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Allegiance, Charing Cross Theatre

George Takei proudly puts his name to this moving musical about the forced internment of Japanese-Americans in WWII isn’t an easy watch but it puts the heart and soul into a period of history rarely spoken about. Takei’s presence in London, in any other production, would no doubt be seen as stunt casting but his role as America’s campy elder statesman hides a complex history with his nation. As…

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Jean-Paul Gaultier Fashion Freak Show, Roundhouse

REVIEW: Jean-Paul Gaultier Fashion Freak Show: Loud, Bright and gratuitous! What else would you expect from the designer that brought us cone breasts and presented Eurotrash!

After its debut in France in 2019 Jean-Paul Gaultier brings his fashion show cabaret to London. I have adored JPG since Eurotrash so I was very excited to see what this show had to offer. It is everything and more you would expect from the original Enfant Terrible of Fashion-gratuitous, bright, loud and a fantastic tribute to his 50 years + of working in fashion It is a biographical journey from…

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The Throne, Charing Cross Theatre

REVIEW: The Throne, Charing Cross Theatre. Great chemistry between Mary Roscoe and Charlie Condou in a wordy comedy that isn't sure if it wants to be farce or a commentary on the state of the nation.

Acclaimed screenwriter John Goldsmith brings his first play to Charing Cross Theatre this summer. It is set in 2002, the year of the Golden Jubilee, and imagines an encounter between a Republican school teacher Derek (Charlie Condou) and Queen Elizabeth II (Mary Roscoe) when they get stuck in a toilet together. Goldsmith’s comedy isn’t sure if it wants to be a state of the nation in 2022 piece…

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Review: The Gunpowder Plot

.@emmaburnell_reviews The Gunpowder Plot at Tower of London

https://soakedindreams.com/2022/06/11/review-the-gunpowder-plot/

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Mulan Rouge, Vaults Theatre

REVIEW: Mulan Rouge at The Vaults Theatre. A camp night of drag and cabaret that doesn't alienate traditional theatre audiences (and the food is great)

Dining theatre is back! Actually it has been back for a while and back in August 2021 Mulan Rouge was the trendsetter. After Covid are theatre goers ready to be in close proximity to each other? After a strong first run in summer 2021 ShayShay’s Mulan Rouge takes the classic Disney film (I found out recently it was based on a poem) and for reasons I am not entirely sure of moves the war zone to…

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General Secretary, Soho Theatre

REVIEW: General Secretary @sohotheatre "hard not to be swept up in Symes and Thomas’ enthusiasm" says @jaykayell_

⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 5. Review by Jake Laverde According to that great philosopher Beyonce, it’s girls who run the world. And in this latest production from duo Thick ‘n Fast, we see how that scenario plays out when Cassie Symes and Georgina Thomas are plucked out of obscurity to rule the world. From the start, both Symes and Thomas exude Strong Millennial Energy when they’re more excited by…

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Rumble, Drayton Arms

Review: Rumble, Drayton Arms @jaykayell_

Review by Jake Laverde Business and boxing collide in this revival of Yasir Senna’s play by Razor Sharp Productions. Alisha Harper-Gill is on the ropes, fighting for her career when faced with a trumped up disciplinary hearing. But like Mohammed Ali’s historic bout with George Foreman, it’s all part of her plan.  Originally put on at  Baron’s Court theatre in 2013, Rumble is set in 2009 during…

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Chicago, Churchill Theatre

A safe but much needed revival of Chicago is still relevant to 2020s audiences

Theatre, still recovering from economic and talent loss, following Covid-19 is understandably taking a safe approach to productions. The more experimental productions can wait until 2022 because audiences don’t want to take risks with their health and finances and producers need to make up for a big financial hit. A scene from the International Tour of Chicago The Musical @ King’s Theatre,…

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Abigail's Party, Park Theatre

"A solid and worthwhile take on a much-loved classic" says @jaykayell_ on Park Theatre's revival of Abigail's Party.

Review by Jake Laverde The first thing you’ll notice when you enter the auditorium is the incredible set design which brings you right into Beverley and Laurence Moss’s decadent lounge. Here, the audience is free to peruse the period details such as the marble lighter, the record collection and the (unread) complete works of Dickens and Shakespeare on the mantelpiece. The wallpaper looks like…

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SIX, Vaudeville Theatre

Review: SIX has a new permanent home but regardless of where you see it, it is still a fun and short night out

I have written about Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ Six before back in 2018 and it is still a show I am immensely fond of, from its original run at the Arts Theatre, a brief flirt with Lyric Theatre, a delayed Broadway run and now in its new permanent West End home of the Vaudeville. (It is also concurrently touring across the UK and Ireland) I like SIX because it is short, the costumes look…

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No Cure for Love, Lion and Unicorn Theatre

No Cure for Love, Lion and Unicorn Theatre

Disclaimer: This was the debut play of reviewer for View from the Cheap Seat Emma Burnell. No Cure for Love by Emma Burnell, as part of the Camden Fringe Festival, looks at what happens when we are given a chance to love after being in love. Scott (Stephen Russell) and Rose (Wendy Morgan) are two reasonably successful singers, who probably aren’t household names but have a loyal and dedicated…

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Review: Threshold

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The Scottish Play (the Bard in a Yard): A private basement garden, West Kensington

The Scottish Play (the Bard in a Yard): A private basement garden, West Kensington

Review by Anne O’Donoghue Sitting in a garden in Kensington I was treated to an enchanting and magical performance of the Scottish Play.  Blackbirds flitted across the garden and in the background, we heard an ambulance siren and then a baby wail. This all lent to a surreal atmosphere whereby perhaps a spirit from another time had come through a portal. The time of course was Elizabethan and I…

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How I Learned to Swim, Jermyn Street (at home)

How I Learned to Swim, Jermyn Street (at home)

Jermyn Street’s new season is taking a blended approach with an option to be in the audience at their central London theatre or via the comfort of your own home. For practicalities I chose the streaming version but how I wish I had been in the room. Somebody Jones’ How I Learned to Swim is a monologue about black people’s relationship with water through her lead character Jamie (a stunning…

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Cruise, Duchess Theatre

A monologue on a West End stage without a household name feels like a huge risk. In any other time it would be but theatres have very little to lose after a very difficult year. Jack Holden’s Cruise is a timely look at LGBT history, for a fans of Russell T Davies’ It’s a Sin it touches on similar themes of 80s London in the shadow of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It is a celebration of the culture, the…

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Waiting for Lefty, Online

Waiting for Lefty, Online

It shouldn’t be surprising that a play written in 1935 still resonates, the thirties were a time of post-war trauma and financial depression. The UK in the last decade has seen the affects of austerity, the move towards a gig economy and part time working that is not financially viable for many people as they rely on food banks and additional welfare support.  Clifford Odets Waiting for Lefty is…

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Testament, Online

Emma Burnell @emmaburnell_ reviews Testament via Brooklyn. A reprise of the Vault Festival production filmed in New York "an assuredly slick production" 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. OK, let’s face it. Any play that has a tribute to Dolly Parton halfway through was going to win me over even before she saved the world by inventing the vaccine. Testament places some of the Bible’s most interesting bit part players in a modern setting and gives them centre stage. The unrepentant thief; the daughters of Lot, Isaac, the son Abraham nearly murdered on…