Theatre reviews for you, by you. If you would like to review for us,
please contact us including a short review of what you have seen recently.

Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics and Book: Oscar Hammerstein II Director: Julian Woolford Reviewer: Jim Nicholson The Public Reviews Rating: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! is unquestionably a classic and this touring production does it proud with some very decent leads, a large, young but very talented chorus and a wonderful set that says “hang on, we’ve spent a few bob here!”. Julian Woolford directs and is also the set designer and he has come up trumps on both fronts. The show last over three hours but moves along swiftly and always has the audience attention. The set is as good as any I have seen touring, bar the West End juggernauts, in the past few years as Woolford starts out with a very believable farm and provides a fantastic smokehouse, barn and grove. He uses picture framing to perfection within the dream sequence to highlight Jud’s addiction to the scantily clad female. Choreographer Chris Hocking gets the best out of the youngsters. The program suggests they have cast a “job lot” of graduates from the Arts Education Schools in London, and although, at this stage, there is no Jimmy Johnstone amongst them they are tight and utilize Hocking’s lines and formations to great effect. A very talented bunch indeed. Mart Webb has star billing but I have always found Aunt Eller an underplayed part, especially vocally, for such a supposed main role. Even so, as you would expect, Webb gives it her all and her clarity is a great example for many of the less experienced performers around her. Mark Evans makes a fine Curly with a silky smooth voice that does great justice to numbers such as “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning”, “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” and “Pore Jud is Dead”. He is ably supported by, love interest Laurey, played [...]

Writer: Ronald Harwood Director: Joe Harmston Reviewer: Mary Tapper The Public Reviews Rating: I approached this play with some trepidation. It has an impeccable pedigree having been written by the Oscar nominated and Academy award winning Ronald Harwood, probably best known as author of The Dresser and screen writer for films The Pianist and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly amongst others. It also has a stellar cast with Timothy West, Gwen Taylor, Susannah York and Michael Jayston. My concern was that the plot sounded rather lightweight and I could not really imagine how the story could be anything other than a rather clichéd sitcom-like performance. The plot centres on the three main characters Reggie, Wilfred and Cissy living in a retirement home and preparing to perform a concert to celebrate Verdi’s birthday. Their equilibrium is upset when Reggie’s ex-wife, an opera legend and diva arrives at the home: can Jean be persuaded to take part in the concert and ensure it is a spectacular success? Even the most enthusiastic theatre-goer would have to admit that this sounds rather like an episode of a sitcom in the vein of Waiting for God, the BBC sitcom starring Stephanie Cole…..would the play manage to add something extra and magical to a tale of ageing, regrets and reconciliation? The good news is that it is a real treat to see a couple of the actors. Timothy West is masterful as the old timer constantly thinking about sex, always ready with a one liner to cheer the mood. He exudes confidence and is never hurried on stage. Gwen Taylor also gives a tremendous performance as Cissy, and although she seems a little too youthful at the start to be truly senile, by the last scene it does seem believable and we feel quite affectionate towards her. The [...]

Music: Eric Idle and John Du Prez Book and Lyrics: Eric Idle Director: Christopher Luscombe Reviewer: Jim Nicholson The Public Reviews Rating: The spectacle of the West End has gone, the cast has halved, the scenery hardly changes so have we the public of Southampton been lovingly ripped off by Bill Kenwright for this touring version of the smash hit musical Spamalot? No, not in the slightest, all the comic genius of the show is still alive and more than kicking, and consequently it’s a KNIGHT out not to be missed. Based on the 1975 Monty Python Holy Grail film, Eric Idle first took the musical production to Broadway in 2005 where it was nominated for 14 Tony Awards. The following year Tim Curry, who had starred in the American show, transferred back to England and a West End Palace Theatre opening, but alas it gained zero Olivier’s despite seven nominations. So how does this scaled down version still work so well? Firstly the jokes are still all there, the joyously silly songs are still there and there are also one or two tweaks that give it a UK feel where perhaps earlier its American birth had held it back a little. A classic example of this is the rewritten version of ‘You Won’t Succeed in Showbiz. Whereas the London version stuck to the Broadway concept of you will not get anywhere without the backing of a Jew, we now home in on Simon Cowell and the ‘X factor’ generation and the fact your musical will not succeed without a TV star. Marcus Brigstocke gives a decent performance as King Arthur and his comic background means he certainly knows how to deliver, whilst former Emmerdale actress and season five Dancing on Ice winner Hayley Tamaddon proves she really can sing even if her [...]

