The Hot Mikado

3 stars

***

Oh dear… The Hot Mikado is usually a great show, full of tongue-in-cheek humour and hot, jazzy music. However this version has been bastardised and chopped more than a pound of mince, squeezing essentially a ‘greatest hits’ … Read More

Fresher the Musical

3 stars

***

This is getting rave reviews and won the best new musical award last year… but I was just bored. The characters are typical stereotypes, the plot predictable and the music bland.

However the actors are all excellent … Read More

Apply Within

3 stars

***

A musical about job interviews and CVs doesn’t sound too inspiring however the show does have a few laugh-out-loud moments. Many of the songs are forgettable and formulaic however a couple stand out – the nervous tick … Read More

The Last 5 Years

2 stars

**

The Last 5 Years is such a hard show to do – essentially a series of solos it can so easily become boring and also potentially confusing if you don’t realise that Cathy’s story goes backwards. … Read More

Meryl O’Rourke : Bad Mother

3 Stars ***

I must confess to being unaware of Meryl O’Rourke prior to seeing her show so obviously went in with no preconceptions.

Starting brightly in the early for comedy slot of 14:45, and playing to a packed crowd … Read More

I, the Dictator

3 Stars

***

Set in 1939, two men with similar facial appearances are at the height of their powers. In Europe, Hitler’s armed forces are extinguishing democracy in the countries around Germany. In America, Charlie Chaplin is one of … Read More

The Young Pretender

3 Stars

***

In the space of an hour this play by E.V. Crowe gets to the heart of the character of Bonnie Prince Charlie. How did this young man of 24 years of age raised in Italy attract a … Read More

Love Songs for a Timewaster

3 Stars

***

The very full programme notes provide the background to this production of a play with songs. It is very much a work still in progress and a full version is expected to be completed in the … Read More

The Hollycopter

5 stars *****

This woman is very very funny, which shouldn’t strictly be the case, since the story she’s telling is of how she came to jump from a pier and spend four days in hospital because of … Read More

a Cappella with Cattitude

5 stars *****

When this lot are good, they’re brilliant, and ninety-five per cent of their show is brilliant. A few of their slower numbers lack the sparkling verve and energy of the more up-beat ones, rendering them … Read More