and six-time Grammy Award-winning Glen Ballard, with additional songs from the film including The Power of Love and Johnny B. Goode.

Marty McFly is a rock ‘n’ roll teenager who is accidentally transported back to 1955 in a time-travelling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr Emmett Brown.  But before he can return to 1985, Marty must make sure his high school-aged parents fall in love in order to save his own existence.

BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical is directed by Tony Award-winning director John Rando (Urinetown, On The Town), alongside the multi Tony and Olivier Award-winning design team of Tim Hatley (set and costume design), Tim Lutkin (lighting), Hugh Vanstone (lighting consultant), Gareth Owen (sound) and Finn Ross (video), with choreography by Chris Bailey, musical supervision and arrangements by Nick Finlow and Illusions by Chris Fisher. Orchestrations are by Ethan Popp and Bryan Crook, with dance arrangements by David Chase. Casting is by David Grindrod CDG for Grindrod Burton Casting.

Back to the Future the movie was released in 1985, starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Dr Emmett Brown. The film grossed $360.6 million (£279 million) at the box office worldwide and the total box office for all three films in the Back to the Future franchise was $936.6 million (over $1.8 billion in today’s money).

BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical is produced by Colin Ingram, Donovan Mannato, Frankel/Viertel/Baruch/Routh Group, Hunter Arnold, Gavin Kalin Productions, Playing Field, Crush Music, CJ ENM, Teresa Tsai, Ivy Herman/Hallee Adelman, Robert L. Hutt, Universal Theatrical Group, Ricardo Marques, Augury, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, in association with Kimberly Magarro, Stage Entertainment, Glass Half Full Productions/ Neil Gooding Productions.

Website: BackToTheFutureMusical.com  

X: @BTTFmusical

Instagram: @BTTFmusical        

TikTok: @BTTFmusical

LISTINGS INFORMATION

BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical

Adelphi Theatre, Strand, Covent Garden, London, WC2R 0NS

Currently booking until 27 July 2025

There be a relaxed performance on Sunday 9 March 2025 at 3pm and further signed performances to be announced at a later date.

N.B BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical has partnered with Gala Pro – a revolutionary app for accessibility and translation to enhance accessible experiences at live performances so you can enjoy any performance of Back to the Future with audio description and closed captioning. 

Tickets: from £19.55

Please book via the website: BackToTheFutureMusical.com – no booking fees  

Booking line: 0203 925 2998

Christmas 2024/25 Performance Schedule

Monday 16 December            2pm & 7.30pm

Tuesday 17 December            No performance

Wednesday 18 December      No performance

Thursday 19 December           2.30pm

Friday 20 December               7.30pm

Saturday 21 December           2.30pm & 7.30pm

Sunday 22 December             1pm & 6pm

Monday 23 December            2.30pm & 7.30pm

Tuesday 24 December            1pm

Wednesday 25 December      No performance

Thursday 26 December           No performance

Friday 27 December               2.30pm & 7.30pm

Saturday 28 December           2.30pm & 7.30pm

Sunday 29 December             1pm & 6pm

Monday 30 December            2.30pm & 7.30pm

Tuesday 31 December            2.30pm           

Wednesday 1 January            No performance

Thursday 2 January                 2.30pm & 7.30pm

Friday 3 January                      7.30pm

Saturday 4 January                 2.30pm & 7.30pm

Sunday 5 January                   No performance

“the West End hit is still the perfect mix of ingenious, silly and moving…With a new cast, the Olivier Award-winning musical about the wartime operation is as terrific as ever”

★★★★★
Marianka Swain, The Telegraph

“Operation Mincemeat’s new cast keep the magic alive and bring a tear to the audience’s eye…This might be my second time watching the historical production, but I still find myself struggling to breathe thanks to laughing so much…[the] invasion is going well, and I hope it stays that way.”

★★★★★

Thea Jacobs, The Sun

“Operation Mincemeat opened at the Fortune Theatre in May 2023 and has been wildly successful ever since. Winning the 2024 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, it has gone from strength to strength…a hilarious history lesson, with an ingenious script, a brilliant new cast of exceptional performers, and songs that will have you reaching for your streaming service of choice to enjoy them again as soon as you’ve left the theatre.”
Nick Barr, 1883 Magazine

“I couldn’t believe the lasting impression the performance left on me…The [new] cast are undisputably talented… the show more than fulfilled my expectations, and I urge anyone and everyone to go and see it. It is a rare occasion that the West End is graced with such a brilliant new musical truly worth its salt, such as this one”

Isabelle Casey, HELLO! Magazine

“the new cast does the story proud while putting its own stamp on the proceedings…an absolute joy to watch…simply first class and the chemistry between the characters is palpable.”