Music: Barry Manilow Lyrics: Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman Book: Barry Manilow, Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman Director: Craig Revel Horwood Reviewer: Jim Nicholson The Public Reviews Rating: It always worries me when a show is born out of a single popular song and I remember back in 1994 sitting in the Prince of Wales Theatre longing to be put out of my misery. But never fear Craig Revel Horwood and the Watermill can surely turn a ‘pigs ear’ into a ‘silk purse’, after all the pairing has a track record second to none! Well unfortunately not in this case, they have at least come up with a ‘fun offering’ that has a number of plusses but the quality of the score and the book really does prevent them scoring their usual ‘summer winner’. Manilow’s song first resulted in a 1985 ‘made for TV’ film, then an hour long 1990 Atlantic City stage show, before finally hitting the West End in a full blown format in 1994 with Gary Wilmot playing the male lead. For me though back then there were just not enough memorable numbers on offer and despite the main strength being the choreography, thanks in no small part to Revel Horwood, the weaknesses in the book meant that it was down to the sheer strength of the British Manilow Fan Club that a, more than reasonable, 25 month run was achieved. Of course at the Watermill we still have the big title number and in truth the night does not really hit the heights until the full cast take it on at the finale. Before this we get to know how the words are put together to form the dream of the hero Stephen (aka Tony). Sarah Travis has worked hard turning this into an actor musician piece but there [...]

Writer: J.M. Barrie Director: Louise Hill Reviewer: Deborah Klayman The Public Reviews Rating: There are two things that make going to the theatre a truly delightful experience: firstly the opportunity to see a play that is new (or new to you) which is brilliantly written, and secondly to see it performed by a superb cast. This revival production of J.M Barrie’s What Every Woman Knows offers both in abundance, and is also well directed, costumed and staged. Concerned for Maggie, who despite being witty and intelligent is too plain to find a husband, her family strike a bargain with penniless student John Shand that he will marry her after five years in exchange for their funding his education. The play spans an eight-year period during which time John becomes a successful MP, unaware that his wife is contributing to his success behind the scenes. Strong performances came from the Wylie family in the opening act with Peter Yapp as Maggie’s loving, sympathetic father, and Scott McFarlan and Jack Tarlton as her well-intentioned brothers. The first scene is ostensibly written in Scots dialect, and this was not shied away from or apologised for, and set up the contrast with the world that Maggie and John find themselves later in the play. The central role of Maggie is an extremely important one, and is played to a tee by Madeleine Worrall. Despite being painfully aware of her romantic limitations, Maggie never appears weak or pitiful; rather Worrall exudes inner strength and dignity, even in the brief moments where Maggie’s torment spills out for the audience to see. She also has an excellent rapport with Gareth Glen (Shand) and Carmen Rodriguez (Comtesse), with whom she has the most moving and hilarious scenes in the play. Glen’s Shand is a strangely sympathetic character, strange because John is [...]

