by Meredith Jones Russell
If you weren’t lucky enough to have spent your formative years playing the ‘90s Hasbro wonder that was DreamPhone, it might be worth having a quick Google before you see the show. There’s still more than enough to enjoy if you don’t, but there are some wickedly funny references that make this musical horror spoof even better for the initiated.
by Meredith Jones Russell
Would life really be better if it were a musical? Alexander S. Bermange’s revue show suggests it’s not all lipstick grins and audience adulation. Featuring four performers and Bermange himself on piano, the show tells their story as struggling artists, going from drama school dreams to the disappointing reality of auditions, understudying, second jobs, debilitating dance routines, low pay and backstage backstabbing.
by Laura Kressly
The Paines Plough Roundabout is the most reliable, new writing venues at the fringe. With a collection of work that represents the width and breadth of the UK both geographically and thematically, this year’s offerings are universally strong. From a family musical to a one-man show about a stalker, and everything in between, there is a great selection of shows for audiences looking for new work in a great venue that tours around Britain.
by Meredith Jones Russell
In this semi-autobiographical tale of a working-class Black kid who gets in to a prestigious grammar school, writer and performer Daniel Ward is an insanely likeable and undeniably talented focus. His character, Bird, draws us immediately into his story with warmth and charm, accompanied by original grime and hip-hop tunes.
by Amy Toledano
Do you ever think about where your cash goes once it has been handed over to the cashier? How many hands does a five pound note pass through before it gets to you? And what should you do if you see a fiver on the ground? Do you pick it up and keep it for yourself or see if the owner is nearby? These are the questions that Alex James Ellison and Tom Lees, the creators of new musical Fiver explore in their show.
by Laura Kressly
Viewed through a contemporary lens, this can be considered one of Shakespeare’s more problematic plays. A woman prisoner forced to marry her conqueror’s leader, a man trying to force his daughter into an arranged marriage, and fairies forcing teenagers and each other to fall in love, are key aspects of the story that can’t be cut and all are framed by comedy. But at Michelle Terry’s gaff, director Sean Holmes deals with the first admirably and embraces the chaos of the latter two in this psychedelic, fever-dream of an interpretation that is colourful, pacey and full of contemporary jokes.
by Amy Toledano
The British Theatre Academy presents this colourful, semi-staged concert version of Stephen Schwartz’s Godspell. Providing a space for young performers to gain real theatrical experience, this particular version is a lovely ode to a well-loved piece of music theatre.
by Maeve Ryan
Citysong contemplates the timeless cycle of life by following three generations of a family on one important day. Writer Dylan Coburn Gray calls this lyrical piece a ‘play for voices’ and indeed the script began its life as spoken word. It won the Verity Bargate Award, which brought it from Ireland’s national theatre, the Abbey, to London. Both inner city theatres are perfect settings for this evocation of life and family narrated by a cab driver in a rain-soaked, streetlamp-lit Dublin.
by Laura Kressly
John Gay wrote The Beggar’s Opera in 1728 to reflect a London ridden with corrupt and dangerous politicians, inequality and violence. Not much has changed in those nearly 200 years, then. Kneehigh updates the story to a rundown coastal town where all the citizens resort to cold-hearted ruthlessness in the name of survival, resulting in an extravaganza of murder, betrayal and spectacle.
By Laura Kressly
Musical theatre excels at turning an otherwise serious subject into an extravaganza of high camp. Though it’s easy to dismiss such approaches as light and frivolous, SpitLip – a new company formed by members from Kill the Beast and Felix Hagen & the Family – tell the true story of a British intelligence operation with plenty of panache and satirical social commentary (and heaps of high camp) in this smashing new show.
The Play's The Thing UK 