the latest reviews on uk shows and experiences
Award-winning musical comedy duo Flo & Joan present their own original one-man musical about a very renowned gentleman. Fans of maths and gender will notice some discrepancies. Featuring a star cast of one (man) supported by a full band (two musical comedians hiding in the wings). The duo have previously written and performed songs for Live at the Apollo, Royal Variety, Warner Bros, Aardman and Horrible Histories.
What does a 31-year-old theatre kid do when a DNA test reveals that his biological parents aren't quite who he thought they were? Write a musical, of course! In this hilarious, moving and true story, Noam Tomaschoff grapples with questions of family, identity and just how many brothers and sisters he really has. Blending comedy, drama and addictive music, Noam takes the audience on an unforgettable journey, ending with a message of optimism that will make you hold your family just a little bit tighter.
We open on Protagonist's 30th birthday at the Alton Towers, where her life takes an unexpected turn. Mid-Calippo, she's unceremoniously dumped by her long-term boyfriend, Joe. Things go from bad to worse when Joe then starts dating her office arch-nemesis: Karen. Protagonist must now navigate a powder keg of heartbreak and identity crisis which explodes in the ultimate office showdown. Seamlessly breaking the fourth wall, Protagonist will whisk you through a chaos-filled narrative that has been described as Fleabag meets The Office with Cameron-West as 'the female Peep Show' (TheNerdParty.com).
With less than a day until curtains up, the techies must band together to save a show that is falling apart! Will they manage to make the Director’s dream come to life? Will Lights get her moment in the spotlight? Or will Stage Right set the stage on fire? With more twists and turns than a badly coiled cable, musical genres are flipped on their head and backstage heroes come into the spotlight – this brand-new student-written musical is sure to have you hot-glued to your seat! This is, after all, Technically: A Musical!
Alex and Rupert aren't a conventional match, but a caffeinated meeting on the Underground ignites a spark. Skip forward to them fighting over baby names, nursery colours and ways to save money. All the signs of a normal family in waiting. Then Alex goes into labour, their baby is born still - and their world implodes.
What follows is a window into how a couple finds the strength to move forward, the will to stay together, and the determination to keep alive the memory of their child.
Colourful explosions pop in this hilarious exploration of ADHD and queer identity. A plethora of eye-opening topics and hysterical anecdotes leave the audience educated, moved and highly entertained. Follow Pip as she navigates the challenges and celebrates the joys of neurodiversity.
Pop Off, Michelangelo! is the world premiere musical comedy about besties-turned-bitter rivals Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. After realizing they're both gay, the two childhood friends attempt to earn divine forgiveness by becoming the greatest religious artists of all time. Can Michelangelo gaslight, gatekeep and girlboss his way to the Vatican? Will Leonardo shut up about his helicopter? With an electropop original score as infectious as the bubonic plague, and a script that has not been remotely fact-checked, this brand new Renaissance adventure is both hilarious and unhinged.
Time to decide once and for all... cake or biscuit? Inspired by the 1991 tribunal which determined the true identity of a Jaffa Cake, multi-award winning Gigglemug Theatre (Scouts! The Musical, RuneSical, Timpson: The Musical) present a brand-new family-friendly musical comedy that takes the biscuit (or cake...?).
Take a bunch of tuneful strangers. Mix in a dollop of behind-the-scenes skulduggery, a Sound Man playing detective, a sprinkling of star-crossed love, and plenty of juicy arpeggios. Marinade, cook for 60 minutes... and serve hot. The result is a mouth-watering fusion dish, combining the beloved TV show and a sumptuous original score to form Come Dine With Me: The Musical – a winning recipe that will delight even the pickiest palate! (Warning: May Contain Spice.)
Follow the incredible adventures of our handsome hero Richard Hannay, complete with stiff-upper-lip, British gung-ho and pencil moustache as he encounters dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents, and, of course, devastatingly beautiful women.
This wonderfully inventive and gripping comedy thriller features four fearless actors, playing 139 roles in 100 minutes of fast-paced fun and thrilling action.
Following a critically acclaimed, sell-out run at the Turbine Theatre, Luke Bayer gives a tour-de-force performance in this blood-stained love letter to Broadway – a solo musical about rivalry, vengeance, and killer ambition. As President of the Drama Club and star of every school show, Desmond Channing spent his short life in the spotlight, until a hotshot transfer student from NYC arrived to challenge his throne. Desmond responded as any diva would, with lethal force... Now stuck in the Seventh Circle, Hell's most squalid cabaret venue, Desmond is forced to relive his disturbing tale of woe.
A hilarious and heartfelt musical that tackles modern love in all its forms. From the perils and pitfalls of the first date to marriage, children, and the twilight years of life. Set in the modern world, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change traces the overall arc of relationships throughout the course of a life. An insightful and hilarious musical, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change will have audience members shouting... 'This is my life!'