★★★★★

Lisa Martland, Musical Theatre Review

74 ★★★★★ reviews and counting

Monday 20^th October – Hot on the heels of a tenth extension at the West End’s Fortune Theatre and the announcement that the Olivier Award-winning Operation Mincemeat will open on Broadway at the Golden Theatre on 20^th March 2025, ATG has granted an incredible eleventh extension in London, with performances now set to continue until 19^th April 2025.

Until 15^th February, when Broadway previews begin, tickets will be available exclusively in London. After that, Operation Mincemeat will run simultaneously in both New York and London.

Extension tickets are available on general sale on Friday 1^st November at 10am from the Official Box Office here.

Following the success of the Monday ballot, it has now expanded to include Tuesday and Saturday shows to ensure tickets get into the right hands. Monday ticket prices remain frozen at £39.50, and the popular fortnightly £25 ticket lottery continues here. The first ballot draw for the new booking period from 10^th March to 19^th April 2025 will take place on Thursday 31^st October at 2pm. Link here.

Operation Mincemeat began as a tiny (and tiny-budgeted) production at the London Fringe New Diorama Theatre in 2019. The show quickly gained a devoted following, spurring sold-out runs at venues including Southwark Playhouse and Riverside Studios. It finally premiered in the West End on 9^th May 2023 at the Fortune Theatre, where it won the Olivier and WhatsOnstage Awards® for ‘Best New Musical’, alongside garnering 74 five-star reviews and counting, and has become the ‘Best reviewed show in West End history.’

The decision to write the musical was the last roll of the dice from a quartet of young British creatives after years of performing sketch shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and echoes the journey of Beyond the Fringe from the world-famous quartet Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1960, before moving to the Fortune Theatre and later to the Golden in 1962.

Operation Mincemeat entered its second year in London on the 13^th May 2024 with a debut performance of the new cast, Emily Barber, Seán Carey, Chlöe Hart, Christian Andrews and Claire-Marie Hall , with George Jennings and Jonty Peach joining Holly Sumpton and Geri Allen to form the Company.

The year is 1943 and we’re losing the war. Luckily, we’re about to gamble all our futures on a stolen corpse. 

Singin’ in the Rain meets Strangers on a Train, Noel Coward meets Noel Fielding, Operation Mincemeat is the fast-paced, hilarious and unbelievable true story of the twisted secret mission that won us World War II. The question is, how did a well-dressed corpse wrong-foot Hitler? 

The production is directed by 2023 Olivier Award nominated  Robert Hastie (Standing at the Sky’s Edge, National Theatre – 2023 Best New Musical Olivier Award winner), following providing directorial support for the Riverside Studios run, while Olivier Award nominated Jenny Arnold (Jerry Springer: The Opera, National Theatre) continues as Choreographer. Also from Standing at the Sky’s Edge at theNational Theatre on the creative team are: 2023 Olivier Award nominated  Ben Stones (Sylvia, The Old Vic) as Set and Costume Designer, Tony Award, six-time Olivier Award and Bafta Award winning Mark Henderson (Girl From the North Country, Broadway & Noël Coward Theatre) as Lighting Designer and Olivier Award winning Mike Walker (Jerry Springer: The Opera, National Theatre) as Sound Designer.  Grammy Award winning and Tony, Emmy & 2024 ‘Outstanding Musical Contribution’ Olivier Award nominated Steve Sidwell (Beautiful: The Musical, Broadway & Aldwych Theatre) is Orchestrator and Vocal Arranger, while 2024 ‘Outstanding Musical Contribution’ Olivier Award nominated Joe Bunker is Musical Director. Georgie Staight is Associate Director and Paul Isaiah Isles is Associate Choreographer. Casting is by Pearson Casting. The extraordinary debut musical is written and composed by SpitLip – David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts.

