Leonard Vole: handsome, charming and an all-around nice young man just simply trying to get by in life. But now he finds himself standing in the dock, accused of murder. Emily French, a wealthy spinster, has been found dead in her home, the exact home Leonard has been visiting on a regular basis having formed a friendship with the older woman, but he insists that he is innocent. He stands in the dock as experts, Ms French’s housekeeper and even his own wife Romaine are called

Lima, Peru. Jesús is gearing up for his first communion, seen as a miracle through the eyes of his mother and an object of pride by his father, raised in a religious household where he is regularly told that 'God loves you'. But has Jesús comes of age, it is a sexual awakening that takes hold rather than a religious one with the realisation that he loves Jesus, perhaps too much. Penned by, and starring, Sergio Maggiolo as Jesús (pronounced hayzuss) alongside partner Guido Gar

A storm can begin at the flap of a wing; the tiniest mite packs the mightiest sting. No, this isn’t Matilda the musical, but instead a quote to illustrate a greater point about how one action, big or small, can ripple, grow, explode even, and change the lives of multiple people forever. Especially if that one single action is one single punch. Written by James Graham, Punch tells the real-life stories of both Jacob Dunne and James Hodgkinson, the thrower and the recipie

Australian comedian Thomas Green has been selling out shows at major festivals including both Adelaide and Edinburgh Fringes and is now delighting stand up fans around the UK on his Brainstorm tour. Since supporting Mo Gilligan at his Exeter University Great Hall show, he has become a favourite with Southwest audiences, so much so that he has been invited back on a number of occasions, now selling out the Barnfield Theatre ahead of a return to the Northcott venue later this y

‘For the first time in forever’ The snow stopped falling, Sven stopped running, the ice melted and Olaf stopped giving out warm hugs, all on 8 th September 2024 when Disney’s ‘Frozen the Musical’ closed up shop, the winter of Arendale making way for the summer of ancient Greece as Disney’s ‘Hercules’ swept in to take over. It was a surprise, for many, when it was announced that ‘Frozen’ with its ever-growing fan base, world famous musical numbers and globally adored charac

‘It’s time to begin, now count me in’ If the last line of the show’s introduction isn’t enough to indicate what is about to happen, the neon shades of blue and pink and the energy that bounces in the show’s opening moments should throw you head first into the silliness and jukebox fun that is ‘Here and Now’, a musical putting the song stylings of Steps into the spotlight and milking it for all it is worth. Set in Better Best Bargains, a seaside supermarket, ‘Here and Now’

My ideal has always been to love some one of the name of Ernest. High society, eligible bachelors, different identities for the town and the country, all wrapped up in flowers, flamboyancy and fun. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Ernest came powering on all cylinders to the National Theatre in 2024, with more flair, more fashion and more love is love than ever before, and after a second run at the Noel Coward Theatre more recently, this production now lands right in our

Old age is something that comes to all of us, no matter how you choose to look at it. You may want to grow old gracefully, or disgracefully, age like fine wine, think of it as 'don't grow up, its a trap', or 'growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional', or you may in fact cling to the idea of hope of being forever young. However you choose to look at aging, it is all explored with comedy, music and heart in 'Forever Young' written by Erik Gedeon, directed by Martin Berr

What do burnout, Sexy KFC, and your homophobic Aunt Sharon have in common? Well, up and coming musical theatre comedienne Tammy Woodburn is determined to find out as her potential new manager challenges her to be more honest on stage. Using original songs, stand up, and painfully awkward family conversations (hello Aunt Sharon), she finds the line between truth and the punchline in SMILE, a sharp one-women musical comedy about burnout, identity and the pressure to always keep

And take extra care with strangers Even flowers have their dangers And though scary is exciting Nice is different than good. What springs to mind when you think of fairy tales? Be honest here, but I can't imagine that it's dark and at times twisted worlds of the Brothers Grimm, but instead brightly coloured dreamscapes of princesses, talking animals and happily ever afters. The disney-fied versions, if you will. And that's okay, but that isn't what I am going to be talking ab

