Figaro: An Original Musical ★★ The London Palladium | February 3 & 4, 2025


In 1894 George du Maurier wrote the novel Trilby about an innocent young woman who wanted to be a singer and who was bewitched by the roguish impresario and hypnotist Svengali. In 1910 Gaston Leroux published Le Fantôme de l'Opéra which later became the basis of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical and which similarly told the story of a young singer who comes under the sway of a mysterious stranger. In Figaro: An Original Musical the tale is now set in Italy. The would-be singer is a simple country girl called Sienna played by Cayleigh Capaldi and her mesmeric manipulator is Figaro played by Jon Robyns. The story of sweet innocence betrayed by a sinister stranger is the perennially appealing stuff of melodrama and fairy tales, and it always has a certain purchase on the human imagination. However, in this particular case, the cast never manages to capture the archetypal nature of the tale. Neither Sienna's naïveté nor Figaro's evil achieve the necessary epic proportions. They may not fall into the cartoonish Snidely Whiplash and Mary Pickford models, but they don't manage to get beyond being rather mundane one-dimensional caricatures. Similarly, the dialogue and lyrics of the show fall into colloquialisms and modern slang that jar with the simplicity and storybook nature of the themes. The variety of accents that assault the ear in this production, which apparently is set in the Italian countryside, also undermines both the veracity and fairy tale nature of the piece. The costumes which run from Victorian to Moulin Rouge anachronistic are also a mishmash that is simply distracting and fails to create the special world of Sienna and Figaro. What does stand out here is the quality of the singing and some of the melodies that are quite charming. Cayleigh Capaldi as Sienna displays a thrilling voice, and the children, played by Cian Eagle-Service and Sophia Goodman, are simply delightful. Figaro: An Original Musical seems to be very much a work in progress, but there is definitely some potential for it to become a captivating entertainment.

Rated: ★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Fahad Alinizi

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: 8 Argyll St, London W1F 7TF, UK

Most Popular

Orphans ★★★★ Jermyn Street Theatre | January 5 - 24, 2026

Image
Phillip is an emotionally immature, developmentally challenged recluse, protected and controlled by his impulsive and potentially violent older brother Treat who supports them both by stealing. Together they inhabit a sealed world of rituals, games, and shared fantasy. However, when Treat kidnaps Harold, an apparently wealthy criminal on the run, this act proves far from the solution he expects. Instead, the power dynamic shifts as Harold, himself an orphan, assumes an almost parental role, exposing the brothers to an alternative way of living beyond their self-made confinement. In just two weeks, he becomes a conduit to the outside world and offers the boys a new vision of themselves. Harold’s repeated rendition of “The Prisoner’s Song” underscores the play’s central metaphor of entrapment. Phillip is paralysed by his fear of leaving the apartment, Treat by his reliance on violence and control, and Harold by his desperate attempt to outrun the past. While Lyle Kessler’s dark vision e...
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 »

Hawaiʻi: a kingdom crossing oceans ★★★★ The British Museum | Jan 15 - May 25, 2026

Image
This small yet thoughtful exhibition explores the long-standing connections between two island nations. The relationship between Britain and Hawaiʻi dates back to Captain James Cook’s third voyage in 1778. He became the first European to document contact with the Pacific archipelago and that connection still resonates today, most visibly in the Hawaiian state flag (Ka Hae Hawaiʻi), which continues to display the Union Jack in its top-left corner. This display at the British Museum draws primarily on the museum’s own extensive collections, complemented by judicious loans from other institutions, including the Bishop Museum in Hawaiʻi. It is organised into three main sections: Laying a foundation, Allying kingdoms , and Reshaping relationships . The first section introduces visitors to Hawaiʻi's distinctive art, history, and cultural traditions. The second focuses on the 1824 visit of King Kamehameha II (also known as Liholiho) and Queen Kamāmalu to London, and on their tragic deaths...
Full Details »

Paranormal Activity ★★★ Ambassadors Theatre | Until April 25, 2026

Image
The Paranormal franchise has a proven following, and horror fans are likely to enjoy this new stage incarnation. When James and Lou relocate from Chicago to London in search of a fresh start, it soon becomes clear that leaving their problems behind will not be so easy. He has a new job and she can work remotely, yet, as the programme hints, hauntings are not always tied to places. Sometimes they attach themselves to people. James must contend with his prying, Bible-quoting mother via a laptop screen, while Lou quickly realises that her grandchild- obsessed mother-in-law is the least of her concerns. Darkness, sudden loud noises and the occasional effective illusion are used to draw the audience into their increasingly unstable world. While this production recalls the successful 2:22 A Ghost Story and the long running The Woman in Black, it lacks the technical ingenuity of a show like Stranger Things: The First Shadow . Fly Davis’s set is a meticulously detailed two storey house, but ...
Full Details »

