Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma marmalade. Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma marmalade. Yes, dear reader of my theatrical ramblings, that has been stuck in my head on a pretty much continuous loop since Friday, the day on which I finally got to see one of the worlds most famous bears, Mr Paddington Brown himself. As a long time fan of this little bear from deepest darkest Peru, the excitement levels for this one were sky high, even more so when the way in which he would be portrayed on stage w

The Tube, the rat run, the pain in the backside, call it what you will but the London Underground is perhaps one of the greatest inventions of the modern age, connecting the city and inspiring many similar infrastructures around the world. Millions upon millions use it, and whilst many of us may not look up from our phones and books to truly take in what is happening around us as we travel under London, Cockfosters, back for another sell out run, explores it in great and hila

The festive season in the UK comes with plenty of traditions, from the famous Christmas dinner, crackers, television specials and lights, to travel chaos, overcrowded shops and adverts that don’t always make sense, but perhaps one of the most iconic festive traditions is the good old fashioned pantomime, with its cheesy lines, pop favourites, familiar gags and water pistols, guaranteed to bring a smile to the face to even the most scrooge like of audience members.   This year

It’s like painting the Forth Bridge, as soon as you finish you start again. It’s only been a couple of months since the Piccadilly Hotel closed up shop at the Noel Coward Theatre when ‘The Comedy About Spies’ played its final performance (let’s hope it comes back one day) but it is no rest for the wicked for Mischief Comedy, the masters of funny, as they present their second new production of 2025 ‘Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’.   Having premiered as a BBC Festive special back

Having celebrated its 19th anniversary back in September, the Apollo Victoria theatre was that famous shade of green long before the cinema screens. Wicked, known in full as Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz has been delighting audiences for much longer than a clock click of the Time Dragon, ever since its San Francisco tryout way back in 2003, and its much more recent star studded two-part film adaptation has sent its popularity to supersonic proportions, not tha

February 1895 ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, the play that would go on to be known as Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece, premiered both representing and mocking late Victorian society with its story of double lives, society ideas and romance, sending Oscar Wilde to new higher levels of fame.   Just 3 months later in May 1895, Oscar Wilde was arrested for ‘Gross indecency for Homosexual acts’   Now, 130 years later, Max Webster’s staging of that masterpiece fresh from a festive pe

Just as I made a ‘if I had a nickel’ joke between ‘Vagabond Skies’ and ‘Saving Mozart’ just a few months ago, I feel compelled to make another, for if I saw two shows that push the once hidden stories of musically gifted sisters overshadowed by their brothers and forced to be the traditional wife, I would have two nickels, which wouldn’t get you far in today’s expensive world, but it is a little odd. But, whilst ‘Saving Mozart’ celebrated the story of Nannerl Mozart with soar

In a time whilst some may argue that London is simply flooded with jukebox bops, screen to stage adaptations and revivals, new and original musicals are deservedly celebrated as breaths of fresh air, injecting a taste of something new on the horizon and ‘Bloody Mary and the Nine Day Queen’, having spent its recent and short London run nestled under the Southwark and Waterloo arches of the Union Theatre, may hear the bright lights of bigger venues calling its name sometime soo

Making a name for itself as the ideal London home for Disney musical spectaculars, the glistening winter of ‘Frozen’ has transformed into the blistering heat of ‘Hercules’ as the myth comes roaring to the stage complete with catchy tunes, powerhouse vocals and some wonderfully whimsical puppetry.   Hercules (played at this performance by Felipe Bejarano) is the son of Zues and Hera (Joel Benjamin and Ellie Mitchell), loved and celebrated as a mighty god. That is until his unc

Whilst some shows have showcased a strong sticking power, hanging around for decades with productions that continue to both delight and bring in the audiences, a partnership lasting 50 years is perhaps something less common, but something that equally warrants a grand celebration. And that is exactly what Penn & Teller, world famous magicians, have set out to achieve with their first ever West End residency, celebrating the 50 years that they have been performing together.  