Operation Mincemeat won the 2024 ‘Best New Musical’ and ‘Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical’ Olivier Awards, following receiving six nominations. These awards trail winning the 2024 ‘Best New Musical’ WhatsOnStage Award and the ‘Best West End Show’, ‘Rising Star’ and ‘Best Understudy’ West End Wilma Awards. Previously on the show’s journey, Operation Mincemeat has picked up the Off-West End award for ‘Best Musical Production’ and ‘Best Company Ensemble’ and The Stage Debut Award for ‘Best Composer/Lyricist’.

Operation Mincemeat is presented in the West End by Avalon (in association with SpitLip), who have supported since the Southwark Playhouse runs. The show was commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, co-commissioned by The Lowry, and also supported by the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat.

Winners announced at the UK Theatre Awards 2024  

sponsored by Encore 

All four nations are represented, demonstrating the strength of theatre right across the UK 

Leeds Playhouse’s production of Oliver! leads the way with awards for Best Musical Production, and Best Performance in a Musical for Jenny Fitzpatrick 

Polka Theatre secures the coveted UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre Award 

Sunday 20 October 2024: The winners of this year’s UK Theatre Awards have been announced at a ceremony hosted by Faye Tozer, which took place at 8 Northumberland Avenue this afternoon. The UK Theatre Awards celebrate the very best of theatre across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Awards are given for creative excellence and outstanding work both on and off stage, including the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre Award and the UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre Award. 

With winners representing all four nations, the ceremony celebrated the UK’s world-leading theatre industry. Leeds Playhouse’s production of Oliver! led the way, winning two awards: Best Musical Production, and Best Performance in a Musical for Jenny Fitzpatrick. Belgrade Theatre are attached to two winning productions: Swim, Aunty, Swim! (Best New Play), and Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning (Best Design for Kenneth MacLeod). 

Elsewhere in the On Stage categories, Best Director was awarded to Drew McOnie for The Artist at Theatre Royal Plymouth, Rhino at Lyric Theatre Belfast snapped up Best Play Revival, and Stephen Joseph Theatre’s production of Beauty And The Beast secured Best Show for Children & Young People. Achievement in Dance was won by Mehek, an Aakash Odedra Company & Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company production, and Achievement in Opera was awarded to Welsh National Opera’s Death In Venice. 

In the performing categories, David Shields won Best Performance in a Play for Punch at Nottingham Playhouse, and Chumisa Dornford-May won Best Supporting Performance (in a Musical or Play) for Evita at the Curve. 

The highly coveted UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre Award was secured by Polka Theatre, coming out on top against strong competition from fellow nominees Hall for Cornwall and Octagon Theatre Bolton. 

Elsewhere in the Off Stage categories, the Workforce Award was won by Buxton Opera House & Pavilion Arts Centre, Chichester Festival Theatre snapped up the newly-introduced accolade for Excellence in Sustainability, Excellence in Inclusivity went to Antony & Cleopatra at Shakespeare’s Globe, Excellence in Touring to Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru’s Parti Priodas, and Excellence in Arts Education was secured by the Royal Shakespeare Company. 

As previously announced, the recipient of this year’s Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre Award was Jenny Sealey OBE, Artistic Director of Graeae, whose achievements were celebrated at this afternoon’s ceremony as she was presented with her Award. 

Claire Walker & Hannah Essex, Co-CEOs of Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre, said: 

“This year’s UK Theatre Awards ceremony has been a truly joyful celebration and a real testament to the quality and diversity of the work that our members do both on and off the stage and in their local communities. We are constantly in awe of the resilience, creativity and ambition that we witness across the four nations. 

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees, and thank you to our sponsors and partners for their support. We are thrilled to have celebrated another year of phenomenal UK theatre with you all.” 

The UK Theatre Awards 2024 are sponsored by Encore, kindly supported by AKT, Cunard, Harbottle & Lewis, John Good Ltd, MTI Europe, Theatre Tokens, Tysers in association with Ecclesiastical, Unusual Rigging & White Light. 