Gerry & Sewell ★★ Aldwych Theatre | January 13 - 24, 2026

Image
Gerry & Sewell presents itself as a theatrical pot o’ scouse. The traditional Tyneside dish, made from whatever meat, bones, or leftovers can be found in the cupboards, is a hearty working-class meal that reflects both Geordie ingenuity and endurance. The play clearly intends to offer a similar tribute to its roots. However, in the production, the disparate elements fail to cohere. The main storyline of the two eponymous protagonists and their shared dream of securing season tickets to their beloved football club is obscured rather than enriched by histories of Gerry’s two sisters, his abusive father, and his suicidal mother. While this material provides background about inheritance, damage, and class survival, it feels simultaneously excessive and underdeveloped. Tonally, the show is also jarring. It shifts rapidly between social realism and broad comedy, with these alternations feeling less like deliberate contrasts and more like unresolved collisions. Dance routines, rapping, a...
Full Details »

ABBA Voyage ★★★★★ ABBA Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park | Extended Run

Image
When great music from the past meets mind boggling technology from the future, the result is ABBA Voyage . This is a concert like no other. In a purpose built arena designed specifically for the show, massive high resolution LED screens, advanced lighting, and surround sound are used to create a fully immersive ABBA concert experience. Although the group’s last appearance in London was at Wembley Arena in 1979, they return technologically in this extraordinary production. These are not holograms or AI generated performances. This is a meticulously animated concert based on real performances by the band themselves. To achieve this effect, the group came together and re-performed their music using motion capture technology. They partnered with top visual effects experts to digitally recreate their younger selves. While the show includes a live band and backup singers, the Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid seen on stage appear every bit as real as their original counterparts. One quick...
Full Details »

The Rivals ★★★ Orange Tree Theatre | Until January 24, 2026

Image
This latest version of The Rivals is one part Richard Brinsley Sheridan and his eighteenth-century social satire, one part P. G. Wodehouse and the Roaring Twenties, plus a dash of topical humour such as references to the television series Survivor . It is not a mocktail that will be to everyone's taste, but it is clearly a labour of love for director Tom Littler. This attempt to reimagine Sheridan’s comedy of manners and modernise its references frequently succeeds, yet it also produces some awkward moments. Elements such as the anachronism of a duel set in the 1920s or the unnecessary aside about nudity in a bathroom scene are jarring and forced. Indeed, too often, the drive to provoke laughter at any cost appears to dominate the production, resulting in moments that feel strained and tonally uneven. This approach undermines the original and intelligent concept of relocating Sheridan’s play to a period whose literature was often similarly dismissed as superficial but which was al...
Full Details »

Beautiful Little Fool ★★ Southwark Playhouse, Borough | January 15 - Feb 28, 2026

Image
The story of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald is a love affair and a tragedy seemingly made for the stage. He was a brilliant writer who descended into alcoholism and was largely forgotten by the time of his death. She was his muse, and possibly his collaborator, who died in a fire at the asylum where she had finally found some measure of peace. Together, they came to symbolise the Jazz Age, that feverish period of reckless hedonism between the world wars, driven by aimlessness and quiet despair. In Beautiful Little Fool , their story is narrated by their only daughter, Scottie, as she wanders through an archive filled with the remnants of her parents’ lives. One of the challenges of dramatising real people is shaping a narrative that serves a clear purpose while leaving out biographical details that, though intriguing, do not fit thematically. The musical never fully overcomes this challenge. Unnecessary anecdotes, such as the story of Gertrude Stein coining the term “Lost Generation,” appe...
Full Details »

High Noon ★★★ Harold Pinter Theatre | Until March 6, 2026

Image
When it was first written, the 1952 film High Noon drew much of its force from the then political context and from Gary Cooper’s Oscar-winning performance. Created during the era of McCarthyism by Carl Foreman while he was under scrutiny from the House Un-American Activities Committee, the film’s moral urgency, combined with Cooper’s quiet integrity, helped secure its status as a classic. The tale of a small-town marshal who confronts an anarchic threat to the rule of law struck a deep chord with audiences. In this allegory, Will Kane stands isolated as he faces an approaching tyranny that leaves his fellow citizens paralysed by fear. Set against their timidity and willingness to submit to intimidation or to flee, his resolve appears all the more heroic. Kane’s ordeal is further complicated by the two opposing forces that inform his personal life and underscore his symbolic role as the law. His Quaker wife embodies noble but impractical ideals, grounded in a faith that rejects violenc...
Full Details »

Woman in Mind ★★★★★ Duke of York's Theatre | Until February 28, 2026

Image
Alan Ayckbourn’s 1985 dark comedy Woman in Mind dissects the illusions we cling to in order to make life bearable. Trapped in a sexless, emotionally barren marriage, Susan retreats into fantasy, inventing an ideal family in which she is cherished and admired. Around her, others nurse their own comforting fictions: her husband, a vicar, takes refuge in Christian certainty; her sister-in-law embraces spiritualism; her son disappears into a cult; and her doctor cultivates a wilful obtuseness that allows him to ignore his wife’s blatant affair. Each illusion functions as a psychological prop, easing acceptance of relationships and realities that fall short of fulfilment. Ayckbourn’s question is a chilling one: what happens when illusion hardens into delusion, and fantasy supplants the ability to live in the real world? The play lays bare the cost of surrendering to make-believe when escape becomes entrapment. Michael Longhurst’s revival captures the bleak humour of Ayckbourn’s vision with...
Full Details »

The City Life Magazine | Reviews & Ratings