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London Living Large
The City Life Magazine. Reviews and Ratings.

Latest Reviews

Slipped: Cinderella... Rebooted! - Royal Vauxhall Tavern - ★★★★ - Until January 8, 2020

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Seriously sick of 'Secret Santa'? This Xmas, why not get the office gang together and go to the RVT's wonderfully rude and sassy panto. This is not Cinderella as you might remember her. The unexpurgated version is a lot more fun and has better shoes! From Boris Johnson and Michael Gove to "Annie" and Adele there are more pop culture references here than in Kim Kardashian's tweets. The punch lines never stop coming and just when you've gotten one gag, you realise you've missed the next one. The song parodies are all clever with singing and choreography that are first-rate. The high-energy cast left us exhausted from laughing, and, of course, fromshoutingthe characters' catch phrases, plus warnings to our heroine. The audience is always kept involved and time flies at an amazing pace. Richard Watkins' Prince Charming was spectacularly over the top and really got things pumped up while Grant Cartwright as Cinderella was suitably coy ... not! Robe…
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The Match Box, Omnibus Theatre - ★★★★ - Until November 17, 2019

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With “The Match Box” Frank McGuinness has created a terrific female role and Angela Marray as Sal gives a sensational performance. During two hours alone on stage she offers us a psychological study of a tragic life following the shooting of her twelve-year-old daughter. Sal's lack of acceptance of the death is alarmingly displayed in a very well staged and lit scene in the mortuary. Her subsequent heartbreaking appeal on TV goes against all the advice she has been given and the consequences are dreadful to discover. Seamlessly changing to other characters in Sal's life Angela Marray is mesmerising. McGuinness' language throughout is eloquent yet realistic; he gives us insights into Sal's tortured mind and the character becomes ghostly and terrifying in her self-belief. Throughout there is interesting use of matches to demonstrate the ethereal nature of life. In fact the entire production by James O'Donnell is well judged and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Smal…
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Stop Kiss, Above The Stag Theatre - ★★★★ - Until November 30, 2019

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Callie reports on the traffic from a helicopter. She is separated from the world below and from herself until she is forced to confront life and her assumptions by Sara. In contrast, the latter has taken control of her life by moving to New York City and becoming deeply engaged as a teacher of under-privileged children. Diana Son gives us a very well written and thoroughly engaging work. From the initial meeting of the two women through their developing attraction the relationship is touchingly and humorously presented. The choice of narrative technique creates a tension and a sense of foreboding that would have been lost in a more linear telling of this love story. It ensures that the audience's attention is riveted even as we know what inevitably will happen. While there is a serious political point being made here, Son wisely lets the audience draw it out, concentrating on creating plausible characters while avoiding a polemic. Suzanne Boreel as Callie gets it just right with …
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Afterglow, Waterloo East Theatre - ★★★★★ - Until December 6, 2019

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Afterglow is back because audiences loved it! It is a fascinating look at contemporary relationships and three people's capacity to deal with sexuality, infatuation and love. Can we really keep these emotional states in separate compartments or are they bound to bleed into one another resulting in pain and confusion? Is it a form of hubris to think we can control what the heart wants? This is the struggle faced by Josh, Alex and Darius as they try to negotiate the complexities of an open relationship. The cast members here are all equally strong and nuanced. Peter McPherson is excellent as the scientific, right-brain Alex who thinks he can control his jealousy and Adi Chugh is just as good as his impulsive, needy artistic partner, Josh. Benjamin Aluwihare completely captures the naïveté and vulnerability of the younger participant, Darius. Steven Kunis successfully builds on the original direction of Tom O'Brien and the piece is lively and well-paced. Libby Todd's set is b…
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All's Well That Ends Well, Jermyn Street Theatre - ★★★★★ - Until November 30, 2019

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All's Well That Ends Well is often labelled a problem comedy, and it certainly offers a problem for contemporary audiences and sensibilities. It tells the story of the unrequited love of the virtuous Helena for the rather shallow Bertram and really makes us question why she abases herself to pursue this unworthy object of her affections. Tom Littler tries to address this issue in a wonderfully economical production using just six actors. He does so by focussing on Helena's reaction to the trauma of her father's death and frames the story with her memories. She acts in response to her loss and to her need to belong. Hannah Morrish excels as the lovestruck Helena, and Gavin Fowler is equally strong as the callow Bertram. Robert Mountford is delightful as Bertram's friend of bad influence whose exposure as a coward makes the protagonist reconsider his behaviour. Miranda Foster is simply outstanding in her multiple roles as The Countess, Queen and Widow. She creates clear …
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Sinatra: Raw, Wilton's Music Hall - ★★★★★ - Until November 2, 2019

