The Sugar House ★★★★ Finborough Theatre | Oct 27 - Nov 20, 2021


The Sugar House is a saga chronicling three generations of an Australian family while focussing on its women. The story has parallels both to the history of Australia, from the early transportation of convicts to present development into a first-world society, and to the dirty, labour intensive process of sugar refining. Author, Alana Valentine, has a wonderful ear for dialogue and the language of the characters is vivid and engaging. For us, there were some issues with the exposition which on occasion seemed unclear and at other times was rather hammered home. The work is also heavy with issues: how does the past and "bad blood" colour one's future; how can one be socially mobile without losing one's true self and a legitimate sense of outrage; how does the political and justice system fairly serve the interests of all citizens. The story really belongs to the matriarch, June Macreadie, who is well-drawn and is beautifully interpreted by Janine Ulfane. Her performance radiates strength and resilience. However, while her character is the centre of the work, the other performances are all equally powerful. Patrick Toomey does an excellent job of understatement as June's husband and in other small roles. Fiona Skinner gets it just right as the daughter who fails to meet her mother's expectations, while her feckless brother, well played by Adam Fitzgerald, is indulged because of his gender. However, he does come right in the end when taken in hand by the right woman nicely played by Lea Dube. Jessica Zerlina Leafe as the hope of the clan does a superb job of taking her character from curious youngster to student rebel. Unlike so many actors we've seen lately, she actually pulls off the difficult feat of creating a believable child persona, and she also sensitively captures the angst of being the vehicle of her family's aspirations. The minimalist set puts all the focus on the actors, and they create a believable and engaging world which offers fascinating insight into Australian society while also tackling some universal themes.

Rated: ★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Pamela Raith.

Want to save on tickets? See our Tips page.

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: 118 Finborough Rd, London SW10 9ED, UK

Most Popular

Giffords Circus ★★★★ Chiswick House & Gardens | June 2 - 19, 2023

Image
Kids of all ages, it's summer and it's time to go the circus! No matter how old you are Giffords Circus will manage to amuse and thrill with a show that is very up-to-date, but still has a charming nostalgia. This year's offering is called "Les Enfants du Paradis" and a French gloss is put on the spectacle. Michael Fletcher as Hugo Victor and Nell O'Hara as Clair de Lune present the storyline of an old theatre coming to life with wonderful acts. This theme sets an atmosphere and provides a frame for the show, but it's really all about the standard silly clown acts and some extraordinarily daring acrobatics and aerial work. The show kicks off with the breathtakingly beautiful performance by Aerial Luna, and is followed by the stunning acrobatics of the Ethio-Salem Troupe. We had our hearts in our throats watching the feats of The Skating Medinis and the awesome high wire act of Alex Michael. Romy Meggiolaro's juggling was a delight and Amanda Sandow&#
Full Details »

Gypsy ★★★★★ The Mill at Sonning | May 24 - Jul 15, 2023

Image
A classic musical with unforgettable songs gets a first-rate production! You don't need a gimmick when you're working with the wonderful material of Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, and this revival respects their show and simply aims to do it well. In that regard, it pulls out all the stops and succeeds brilliantly. Joseph Pitcher's direction and choreography is pitch perfect, and the action never stops. We just bounce along from one great number to the next. The singing and dancing are terrific and the energy is electrifying. Despite the rather dark nature of the story of Gypsy Rose Lee and her relationship with her formidable stage mother, Rose, this is a show that is meant to dazzle and it does. All of the cast bring their A-game to the production and the time flies by. Rebecca Thornhill as the driven and obsessive Rose belts out her show stopping numbers and commands the stage whenever she's on it. Evelyn Hoskins' transformation from playing th
Full Details »

Skid/SAABA ★★★★★ Sadler's Wells Theatre | May 11 - 13, 2023

Image
Skid choreographed by Damien Jalet and performed by the GöteborgsOperans Danskompani is an absolutely spellbinding experience. It is performed on an amazing dance floor tilted at 34 degrees and offers the dancers a mind-boggling, gravity defying challenge. Designed by New York artists Jim Hodges and Carlos Marques da Cruz, the set is apparently inspired by the measurement of earth's gravitational acceleration of 9.8 meters per second. It's simply an extraordinary experience to share the dancers exploration and adaptation to this ambience, and to trace a narrative that on a macro level echoes the adaptation of all life forms to their environment, and on a micro level deals with individual struggle to acculturate to different contexts. Damien Jalet's choreography wonderfully captures both the challenges and playfulness of this process and when the piece concludes with the birth of a being into this new world who is actually destined for it, the moment is positively triumphan
Full Details »

The Shape of Things ★★★★★ Park Theatre | May 24 - Jul 1, 2023

Image
Who hasn't thought of giving their partner a makeover? When geeky English Lit. student, Adam, meets the intense MFA candidate, Evelyn, he gets more than he bargained for. Evelyn is direct, disconcerting and determined, and Adam becomes clay in her hands. Neil LaBute's comedy is cleverly amusing, but always darkly ominous. In the end, it proves to be both emotionally and intellectually taxing, raising questions about the manipulative power of love and of art. The issues posed are manifold, but it is to LaBute's credit that they come out of the characters and do not feel imposed on the play or the audience. The people and situations ring uncomfortably true and are only heightened by LaBute's sharp, articulate dialogue. Luke Newton is completely credible as the malleable Adam who undertakes a transformation that has equivocal consequences. Newton gives a nicely understated performance that skilfully complements Amber Anderson's intimidating Evelyn. The latter is utterl
Full Details »

TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] ★★★★ Leicester Square Theatre | Apr 15 - May 21, 2023

Image
The career arc of Tony Blair might seem tragic rather than comic, but Harry Hill and Steve Brown squeeze a lot of humour out of the rise and fall of one of Britain's most controversial politicians. The story opens with Blair on his deathbed and then traces the life of the genial young man who was desperate to be somebody. While Blair's aspiration may change from being a rock star to becoming a politician, his smile always remains firmly in place. Indeed, beneath all the fun, the story exposes how Blair brings show business into politics and rides a charming persona to the highest office in the land. However, he depends on others for his policy agenda and that is eventually his undoing. Howard Samuels is quite wonderful as Peter Mandelson and Dick Cheney, the fixers behind the facade, and Jack Whittle is brilliantly vacuous as the breezy Blair. Whittle's facial expressions alone are worth the price of admission. He plays off beautifully against Phil Sealey's dour Gordon
Full Details »

Brokeback Mountain ★★★★★ @sohoplace | May 10 - Aug 12, 2023

Image
In 2005 Brokeback Mountain became an award winning film. Adapted from a 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, the tale of forbidden love has now come to the West End. The plot traces the twenty year relationship of two young cowboys who meet while they are protecting sheep grazing in summer pastures. They cannot acknowledge their relationship and strive to conform to social norms, but they are unable to forget their youthful encounter. It is this inability to commit to their love that will blight both of their subsequent marriages and their later lives. The story is relatively simple and depends heavily on making the characters and the development of their relationship credible. Jonathan Butterell has done a brilliant job of letting the characters' love grow almost wordlessly before the eyes of the audience. The pacing of the early scenes is exceptional as is the atmosphere and mood that are delicately established. As the garrulous Jack who aspires to be a rodeo bull rider, Mike Faist
Full Details »

St. Martin in-the-fields: Lunchtime Concerts ★★★★ FREE

Image
Maybe the best musical value in London. The lunchtime concerts at St. Martin's are always a wonderful way to escape the hustle and bustle that is London and the sensory overload that is Trafalgar Square. This is a beautiful setting with great acoustics, and a church pew hard enough to make sure you don't nod off. Reviewed by J.C.  Our score:    ☆☆☆☆  WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE: Mon & Fri: 1 pm - 1:45 pm ( occasionally Tues & Thurs)  St. Martin in-the-fields, Trafalgar Square Nearest tube: Charing Cross https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/whats-on
Full Details »

China’s hidden century ★★★★★ The British Museum | May 18 - Oct 8, 2023

Image
Carl Sagan stated, “You have to know the past to understand the present.” Understanding China is no small task, but this extraordinary exhibition provides a fascinating glimpse into a shadowy era of the country's history. From 1796, the accession of Jiaqing, fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty, to the abdication of last emperor, Puyi, in 1912, the 19th century was a tumultuous time for today's superpower. Through catastrophic wars and the disruptions of modernisation, everything changed and set the stage for a revolution that was to reverberate into the present era. The present exhibition brings together 300 objects, half from The British Museum and half borrowed from 30 different British and international lenders. The display is the culmination of a four year project involving the collaboration of over 100 scholars from 14 countries. Divided into six sections: Court, Military, Artists, Everyday Life, Global Qing and Reform to Revolution, the story is told in a dramatic and perso
Full Details »

Rose ★★★★ Ambassadors Theatre | May 23 - Jun 18, 2023

Image
In a bravura performance, Maureen Lipman sits in front of the audience for over two hours and weaves a story that holds the audience's attention through the power of her voice and the heartfelt nature of her monologue. Rose traces the life of a young woman born in the Ukraine, survivor of the Holocaust and immigrant to America. It is full of humour and pain, and Lipman brings her character to life without reliance on props or an elaborate production. She brings the audience into Rose's world and shares an astonishing life that is bound to resonate with all listeners. However, while the first act seems to be simply a chronological recounting of a fascinating life that mirrors the Jewish experience in the 20th century, the second act explores more complicated issues in a thoughtful and nuanced way. It is the displacement of Jewish people after WWII that leads to the creation of the state of Israel and to the idea of a homeland for a population that had been without its own state
Full Details »

Aspects of Love ★★★ Lyric Theatre | May 12 - Nov 11, 2023

Image
A newly revised version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love has arrived back in the West End! The story still has implausible moments and the plot about the perils of polyamory remains ragged and a little disturbing, but the performances and staging are breathtaking. Michael Ball dominates the stage whenever he appears, and his rendition of "Love Changes Everything" brings down the house. Laura Pitt-Pulford is simply superb as the vivacious, and apparently voracious, Rose, and Jamie Bogyo is terrific as Alex who follows his heart along the convoluted paths of love. To the part of Giulietta, Danielle De Niese brings a voice that is totally captivating, and she is a delight whenever she appears. Almost upstaging all of them however, is the extraordinary stage design of John Macfarlane. With more than thirty scenes, this is an extremely demanding show, and the sets and use of video is simply brilliant. Macfarlane raises the bar for all future productions in the West En
Full Details »

The City Life Magazine | Reviews & Ratings