SILENCE! The Musical is the unauthorised musical parody of the Academy Award-winning film The Silence of the Lambs. As rookie FBI agent Clarice matches wits with the brilliant but insane Dr Hannibal Lecter to catch the serial killer known only as Buffalo Bill, a chorus of singing lambs breaks out into show tunes about the most horrific of subjects. Complete with singing serial killers, songs with unprintable titles and a chorus of lambs, SILENCE! the Musical comes charging at you with gleefully unstoppable bad taste.
Three of a Kind follows Sam as she juggles her responsibilities as a daughter in modern-day America. We follow Sam through her journey of acceptance, growth and love. Originating in 2018 by Gregor Satti and Rebekah Holly Neilson in their final year of university, Three of a Kind is a contemporary musical with an original score and thought-provoking story, adapted by Amy Nic for its professional world premiere.
Strangers James and Tori meet on the Piccadilly Line at Heathrow and travel across London on a journey they'll never forget. A “screamingly funny” off-the-rails comedy about the London Underground, Cockfosters is a brilliantly surreal take on the tube journey we know and love (subject to delays) that will change your commute forever. So top up your Oyster, mind the gap and hop aboard the tube trip of a lifetime to Cockfosters. Ever been?
Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not an Arab eyes? Israeli-Palestinian co-creation following four friends and how mandatory conscription to the IDF affects them. One wants to get out, one's a pilot, one was never drafted, one's torn inside. A raw multilingual, physical portrayal that exposes the consequences army life has on the mental-health of the teenagers enlisted. It explores themes like protest against war, self-harm and what it means to be Israeli and peace-pursuing; the critical voice for coexistence under the pressures of politically motivated violence. Who's a rebel? Who's a patriot?
It is Summer 1945: Hitler is dead, but war in the Pacific rages on. The Allies have detained six of Germany’s most gifted nuclear scientists – including three Nobel Prize winners – at Farm Hall, a stately home just outside Cambridge. They entertain themselves with some redacted newspapers, a broken piano and a copy of Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit. But their tranquil summer is shattered by the news that the Americans have succeeded where the Germans failed. The United States has not only built an atom bomb, it has used one against Japan. Unbeknownst to the scientists, during their stay, every inch of Farm Hall was bugged and their every reaction recorded.
She's the Goop-founding, Door-Sliding, Shakespeare-In-Loving, consciously-uncoupling Hollywood superstar. He's a retired optometrist from Utah. In 2016, they went skiing. A story of love, betrayal and skiing – where you are the jury. After sell-out London runs, join harbingers of queer chaos Awkward Productions (Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story), original songs by Leland (RuPaul, Troye Sivan, Cher), with a special video appearance by Trixie Mattel (RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 winner), and the singing voices of Darren Criss (Glee, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story), and Catherine Cohen (Edinburgh Comedy Award winner).
The next interview in our stagey chat series is with Esther Joy Mackay. Esther's show, Save the Princess, is currently running as part of Camden Fringe.
Get yourself comfy and join us for the next segment of Stagey Chat!
Join producer and host Foxi Blue for a real variety show, featuring phenomenal performers, both new and established, from across the industry, including burlesque, circus, sideshow, pole dance, clowning, music, dance, drag and comedy. Celebrate the end of the month with the best in the biz! Performers will be announced regularly on our Facebook and Instagram pages, @shenaniganscabaretuk. Please visit www.shenaniganscabaret.com for videos and photos of previous shows. Doors will open at 7.15pm for a prompt 8pm show start.
Hidden behind unassuming shutters deep within the capital lies Alcotraz London, also known as Cell Block Two-One-Two – a secret speakeasy prison cocktail bar. What makes this clink a little more bearable? Well, successfully smuggle in liquor past the Warden and get it to the hands of Alcotraz’s canteen-working inmates who will serve you up delicious, bespoke cocktails. What are you waiting for? Line up below the metal detector and be ready to enter Cell Block Two-One-Two!
It’s the 1590s and brothers Nigel and Nick Bottom are tired of being stuck in the shadow of Shakespeare, the Renaissance Rockstar, and are desperate to beat the Bard once and for all. But how? With the help of a prophet, the lesser-known Nostradamus, the brothers set about writing the world’s first musical – a ridiculous notion where the actors just burst into song. Out of nowhere! And they dance too. For no reason! Absurd.
Zog, super keen student turned air-ambulance, still lands with a bang-crash-thump. Together with his Flying Doctor crew, Princess Pearl and Sir Gadabout, they tend to a sunburnt mermaid, a unicorn with one too many horns and a lion with the flu. However, Pearl’s uncle, the King, has other ideas about whether princesses should be doctors, and she’s soon locked up in the castle back in a crown and a silly frilly dress! With a bit of help from some friends and half a pound of cheese, can Pearl make her uncle better and prove princesses can be doctors too?