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Richard Shelton is probably the best British Sinatra performer on stage today. Old Blue Eyes was a brilliant interpreter of tunes and lyrics, and Richard Shelton brings all that, plus possibly even better vocal tone. We are very convincingly taken back to the Purple Room in Palm Springs, 1971, and treated to a host of songs in addition to insights into some elements of Sinatra's private life, especially his relationship with Ava Gardner. Shelton also delves into some of the spicier moments in the middle years and there are even a couple of surprises – for example his detestation of fellow Rat Pack member, Peter Lawford. Sinatra's campaigning for Kennedy and civil rights are also touched on. This is all presented with great panache and the phrasing, intonation and mannerisms are perfect. With just a pianist and a bottle of Jack Daniel's for company, Shelton treats us to a glorious meander through the Frank Sinatra Songbook of which he seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge…
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Orphée, London Coliseum - ★★★★★ - Until November 29, 2019

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Once again ENO has taken on a very difficult piece, but here the nettle is firmly grasped and a mesmeric piece of music theatre results. Netia Jones' outstanding new staging of Philip Glass' 1993 opera, which is itself closely based on Jean Cocteau's 1950 film, asks us to ponder whether life is a dream and questions whether art seduces one away from real human concerns. Conductor Geoffrey Paterson gives us every nuance of the subtly expressive vocal and instrumental writing which includes musical echoes of Nadia Boulanger and Darius Milhaud. Lizzie Clachan's expressionistic sets retain a dream-like quality in Act One with everything sliding slowly across the stage. When we go to the Underworld in Act Two moving walls are covered with drifting projections of catacombs. The singing is excellent throughout with a big cast led by Nicholas Lester as Orphée and Sarah Tynan as Eurydice. However, the voices that particularly stood out for us were those of Jennifer France and N…
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Soho Cinders, Charing Cross Theatre - ★★★★ - Until December 21, 2019

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It's all here but the pumpkin coach! This wonderfully updated telling of Cinderella's story takes place around Old Compton Street where Cinderella has become Robbieand Prince Charming is now a closeted politician. The fairy godmother played by Christopher Coleman expects a little more than appreciation and the two wicked stepsisters are now pole dancers threatening to take away Robbie's launderette. Does it sound like a lot of silly fun? Well, it is. It is also a slightly darker commentary on current political spinand image doctoring and on the tabloid culture that creates both political fairy tales and faux scandals. All of the cast are excellent. As the two totally over the top wicked stepsisters,Michaela Stern and Natalie Harman are hilarious in numbers such as "I'm So Over Men" and "Fifteen Minutes."Ewan Gillies as the evil spin doctor is quite perfect and "The Tail That Wags The Dog"sums up what so many of us see on the current politi…
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Reputation, The Other Palace - ★★★★ - Until November 14, 2019

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Can you make a musical about plagiarism? Apparently you can. This charming cabaret musical is a lovely throwback to the simple stories and lovely music of the 1930's. It has some echoes of Chicago.Jeremy Secomb is wonderfully sleazy as Freddy Larceny who steals the work of young aspiring novelist, Michelle Grant, portrayed with delightful innocence and a backbone of steel by Maddy Banks. Michelle's lawyer and love interest played by Ed Wade is also excellent, as are the rest of the versatile cast who are our heroine's classmates and perform in other various roles throughout. The plot here is paper thin and the characters are purposefully rather two-dimensional. This is intended to be an uncomplicated night of fun with some hummable tunes and a feel-good plot, and it all works. The whole thing is a great antidote for some of the more turgid works presently on offer. The use of the small space by director, Warren Wills and choreographer, Tamsyn Salter, is excellent and both…
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The Mikado, London Coliseum - ★★★★ - Until November 30, 2019

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Lovers of Gilbert and Sullivan don't miss this one! The ENO does a thoroughly amusing production of this classic. Updating the costumes and set to the 1920's and the High Executioner's list to today, the ENO re-invents and yet stays true to the original. The show remains the silly, romantic romp that we all enjoy, even as Gilbert's lyrics may make us ponder some deeper questions such as the impermanence of life and love and the arbitrariness of justice and convention. Chris Hopkins and the orchestra do a beautiful job of celebrating Sullivan's wonderful music and all the cast are quite on point. Richard Suart gets it just right as Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner and Andrew Shore is delightfully pompous and craven as Pooh-Bah. Soraya Mafi's Yum-Yum is convincingly sweet, girlish and vain. She beautifully delivers her paean of self-adoration in "The sun whose rays." Elgan Llŷr Thomas does a lovely version of "A wand'ring minstrel I" and i…
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The City Life Magazine. Reviews and Ratings.