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20 June 2024 I 19:30 I Hull New Theatre ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This evening marks my third visit to Everybody's Talking About Jamie, following my previous trips over five years ago. Still resonating with such profound resilience, this is truly the era defining musical for our times, honouring honesty and acceptance through the LGBTQ+ community. On the surface, written by Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom Macrae, this show prioritizes joy, with an often high octane score and modern pop approach.

18 June 2024 I 19:15 I Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon I AD - PR Invite ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Merry Wives Of Windsor, in its 2024 revival at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, is nothing short of a theatrical triumph, the ultimate summer sizzler that is guaranteed to leave you with split sides! Indulgent in both textual and subtextual physical humour, there is nothing subtle about Blanche McIntyre's uproarious direction. In a contemporary fashion, even featuring snippets

15 June 2024 I 19:00 I Leeds Playhouse - Quarry Theatre ⭐⭐ My Fair Lady is a musical I have adored since watching Bartlett Sher's 2022 touring adaptation. The narrative follows a cockney flower girl's phonetic journey in becoming a conventional 'lady', honouring the spirit beyond wealth and fortune. A partnership with Opera North, Leeds Playhouse presents a subdued adaptation of the Lerner & Loewe musical. A visually very dark aesthetic, with focus on gritty realism that

8 June 2024 I 14:30 I Donmar Warehouse, London ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Benedict Andrews' adaptation of The Cherry Orchard is polarising in every sense of the word. The challenges of one's culture are confronted, and what it means for this to be forcefully stripped away, in physical (Magda Willi's set) and emotional implications. 120 years after Chekhov's text was first published, the Donmar Warehouse's semi-contemporary vision removes displacement, as a modernist style presents family and

1 June 2024 I 19:30 I Hull Truck Theatre ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lotte Wakeham's touring Little Shop Of Horrors excels in the contemporary Hull Truck Theatre, benefitting from a condensed scale. A cramped set (TK Hay) amplifies tension, equally moments of physical comedy. Michael Fowkes' puppetry direction is unconventional, isolated centre stage which gives Audrey II a heightened attitude and sass, the freedom to move under threatening manners. Voicing the carnivorous plant, Anton Stephan

13 April 2024 I 14:30 I Grand Opera House, York ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ York Stage returns with Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a musical staging of the biblical tale. And what a production they deliver, not only nailing intense dance sequence (Lesley Hill), but introducing an originally exciting style, inviting cabaret, vaudeville and drag to reinforce Nik Briggs' euphoric vision. Opening the musical, the lighting rig is lowered to the stage, creating a backstage space that

29 March 2024 I 19:30 I Lyric Theatre, London ⭐⭐⭐ With high expectations following an immensely popular Broadway run, I have been eargerly anticipating Hadestown's London return, yet my first live exposure leaves me underwhelmed. Anaïs Mitchell's songwriting triumphs in breathtaking scores, but Rachel Chavkin's direction stages an overproduced concert style, opposed to realised storytelling, in turn confuses the mythological narrative. The shining star of this production

28 March 2024 I 19:30 I Trafalgar Theatre, London ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Mirror, Sam Holcroft's modern text, transfers to the Trafalgar Theatre following a successful run at the Almeida Theatre. The attraction to the show is an air of secrecy, walking into an unknown environment. With a run time of two hours (no interval), the pacing does not allow for the opportunity to relax, a staging confronted with creeping danger. As you enter the theatre doors, every element has been tailored alik