Is a man innocent until proven guilty? How do you prove a case of murder without a corpse? And how exactly do you solve a crime that happened 400 years ago?   All of these questions are picked apart and truly explored in ‘The Daughter of Time’, a fascinating and interesting production currently playing at the quaint Charing Cross Theatre. Inspector Alan Grant (Rob Pomfret) is laid up in hospital with a broken leg after another case went wrong in the 1950s and in order to stav

75 years ago, the imagination of countless readers was captivated by the creation of Narnia, fresh from the mind of C S Lewis, that invited them through the wardrobe into the land of eternal winter, ruled by the evil White Witch and rescued by four brave children. It is a story that has stood the test of time, and now under the directorship of Mike Fentiman, the stage production of ‘The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe’ continues to enchant both children and adults looking t

‘It’s 12 noon in London, 7am in Philadelphia, and around the world it’s time for Live Aid’   That was nearly exactly 40 years ago, when Live Aid took to the airwaves around the globe, two concerts on two continents, world famous music acts and millions watching either live or via their television screens. Perhaps one of the greatest concerts ever to take place, and it was all in aid of the famine of Ethiopia, the idea the brainchild of one Bob Geldof. And it is the story of L

If I had a nickel for every time I saw a musical about a troubled artist who died too young, died before they really had the chance to see their own fame, which featured a heavy focus on the close and touching relationship of said artists with a sibling and the women who greatly influenced the lives of said artists, I would have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.   I joke in attempt to fit in with some social media trend.   I don’t like to d

Returning once more to Assembly’s Gordan Aikman Theatre, Fringe favourites ‘Murder She Didn’t write’ are back creating murder mysteries, complete with twists, turns, and increasingly ridiculous manners of committing the crime, all on the spot, based entirely on the suggestions of the audience.   Improvised comedy is a big hitting genre at the Edinburgh Fringe, with it feeling as if every other person flyering is inviting you to come and see something made up for one night and

Six people who used to be the best of friends at University, but have subsequently grown apart, are all mysteriously invited to take part in an escape room in the Caves at the Edinburgh Fringe. They used to love solving puzzles together, but no one knows why they are suddenly here to solve one last mystery, or do they?   In ‘Escape Room: The Musical’ by Grown Up Playhouse Productions, we see the six friends, joined by Pierre, an enigmatic French man who doesn’t seem to know w

Back at the Edinburgh Fringe for the fifth time due to phenomenal demand, Say It Again Sorry’s ‘… Earnest?’ Continues to deliver its unique and boldly brave style of interactive theatre where audience interaction is taken to the extreme in an hilarious laugh out loud retelling of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’.   When the leading man fails to make his appearance as Earnest, leaving Terry as Algernon (Ashley Cavender) and Graham as Lane (Rhys Tees) flummoxed,

Four generations of women gather for the birthday party of great grandmother Eileen in Northern Ireland, sounds simple enough. But with Granddaughter Jenny and her daughter Muireann returning to the home after leaving for London a number of years before, and both Jenny’s husband and father being mysteriously absent from the party, family drama and unfolding secrecy is pushed to the extreme in this tense and thrilling exploration of generational trauma.   ‘Consumed’, written b

You know a show has that perfect balance of high quality goodness, catchy musical numbers, relatability, entertainment, slickness and fun when it entices you back time and time again, and as I made my third annual visit to Alexander S Bermange’s ‘I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical’ I was reminded of what exactly makes this show such a stand out in the hustle and bustle of the Edinburgh Fringe.   ‘I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical’ is a comical and witty observational explora

When pretty much any space could become a performance venue at the Edinburgh Fringe, the imagination is given the freedom to roam, after all, who says a little storage container can’t be an 80,000-seat world class concert venue? Because in the vivid, colourful and all together wonderful imagination of comedian and musical performer Katie Pritchard, that is exactly what Assembly’s Roxy Boxy becomes in her one women show ‘I Kiss The Music’.   In this production, Pritchard is an