Full list of winners at the UK Theatre Awards 2024 

On Stage Awards: 

Best Design 

Kenneth MacLeod for Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning, a National Theatre of Scotland & Aberdeen Performing Arts co-production in association with Belgrade Theatre 

Best Director 

Drew McOnie for The Artist, a Theatre Royal Plymouth, McOnie Company, Playful Productions & Bill Damaschke co-production 

Best Musical Production sponsored by Tysers in association with Ecclesiastical 

Oliver!, a Leeds Playhouse production by special arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh 

Best New Play sponsored by Cunard 

Swim, Aunty, Swim!, a Belgrade Theatre production in association with tiata fahodzi 

Best Play Revival 

Rhino, a Tinderbox Theatre Company production at Lyric Theatre Belfast 

Achievement in Dance sponsored by AKT 

Mehek, an Aakash Odedra Company & Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company production in association with The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi 

Achievement in Opera 

Death In Venice, by Welsh National Opera in association with NoFit State 

Best Supporting Performance (in a Musical or Play) 

Chumisa Dornford-May for Evita, a Curve production 

Best Performance in a Musical 

Jenny Fitzpatrick for Oliver!, a Leeds Playhouse production by special arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh 

Best Performance in a Play 

David Shields for Punch, a Nottingham Playhouse production 

Best Show for Children & Young People 

Beauty And The Beast, a Stephen Joseph Theatre production 

Off Stage Awards: 

Excellence in Arts Education 

Royal Shakespeare Company 

Excellence in Touring sponsored by Theatre Tokens 

Parti Priodas by Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru 

Excellence in Inclusivity 

Antony & Cleopatra at Shakespeare’s Globe  

Excellence in Sustainability 

Chichester Festival Theatre  

Workforce Award 

Buxton Opera House & Pavilion Arts Centre 

UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre sponsored by Encore  

Polka Theatre 

@UK_Theatre               #UKTAwards 

Park Theatre, London – until 2nd November 2024

Reviewed by Celia Armand Smith

4****

Based on Ali Smith’s 2016 novel of the same name, Autumn is pieced together like a collage of time, place, people and things. We meet Elisabeth (Rebecca Banatvala) in 2016 just after the Brexit referendum. She is staying with her mother Wendy (Sophie Ward) in the village in which he grew up, to visit her centenarian friend Daniel Gluck (Gary Lilburn) in a nursing home. We first meet Elisabeth as she tries to apply for a passport and the post office worker is very concerned that every step is followed correctly. We then start to bend time, moving to the past when Elisabeth and Daniel first meet despite Wendy’s concerns that he is foreign and strange – he has lots of art in his house. As we move back and forth, Daniel is being read to while he sleeps, the Profumo affair is explored through art, we meet Daniel’s sister in his dreams, and Wendy goes on an Antiques Road Trip style TV show.

In Harry McDonald’s poetic script, imagination, stories and art are woven together. There is a lightness to the flow, and this is due in part to the cast. Nancy Crane plays several parts from acerbic post office worker to a playful little sister, and with the use of an excellent catalogue of accents and clever use of props, it’s never confusing and is often charming and funny. Crane also provides a lot of the scene changes of Grace Venning’s clever simple set. Banatvala is also adept at switching from age 9 to 32 and back again with just a change in tone and a furrowed brow. Gary Lilburn is sweet and full of childlike enthusiasm as Daniel even when elderly and reminiscing. You want to go straight round to his house and discuss every aspect of life with him. Sophie Ward’s Wendy is quiet rage at the systems, springing into action and ending the play full of love and hope, masterfully navigating new feelings and a new zest for life.

Autumn under the direction of Charlotte Vickers is delightful from start to finish. It takes in all of the love and care of Ali Smith’s characters and narrative, and creates a poignant and engaging dance through time.

The Victoria Theatre, Halifax – until 19th October 2024

Reviewed by Sal E Marino

5*****

Rita, Sue and Bob Too is a cult classic 1980s film and most people of a certain age can quote its golden lines that one never tires of hearing so, imagine seeing it live!  The anticipation of hearing Sue’s dad spouting “send em on Manningham Lane, it’s the best place for them” just builds and builds!  The audience members at the fabulous Victoria Theatre, Halifax, (where you always receive a warm Yorkshire welcome) couldn’t wait to hear those ionic phrases and were cheering loudly when the very talented acting crew delivered them!    Screen-to-stage adaptations don’t always work as well, especially one where the film is loved so much as the expectations are almost too high to measure up to but I found that Andrew Ashley’s (Artistic director) and Andy Fretwell’s (Managing Director) Rita, Sue and Bob Too was more enjoyable than the film!  The main reason for this is that I feel Ashley and Fretwell have done the brilliant Andrea Dunbar (the original play’s writer) justice and to understand that you need to go and see it.  For me, the uncomfortable elephant in the room that permeates throughout the film has finally been resolved.  We all booed Bob at The Victoria at the end.  And yet, there was no anger, the play did NOT lose any humour at all, it was hilarious, just different – but in a good and better way. 

