By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK? ****

WHEN? Friday 14 November, opens 1 December and runs through 25 October 2026 RUNTIME: 165 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)

They say the devil has the best tunes and this new musical’s showstopper is reserved for its taxidermist villainess – Pretty Little Dead Things (listen below).

• Read on for reasons including how it’s the strength of the songs that made us enjoy this show so much more than we expected

But it faces stiff competition from a high-kicking, splits-giving Bonnie Langford (Sondheim’s Old Friends, Gielgud Theatre) as lodger Mrs Bird in It’s Never Too Late and act 2 opener Marmalade whose Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma Marmalade hook you’re going to struggle to ever dislodge from your brain.

You may have seen the footage of the extraordinarily endearing Paddington meeting a BBC Breakfast reporter recently and actress Arti Shah voiced by James Hameed (Just For One Day, Old Vic) also credited for remote puppetry in the part are so cute they are met by adorable gasps of appreciation from this predominantly family audience.

Which is appropriate given that this is the story of a bear who finds himself alone in Paddington station after being orphaned in Peru and sent to London by his dear Aunt Lucy who trusts he will find kindness there and he is taken in by the Brown family who name him after where he was found.

We’re not particular fans of the books 1st published in 1958 or recent films but appreciate the sentiment of a story about Londoners taking in refugees at this particular time in our history and are intrigued by the music and lyrics of Tom Fletcher from McFly who should be so proud of his work on this.

The story’s jeopardy is provided by villainess Millicent Clyde played by the magnificent Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre), the daughter of the explorer who encountered Paddington’s family in Peru but refused to bring them back to the UK and the clutches of the Geographers’ Guild.

We didn’t quite get 1st single from this new musical The Explorer And The Bear when we 1st heard it but it makes total sense in the show and sets up the story that we are about to see.

Paddington is taken in by a family whose mother and father are estranged and who are struggling to communicate with their young son and daughter and there’s a lovely use of the words ‘Obi Mum Kenobe’ early on which hint that maybe this struggling family might pull in the same direction if they can meet the right bear.

Elsewhere the supporting cast is stong and Brenda Edwards and Timi Akinyosade, making his stage debut, have a lot of fun with song Rhythm Of London which is another of the show’s bangers which reminds of the diversity of the city in which it’s set and why that’s its strength as Aunt Lucy might say.

Elswhere the supporting cast is super strong and special mentions must go to the hilarious Tom Edden (Waiting For Godot, Theatre Royal Haymarket) as an officious neighbour and Amy Booth-Steel (Tammy Faye, Almeida) from the dastardly Geographers’ Guild whose upper-crust accent and pronunciation of words including ‘members’ will have you rolling in the aisles.

We were expecting to love the sentiment and be bowled over by the bear but it was the strength of the songs that made us enjoy this show so much more than we expected and we can’t wait to hear that full soundtrack – and soon.

• Main pictures by Paddington The Musical courtesy Facebook Tickets
• Have you seen a Tom Fletcher show before and what did you think of this 1? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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