WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE: Old Vic
WHEN: 28/11, press night 29/11, runs to 20/1/18
Providing family entertainment with a message has been the aim of Old Vic artistic director Matthew Warchus since succeeding Kevin Spacey in 2015.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Menier Chocolate Factory
WHEN: 25/11, press night 5/12, runs to 3/3/18
We’re leafing through the programme, the morning after the first preview of this revival, and brightly-coloured ticker tape thrown by the cast keeps falling out.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE: Greenwich Theatre
WHEN: 18/11, press night 24/11, runs to 7/1/18
Our heart sank when we discovered that Andrew Pollard (writer of this, his 12th pantomime at this venue) wasn’t going to be its dame as usual.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Palladium
WHEN: 15/11, tour runs to 20/12
SETLIST: April 10th; I Germinate; When I Was Your Girl; Wishing You Were Here; Nobody’s Diary; Ski; Beautiful Gun; Only You; The English U; Changeling; All Cried Out; The Man In The Wings; Other; The Rarest Birds; Alive; Situation; Love Resurrection; Whispering Your Name; Don’t Go
‘Here’s a song I wrote 40 years ago – when I was 16,’ Moyet is introducing Yazoo classic Nobody’s Diary during the most hits set we’ve ever seen her perform – and we’ve seen a few.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Islington Assembly Hall
WHEN: 14/11, tour runs to 3/12
SETLIST: Rebellion; Say I’m Not Alone; Maybe I Should Run; Love Me; I’m Over You/If I Had You/Talking In My Sleep (medley); Archive; Stay With Me; Cry A Little; Paradise; On the Radio; Any Sign Of Life; Perfect Moment; Rosanna
Martine McCutcheon dissolves into tears as her biggest hit is received rapturously by her most ardent fans at the close of this come back show’s encore.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Arts Theatre
WHEN: 12/11 (matinee), runs to 3/12
The first thing that strikes us about this rock musical is how lavish its set appears: the band are situated on a walkway, level with the tops of gigantic vats of industrial waste and there’s even a sci-fi set of double doors which could be straight out of Flash Gordon.
The delays refurbishing the Victoria Palace Theatre have rather taken some of the shine off the opening of this Tony Award-winning musical which is now in previews from 6/12 with a 21/12 press night. We’ll be reviewing the Boxing Day show (if it’s opened by then). Still the hottest tickets in town
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE: Apollo Theatre
WHEN: 6/11, press night 22/11, booking to 21/4/18
It must have been tempting for the creative team behind this musical about a teenage drag queen-wannabe desperate to wear a dress to his prom to rest on its laurels.
WHERE?: BFI
WHEN: 3/11
It’s hard to believe that Jodie Foster wasn’t the first choice to play rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling but it was a part she lobbied hard to play.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE: Other Palace
WHEN: 1/11, press night 7/11, runs to 31/12
Kelsey Grammer is best known for playing Dr Frasier Crane in TV’s Cheers and Frasier and has a Tony, five Emmys and three Golden Globes to his name.
monstagigz 