It’s a very raw, harsh but strangely touching piece of popular theatre that encapsulates the mood of the 1980s.  Thatcher’s Britain, when a generation of men realised that their jobs-for-life, (especially in certain northern industries) were now gone and ‘they’ were no longer needed – obsolete – they didn’t fit into the new corporate, financial world.  So, what happened to some of them such as on those on the Buttershaw estate in Bradford?  Unfortunately drink, depression and a vicious cycle of poverty and abuse of various kinds ensued.  Pretty grim – so it’s amazing how this play, with all it’s dark sides can evoke such laughter, that in the face of such adversity we can chuckle along at the dialogue.

Beginning with the scene on the moors, where sleazy Bob played by Dale Vaughan first seduces Rita and Sue really sets the play’s narrative and although it’s obviously uncomfortable the girls are hilarious! It’s not how I remember it in the film because I’m now a grown-up (with a child just a bit older than Rita and Sue) so I have a new perspective.  Both Emma Hooker (Rita) and Polly Lovegrove (Sue) are so believable in their roles as these two teenagers who sadly have no hopes, no dreams and no aspirations.  They just want to live in a house that has space, quiet and no screaming and shouting.  If that involves being with a slime-ball older man like Bob (who would inevitably cheat on them too like he was with them), then that isn’t a problem because they want to be Michelle (Louisa Maude) – who in their eyes has it all – nice clothes and nice things (typical of a teenagers). The way this came out on stage highlighted the girls’ vulnerability, young age, lack of guidance, care and nurturing love.  That aside, the action and pace of the play just flows as the multi-media backdrop clips of news and events of 80s flash up on stage.  We are reminded of the wave of the times – protests, riots, anger, disease, despair along with greed and ‘loads a money’ … which made one reflect about those issues and their relevance today.

Andrew Ashley, who plays ‘Dad’ stole the show.  From the look, the walk, the line delivery – Ashley totally embodied the whole essence of the character and burnt it up!  I could have watched a drama of just him arguing and sparing with ‘Mum’, Alison Gibson.  These two are comedy gold, like Jim Royal and his long-suffering wife except with an edge.  The swearing, the insults and threats weren’t solved by having a chocolate digestive and a brew – more like a bottle of vodka to knock them out of their depressing reality. 

This play and whole production has the heart the size of Yorkshire – big, warm and it keeps beating and going even when times are tough! A wonderful tribute to Andrea Dunbar – it’s a blast, you’ll love it!

LYRIC HAMMERSMITH – UNTIL 2nd NOVEMBER 2024

Reviewed by Jackie Thornton

5*****

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a
sore? (Langston Hughes)

A house in the suburbs, a new business, an education. These are the dreams of the Younger family, three generations crammed into a cockroach infested apartment in Chicago’s South Side. It’s 1950s USA and with $10,000 of life insurance money due following the death of their beloved father, an honest, hard working Black family dares to dream of a better life in Lorraine Hansberry’s multi-award winning play.

Not a word is wasted in director Tinuke Craig’s revival of this groundbreaking work that warmly follows matriarch Lena (Doreene Blackstock), her grown children Beneatha (Josephine-Fransilja Brookman) and Walter Lee (Soloman Israel), his wife Ruth (Cash Holland) and their ten-year-old son Travis. Hansberry’s clever digs at the misogyny, sexism, classism and racism of 1950s America agitate, sadly still ringing true today, as do the universal conversations on colonialism and independence, power and corruption, hope and despair.

Set design by Cecile Tremolieres confines the stellar cast to one sparsely furnished room which Lena, Ruth and Beneatha tirelessly scrub, dust and clean. Will they ever escape it? Holland as Ruth is incredible; even while in the background, the gamut of emotions she conveys constantly draws your gaze. That’s not to say that Israel’s pained speeches as hapless Walter or Brookman’s comical flamboyance as aspiring doctor Beneatha are not equally precise and enthralling. Kenneth Omole as Beneatha’s Nigerian suitor Joseph Asagai similarly dazzles with cheeky self-assurance while also delivering some stirring home truths.

