Active Virgin

5 stars *****

True to form, One Academy Productions return to the Fringe with new writing in the form of Active Virgin. Although it covers such serious issues as body dysmorphia and the unhealthy quest for so-called ‘perfection’ it does … Read More

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

4 stars ****

The ‘Spelling Bee’ is a very American peculiarity and writing a musical around it is even more peculiar but it works so well.

We meet a group of stereotypical nerdy young people, verging on cartoon caricatures, who … Read More

The Happy Prince

2 stars **

Well, he didn’t look very happy but Tom Dawkins as the prince stood out (in a good way)  in what is otherwise a strangely bemusing production.

Good points – the music is really lovely and generally well … Read More

Glasvegas – The Original 1977 Musical

5 stars *****

I went in with a splitting headache and came out with a huge cheesy grin on my face, thankful I’d picked this show to round off my day.

This is a hugely enjoyable show (and the venue … Read More

Street Cries

4 stars ****

If you know the gist of ‘Under Milk Wood’ you will get the premise of this hour of musical cabaret, although having just come out of ‘Spelling Bee’ it took a while to readjust my brainspace and … Read More

Molly Wobbly’s Tit Factory – Lyric Belfast

5 Stars

*****

Although this was were I started in reviewing, Musical Theatre is a genre I don’t often cover these days but such was the buzz I decided to return to my roots and check it out for myself.

… Read More

Scene of the Titans

2 stars

**

If it wasn’t actually based on a true story, you could easily think the plot of this show was completely improbable and verging on farcical. However given that the premise is true, this could have been a … Read More

11

4 Stars ****

11 is a new musical composed by Ian Hammond Brown with book by Suzanne Lofthus and is presented by Cutting Edge Theatre.

From World War one to our present day the scenes paint a picture of stories … Read More

A Man’s a Man

Unrated.

I really don’t think it’s fair to actually review this show. While all credit goes to people trying to perform a show in a language foreign to them, this is amongst one of the worst shows I have ever … Read More

Toulouse-Lautrec: The Musical

2 stars

**

This was less musical theatre and more a musical story. I saw the Japanese version and despite the highly energetic performance by Jun Sawaki, you spend most of the time reading the English translations and waiting for … Read More