THEATRE REVIEW

THEATRE REVIEW: Entertaining Mr Sloane starring Jordan Stephens & Tamzin Outhwaite at the Young Vic

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN? Monday 22 September, opens 24 September and runs through 8 November 2025 RUNTIME: 140 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Stephens plays the titular Sloane, a would-be lodger, interviewed by Outhwaite’s (Stepping Out, Vaudeville Theatre) lonely landlady Kath who reveals she had an illegitimate son she gave up for adoption who would be Sloane’s age now.

  • Read on for reasons including how this production is most likely to be remembered for its excruciating turn by Outhwaite who is unforgettable
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THEATRE REVIEW: Oliver! starring Simon Lipkin, Shanay Holmes & Billy Jenkins at the Gielgud Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Saturday 2 August 2025 (matinee), runs through March 29 2026

It’s the songs that are the stars of this musical which won 6 Oscars in its 1968 film version and it’s hard not to raise a smile at a tune like Consider Yourself which rhymes ‘uppity’ and ‘cup’o’tea’.

  • Read on for reasons including how this musical’s dazzling future is well-placed in the hands of a cast featuring Billy Jenkins
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THEATRE REVIEW: Stereophonic starring Jack Riddiford at Duke Of York’s Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN? Saturday 30 August, runs through 22 November 2025

RUNTIME: 195 minutes (including 15-minute interval)

Can you ever have too much of a good thing?

  • Read on for reasons including how this is a classy production we’re unsure will repeat its Tonys success at the Oliviers
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THEATRE REVIEW: Interview starring Robert Sean Leonard & Paten Hughes at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN? Monday 25 August, runs through 27 September 2025 RUNTIME: 90 minutes (without interval)

A war correspondent in Ukraine blames himself for the maiming of his photographer, is demoted and sent to interview a New York influencer turned actress he has little interest in.

  • Read on for reasons including how these are 2 people going at each other who it’s difficult to muster much empathy for
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THEATRE REVIEW: Juniper Blood at Donmar Warehouse by Mike Bartlett

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN? Tuesday 19 August, opens 26 August and runs through 4 October 2025 RUNTIME: 165 minutes (including 2 intervals)

What do you get if you cross the desire for self-sufficiency of TV’s The Good Life with the farming techniques of wilding and regeneration seen in Clarkson’s Farm?

  • Read on for reasons including how this is 1 of the most interesting plays 1 of this country’s most celebrated writers has yet penned
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THEATRE REVIEW: Born With Teeth starring Ncuti Gatwa & Edward Bluemel at Wyndham’s Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN? Saturday 16 August, opens 2 September and runs through 1 November 2025 RUNTIME: 90 minutes (without interval)

Will they or won’t they? There’s real sexual tension between Gatwa’s roistering mentor Kit Marlowe and Bluemel’s in awe fanboy Shakespeare.

  • Read on for reasons including how Born With Teeth boasts plenty of bite, much to chew and lots that’s entertaining to swallow
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THEATRE REVIEW: Brigadoon starring Louis Gaunt at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN? Monday 4 August, opens 11 August and runs through 20 September 2025 RUNTIME: 135 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)

This outdoor setting is the perfect venue for this updated musical of 2 crashed World War Two airmen who stumble across a Scottish Highlands village seemingly suspended in time and not on any map.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is a thoughtful re-imagination of a classic which deserves to be seen in this glorious outdoor venue
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THEATRE REVIEW: Good Night, Oscar starring Sean Hayes at the Barbican Centre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN? Friday 1 August, opens 6 August and runs through 21 September 2025 RUNTIME: 100 minutes (no interval)

Sean Hayes won the 2023 Best Actor Tony for this portrayal of comedian and pianist Oscar Levant and here makes his London debut in a show which takes a peek behind the curtain of the exploitation of mental illness for entertainment.

  • Read on for reasons including how Good Night, Oscar proves darkly comic, hugely thought-provoking and ultimately extremely moving
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LAST NIGHT: THEATRE REVIEW: The Fifth Step starring Jack Lowden & Martin Freeman @SohoPlace

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

WHEN? Saturday 26 July 2025 RUNTIME: 90 minutes (no interval)

Like all of the greatest actors, Jack Lowden (Measure For Measure, Donmar) is absolutely unrecognisable as Scottish incel Luka here compared with the role of flawed hero River Cartwright he is perhaps best known for in Apple TV’s fine Slow Horses.

  • Read on for reasons including how we laughed a lot at The Fifth Step and the dexterity of the wordplay is quite beautiful
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THEATRE REVIEW: Intimate Apparel starring Samira Wiley, Kadiff Kirwan & Faith Omole at Donmar Warehouse

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN? Saturday 26 July, runs through 9 August 2025 RUNTIME: 145 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Jack Thorne (The Motive And The Cue, National Theatre) recently described Lynn Nottage, the author of this play, as ‘the closest thing to a living Shakespeare we have’ and on the evidence of this production it’s easy to see why.

  • Read on for reasons including how Intimate Apparel is ultimately devastating as we realise the truth of Esther’s situation
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