A Raisin in the Sun is a timeless and captivating tale which generously offers up space to reflect on the human necessity for hope in a world inclined to kick us when we’re down. Life is struggle which makes our triumphs sweeter and existence all the richer. Don’t miss out on this stunning revival. I’d watch it again in a flash.

Brand new footage IS RELEASED 
FOR CAMERON MACKINTOSH’S NEW PRODUCTION OF LIONEL BART’S IRRESISTIBLE AND ICONIC MUSICAL

Season extended at London’s Gielgud Theatre
– now booking through to 28 September 2025

Performances begin 14 December 2024

www.oliverthemusical.com

Tuesday 15 October 2024, London: Cameron Mackintosh is delighted to release footage of his new production of Lionel Bart’s iconic musical, Oliver!, which will begin performances at Gielgud Theatre in London on Saturday 14 December 2024 and has today extended bookings through to 28 September 2025. www.oliverthemusical.com

This critically acclaimed production, which Mackintosh has fully reconceived with director and choreographer Matthew Bourne, is a co-production with Chichester Festival Theatre, where Oliver!’s run as part of their 2024 Summer Season was the biggest success in the theatre’s history

Returning to the cast is Simon Lipkin (Guys and Dolls, Avenue Q) as Fagin, Shanay Holmes (Miss Saigon, The Bodyguard) as Nancy, Aaron Sidwell (Henry VI, Wicked) as Bill Sikes, Billy Jenkins (Les Misérables, BBC’s Dodger) as the Artful Dodger, Philip Franks (The Rocky Horror Show, Witness for the Prosecution) as Mr. Brownlow, Oscar Conlon-Morrey (Mother Goose, Only Fools and Horses The Musical) as Mr. Bumble, Katy Secombe (The Music Man, Les Misérables) as Widow Corney, Stephen Matthews (Strictly Ballroom, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) as Mr. Sowerberry/Dr. Grimwig, and Jamie Birkett (Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Mamma Mia The Party) as Mrs. Sowerberry/Mrs. Bedwin. The full London cast will be announced soon.

Lionel Bart’s musical masterpiece, freely adapted from Charles Dickens’ novel, Oliver! tells the story of the orphaned Oliver Twist, who escapes the harsh Victorian workhouse and takes refuge in London’s murky underworld with the wily gang leader Fagin and his team of resourceful pickpockets led by the Artful Dodger. He finds a friend in the kind-hearted Nancy and when he’ s wrongly arrested for stealing, Oliver meets an unexpected saviour; but is happiness truly within his grasp?

With a sensational score, including Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, You’ve Got to Pick-a-Pocket or Two, I’d Do Anything, Oom Pah Pah, As Long As He Needs Me and many more, the Olivier, Tony and Oscar-winning masterpiece vividly brings to life Dickens’ ever-popular story of the boy who asked for more.

Matthew Bourne is internationally renowned for reinventing classics including Swan Lake and Edward Scissorhands for his company New Adventures, as well as his Olivier Award-winning choreography for My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins (which he co-directed and earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Choreography) and his recent acclaimed direction and musical staging of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends. The stellar creative team includes designer Lez Brotherston (Fiddler on the Roof, Me and My Girl, Flowers for Mrs Harris).

Produced and revised by Cameron Mackintosh,Oliver! is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne andco-directed by Jean-Pierre van der Spuy. Designed by Lez Brotherston, lighting design is by Paule Constable and Ben Jacobs, sound design by Adam Fisher, video design by George Reeve, new orchestrations by Stephen Metcalfe based on the original by William David Brohn; music supervision is by Graham Hurman.

Oliver! is a Cameron Mackintosh and Chichester Festival Theatre production.

OLIVER! | London Listings Info

Gielgud Theatre
Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 6AR

Dates
Performances from Saturday 14 December 2024
Now booking until Sunday 28 September 2025
New Sunday matinees begin 9 March 2025
Additional midweek matinees added in July and August 2025

Website
www.oliverthemusical.com

Social Media
All platforms: @Oliveronstage

Curve Theatre Leicester – until 19th Oct 2024

Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh

3***

Murder on the Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s most beloved and treasured tales. Deviating from your average whodunit, it truly challenges traditional formula and enables the detective to flex the power of his little grey cells and explore compassion and concern for humanity. A snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train, unusually full for this time of year is a little lighter by the morning when a passenger is found stabbed to death in his bed, his door locked from the inside and there is no clue of how the crime was committed. Isolated and with a murderer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot sets about identifying the murderer by meticulously interviewing a motley crew of passengers who are trapped alongside him in this treacherous weather on this fateful night.

Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of Christie’s tale, made some bold choices, attempting to present a modern and lavish rendition, but they didn’t all land well. The production is confused, delivering huge amounts of exposition without depth, so we never warm to most of the characters. They largely stay as over the top, hammy caricature’s, with no character development or light and dark. We don’t fully understand motives, drives, desires and connection, which is a huge part of this story and is much needed in order for it to all come together at the end.

Unfortunately, it appears, this production chose to focus on Mike Britton’s set design. A clunky and cumbersome cluster of compartments which click together to form a train. They are beautiful but they hinder the performance and our engagement with it, by causing long pauses between scenes, obstructing views and creating jarring noises. Sarah Holland’s lustrous costumes bring some real pizazz to the production.

Michael Maloney’s portrayal of Poirot begins as the familiar Belgian detective we remember, but this quickly slips into moments of strangeness. Giggling, flirting and such before returning back to his stoic stance, leaving me confused, what was the point of this shift? The final reveal at the end is so far removed from the cool, calm collected and compassionate sleuth that it fell flat and was unbelievable.

As disjointed as the train, sadly this production just didn’t work.

SALLY CADE HOLMES AND HEATHER SHIELDS ANNOUNCE LONDON PREMIERE

OF CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, SOLD OUT FRINGE HIT

HOLD ON TO YOUR BUTTS

AT THE ARCOLA THEATRE FOR A LIMITED RUN THIS CHRISTMAS

Following a smash-hit run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer and multiple sold out seasons in New York, Sally Cade Holmes and Heather Shields today announce the London premiere and cast for Recent Cutbacks’ Hold On To Your Butts, a live shot-for-shot parody of the greatest dinosaur film of all time performed by just two actors and a live Foley artist, at the Arcola Theatre this Christmas for a limited run only from Tuesday 10 Dec 2024 until Saturday 4 Jan 2025 prior to a UK Tour. Tickets are on sale now.

A wildly inventive tour-de-force of comedy, physical theatre and live Foley, Hold On To Your Butts was created by Recent Cutbacks, directed by Kristin McCarthy Parker (Puffs, Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, Off-Broadway), developed with Nick Abeel, Kyle Schaefer & Blair Busbee, and stars Jack Baldwin (The Play That Goes Wrong and The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, West End) and Laurence Pears (The Mousetrap, UK Tour; The Comedy About A Bank Robbery and Magic Goes Wrong, West End), with live sound and foley by Charlie Ives (A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story, Nottingham Playhouse and Alexandra Palace; Private Lives, West End). A Cappella arrangements are by Kelsey Didion.

Recent Cutbacks is a New York-based creative ensemble founded in 2014. Their critically acclaimed work sits at the intersection of comedy and theatre. They’re best known for live movie parodies that fuse humour, nostalgia, and lo-fi spectacle.

Their projects invite audiences to see the world with a newfound exuberance and remind us why we fell in love with movies, theatre, and storytelling in the first place.

Producers Sally Cade Holmes and Heather Shields said: “Hold Onto Your Butts is everything we love about theatre – it celebrates imagination, is laugh-out-loud hilarious, and reinvents a classic. After the success at Edinburgh Fringe, we’re excited to bring this ridiculously fun show to London this holiday season. The show delivers pure joy, and we can’t wait to share the laughter with audiences at the Arcola and beyond!”

Director Kristin McCarthy Parker today said: “We are over the moon to bring Butts to the Arcola Theatre and then on tour after its thrilling UK premiere at the Fringe! Recent Cutbacks’ goal has always been to inspire joy, creativity, and humour in our audiences, which feels like a perfect fit for the holiday season. Butts combines everything we love about theatre, comedy, and pop culture, and judging by its reception in Edinburgh, British audiences seem to agree”.

www.holdontoyourbutts.co.uk

Instagram/TikTok: @HoldOnToYourButtsUK

Facebook: /HoldOnToYourButtsUK