We are writing this letter to express publically our disappointment and bewilderment that you have rejected The Public Reviews (www.thepublicreviews.com) as an official accredited outlet for this year’s festival. The Public Reviews was established in 2007 and in May this year we celebrated our third anniversary. The site has the sole aim to provide a unique voice in the world of reviewing, allowing normal (i.e. non-paid or “non-professional”) members of the public to become part of our dedicated and passionate reviewing team; a team that now consists of over 80 reviewers not only in the UK but also in the USA and in Australia. The growth of the website over the past 3 years is nothing short of phenomenal: in 2007 – 67 reviews, in 2008 – 88 reviews, in 2009 – 447 reviews and, so far in 2010, we have reviewed in excess of 600 productions around the world and forecast that we will have delivered in excess of 1000 theatre reviews by the end of the year. In our humble beginnings we were receiving approximately 50 website hits a month but, nevertheless, many theatres including The Chichester Festival Theatre, The English National Opera, and The West Yorkshire Playhouse believed in our product so much that they welcomed us as an accredited media outlet to review their productions. Since then we now review in excess of 90 theatres across the country, also being welcomed as press to many West End productions – a number increasing on a daily basis. We currently receive approx 50,000 unique website hits a month. If that wasn’t enough, we also are invited to interview some of the biggest names in theatre including Craig Revel Horwood, Olivier Award Winning actress Janie Dee, and National Youth Theatre Artistic Director Paul Roseby. We have gained huge support [...]

Created by: Zacora Ura & Para Active Artistic Director: Jorge Lopes Ramos Music: DJ Delores Reviewer: Jemma Bicknell The Public Reviews Rating: It’s 6.20am and I have just returned home after experiencing ‘Hotel Medea’. To put it simply it was the best production I have ever seen. The words multimedia, inter-disciplinary arts and audience participation are often bandied around these days, but this show truly embraced all of these things, giving us a soulful carnival of jubilation, humour and darkness. We began by travelling to the site at 11.30pm by boat on the twinkling Thames and disembarked onto a quaint dockland opposite the imposing O2 building. Using the classic Greek tale of Jason and the Golden Fleece we were instantly pulled into the action in its opening market scene, but as in the rest of the show, this participation was expertly managed in a way that made the audience comfortable, eager and perfectly spaced. With excellent sample-laden music by ultra-hip Brazilian DJ Delores we were drawn into Jason’s quest to win both the Golden Fleece and Medea’s heart. Jason and his gang arrived in Hell’s Angels fashion and the roar of their motorbikes intertwined with the deep electro beats and samba footwork rhythms that carried us dancing with delight through the whole first Act. Madea, with her Kathak-influenced dancing and strong, Amazonian look radiated defiance, yet after a few hilarious brawls and a sneaky cupid’s arrow, macho Jason got the girl, paving himself a treacherous path. Act 2 had a whole new approach as we were propelled into a political media frenzy. The attention to detail was brilliantly illuminating; as we sat watching live CCTV footage of the prime minister to be and all the backstage scurrying that surrounded him. Little quirks from real-life politicians added comically to the topical nature of this [...]

Writer: Edward Wren Puppets and Set Design; Claire Harvey Reviewer: Mary Tapper The Public Reviews Rating: Storytelling should be magical, mysterious, spellbinding and in the tiny citadel of a studio perched high above Oxford this charming play did not disappoint. The Burton Taylor Studios is a tiny performance area, found at the back of the Oxford Playhouse that seats just 50 people. You climb stairs to a lobby area, a tiny bar, a small lounge with seats and beanbags, music playing on a ghetto blaster in the corner and a cheerful performance manager. As the performance time nears you are escorted up more stairs to a darkened room, right under the roof of the building, and with every step, you feel more distanced from reality. This feeling that you are entering another world is perfect for the play Lilly through the dark as for an hour we are then transported to another world…a land of puppets with a delight of surprises, brought to us by dedicated troubadours who don’t just act the parts but truly inhabit them. The story is simple but terribly poignant: Lilly has lost her father to death and cannot bear this great sorrow. She sets of for the land of the dead to search for him and so begins a momentous journey. What makes this production special is the amazing attention to detail. The puppet Lilly first appears sitting quietly in her bedroom and the puppet moves gently with each breath. She folds her hands sorrowfully in her lap, slowly, without rushing, and at once you feel the deep affection the players have for her. Their faces and expressions are a delight…made up with dark makeup and eyes full of sympathy you feel they love this puppet with all their hearts. If I have made this play sound a [...]