Keep Mum
The Anniversary
by Bill MacIlwraith
The Questors at the Questors Studio, Ealing until 25th January
Review by Polly Davies
Questor’s revival of Bill MacIlwraith’s The Anniversary made for an entertaining evening. The play, first produced in the mid 1960’s, is a no-holds barred examination of a matriarchal household slowly imploding. Doesn’t sound a barrel of laughs, but the witty script and the interplay between generations meant there were plenty of laughs all evening.
I never cease to be amazed at the transformation of the small Studio stage, now perfectly setting this play into its mid-century period. Mobolaji Babalola’s leather sofas, bakelite telephone and drinks cabinet, with a suitably irritating tune that plays every time it is opened, is a perfect backdrop to this wealthy but working class family drama. And Jenny Richardson’s costumes reinforce the period setting perfectly. Tom’s lairy suit, Karen’s headband and Shirley’s tights put them firmly in the 1960’s.
Read more…Young Chocolate-Years
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman, based on Roald Dahl
Step on Stage at the Hampton Hill Theatre until 11th January
Review by Steve Mackrell
Here is a show brimming with confident young people displaying a range of talents far beyond their years. This is Step on Stage’s latest musical production at Hampton Hill Theatre, with a cast of over thirty children, based on Roald Dahl’s classic story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
It is a story with plentiful opportunities for the young actors to flesh out some interesting and curious characters, such as the eccentric chocolate maker Willy Wonka, and the awfully arrogant little madam, Veruca Salt. Without doubt, all the young actors involved seized this opportunity with relish, to showcase their talents to a larger audience with their energetic skills of acting, singing and dancing. Clearly, with an audience comprised mostly of enthusiastic siblings, parents, grand-parents, aunts, uncles and the like, the reception was guaranteed to be ecstatic but, that aside, this production more than held its own, even to the neutrals in the audience.
Read more…Rhyme Time
Cinderella
by Loz Keal
Exchange Players and Twickenham Youth Theatre at the Exchange Theatre, Twickenham until 22nd December
Review by Andrew Lawston
Cinderella is an evergreen pantomime story, filled as it is with grotesque siblings, disguises, and a dash of fairy magic. Writer and producer Loz Keal’s new script for The Exchange Players slims down the story to its bare bones for a fast and fun-filled show.
Proceedings at our relaxed performance are opened by Samantha McGill’s newly-qualified fairy godmother who has trouble finding rhymes to end her verses – a fun running gag that soon has many audience members calling out to correct her. We soon meet Buttons and Cinderella for a lively opening number, along with members of Twickenham Youth Theatre. We saw the Blue Team, who formed an energetic chorus, and delivered some fun jokes, all with huge confidence and aplomb.
Read more…Spirited Christmas
It’s A Wonderful Life
by Mary Elliot Nelson
Putney Theatre Company at the Putney Arts Theatre until 21st December
Review by Steve Mackrell
Taking an iconic black and white Hollywood film from nearly eighty years ago, and adapting it as a stage play, represents a difficult and daunting challenge. Also, for Putney Arts Theatre to select such a stage adaptation as their Christmas production, is perhaps a brave and bold decision, especially since It’s A Wonderful Life differs from most other traditional seasonal fare on offer. But despite any initial concerns, the format of the production works, and indeed, works exceptionally well.
Read more…Dream Team
Sleeping Beauty
by Alan McHugh, additional material by Richard Cadell and Matt Slack
Crossroads Pantomimes at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking until 5th January
Review by Thea Diamond
This star-studded panto extravaganza certainly has the wow factor, with panto veteran, Christopher Biggins being joined by 90’s pop sensation, Faye Tozer and multi-talented magician Richard Caddell and his friends Sooty, Sweep and Soo joining in with the fun! Crossroads Pantomimes have excelled with amazing costumes and slick dance routines, as well as jaw dropping special effects (no spoilers here, but I guarantee you’ll be completely blown away by what Gary and Paul Hardy-Brown, known as The Twins FX, have in store for us!)
Read more…Home Truths
Beauty and the Beast
by Alan McHugh, additional material by Pete Firman
Crosswords Pantomimes at Richmond Theatre until 5th January
Review by Mark Aspen
Take an old story, preferably one with a beautiful heroine and a handsome hero, and a big bad villain, add lots of colour, lots of music, a dash of slapstick and plenty of jokes, and you have a pantomime. Then you need a dame and a name, a hapless comic for our sympathy (ahHr!) and a fairy spirit for our mystery (ooH!) and you have a traditional pantomime. Add in more music, more colour, lots of lights and bangs and flashes, and great dance and special effects and you have a Crossroads pantomime.
Beauty and the Beast is an old story, put together in 1740, from very old stories, by a pair of French ladies-who-lunch at the royal court (no, not the theatre) to amuse the Sun King. But, as we know, it is “a tale as old as time”.
Read more…Laugh? You Sher Wood
Robin Hood
by Jack Counsel
Yvonne Arnaud Productions, at the Yvonne Arnold Theatre, Guildford until 5th January
Review by Heather Moulson
With an opening scene in Sherwood Forest akin to the Pet Shop Boys production at the Royal Opera House, there is as much smoke and mystery and dazzling lighting as you would expect from a big panto. A polished prologue leads the way into this vibrant production of Robin Hood, directed by Joanna Read who does full justice to its witty script.
Read more…Unto Us
Messiah
by George Frederic Handel, libretto by Charles Jennens from The Bible and the Prayer Book Psalter
Wild Arts at the Smith Square Hall, Westminster, 7th December, then on tour until 19th December
Review by Mark Aspen
Now, here is a Messiah that speaks. Handel’s most popular work, and traditional seasonal staple, has a habit of being a spectacle that shouts or a recital that whispers. But when Handel, in a frenetic three weeks and three days in the summer of 1741, wrote this towering oratorio, the quarter of a million notes that burst from his pen were a statement of his own faith in the divine, spoken to his fellow human beings.
Read more…Stand and Deliver
Robin Hood and the Christmas Heist
by Chris Bush
Rose Original with the Rose Youth Theatre at the Rose Theatre, Kingston until 5th January
Review by Viola Selby
It’s that time of year again! Oh no it’s not! Oh yes it is! The time where we get to sit through panto after panto, often overly hammed up and saturated with forced jokes, feathers and sequins. Well, all I can say is thank Santa for Chris Bush’s incredible writing, brought to life by director Elin Schofield! Robin Hood and the Christmas Heistis a play that not only encapsulates the very heart of Christmas in such a natural yet surprising way, but is filled with so many twists and turns, that it takes the audience on an emotional Sleigh Ride!
Read more…Ice Breaker
The Snow Queen
by Hans Christian Andersen, adapted by Anna Wheatley
Reading Rep Theatre, Reading until 31st December
Review by Sam Martin
Anna Wheatley’s The Snow Queen is a whimsical and heartfelt adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale, bringing its fantastical elements to life with charm, depth, and an engaging performance by a talented ensemble cast. The skilled team at Reading Rep, directed by Paul Stacey, have infused new life into the familiar story and created a captivating experience for the audience.
Set in a world of snow and magic, The Snow Queen follows the journey of Gerda as she embarks on a perilous adventure to rescue her friend Kai from the clutches of the Snow Queen, who has cast him under a powerful spell. The narrative’s universal themes of love, bravery, and friendship come to the fore, and Wheatley’s adaptation does an excellent job of breathing emotional depth into the characters, making them relatable and accessible.
Read more…
Mark Aspen 