When you think of the famous playwright Noel Coward, it may be 'Private Lives', 'Hayfever' or 'Blithe Spirit' that spring to mind, or you may take a different approach and think instead of the quirky and quaint theatre that is named after him, but either way, it is probably not 'The Rat Trap'. His very first play, written in 1918 and first staged in 1926, is an exploration of marriage, careers, relationships and ego, that has only been seen twice before in London since its pr

We all know the story of Ariel, perhaps better known as The Little Mermaid, and her wish to walk on land with the humans and to be with the handsome Prince Eric, but how well do we know the story of Ursula, the sea witch who made her wish come true, at a cost of course? Enter Unfortunate, the Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch, a loud proud big and bold musical that explores her tale from her school days through to tricking the young princess into giving up her voice. But p

As someone who lives with that 'Eat, Sleep, Theatre, Repeat' state of mind, you can guarantee that the vast majority of songs on my playlists come from the land of musical theatre and we all have our favourites. But, of course, we can't all like the same things, and each of us have those songs that we just believe to be criminally underrated, at the bottom of some people's list whilst they might be at the top of ours. So, here we go. Here are mine top 5, in no particular orde

A beautiful, enthralling, heartwarming and, at times, heartbreaking story combined gorgeous sweeping toe tapping songs, performed by a multi-talented multi-rolling, multi musical instrument playing cast, all wrapped up in a message of embracing the life that you have and making the most of every second. It was the show that swept in, made a bold statement and won pretty much everyone over, so why is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button already gone from our beloved west end, a

What goes up must come down, and when it comes to Cornley Drama Society when can go right must go wrong. Mischief Comedy have made a name for themselves as the masters of funny, and their flagship show 'The Play That Goes Wrong' has called the Duchess Theatre it's home for the past eleven years, filling the space with laughter, chaos and calamitous silliness eight times a week, with this double role-ing play within a play proving to be a masterclass of all things slapstick hi

Spandex, knee high boots, nineties fashion, fourth wall breaks, chorus members appearing from nowhere, and oodles upon oodles of ABBA. I could only be talking about one thing and that, of course, is Mamma Mia, the all singing all dancing spectacular that has been delighting audiences with its bouncy carefree lightheartedness for nearly 27 years. Sophie (Ellie kingdon) is getting married and upon finding her mother Donna's (played at this performance by Emma Odell) diary, she

Having just recently finished their second London run, this time at the Shaftesbury Theatre, Just For One Day The Live Aid Musical may have turned off the lights and put away the hand held microphones for now. But, worry not, it won’t be long until the music starts again and we are once again whipped into a frenzy of song fuelled nostalgia and rallying calls to action as the production prepares to head out on its first UK tour. The tour kicks off in Leicester in March next

Please Note - As the current cast only began performances on Monday 2nd February, the photographs in this review feature the previous cast. Written by the creators of South Park. That should act as your warning really, as South Park is known for being loud, naughty, and rude, pushing satire to the extreme and running with it as they say the things that others wouldn't dare to. So knowing all of that, you should walk into their popular musical The Book of Mormon, which has bee

A sailing from New York to London, with a stowaway, a nightclub singer, a gangster pretending to be a minister and a romance on the rocks, it could sound like the beginning of a bad joke but no, this is Anything Goes, a musical that combines the book writing of Guy Bolton and P.G Woodhouse with the music of Cole Porter, here performed by Exeter Footlights, the musical theatre society of the University of Exeter in their on campus theatre, the Northcott. Anything Goes tells th

Sunday 23rd March 1997, a brand new crime drama premiered on television starring John Nettles and Daniel Casey as two police detectives in the quaint English countryside. Those detectives; Barnaby and Troy. The show; Midsomer Murders. The pilot episode, The Killings at Badger's Drift became the highest rated single drama of 1997, and say they say, the rest is history. Nearly 29 years on, Midsomer Murders remains incredibly popular and is perhaps the epitome of cosy crime thes