Musicals
The Lion King
★★★★☆ Visual Feast:
Visually arresting, the touring production of The Lion King which is booked into the Playhouse until March 2020, wants for nothing in terms of spectacle or budget.
Hairspray
★★★★☆ Energetic:
The Balerno Theatre Company go back to Baltimore in the swinging 60s for their uplifting and energetic production of Hairspray at the Church Hill Theatre to Saturday.
Dr Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
★★★☆☆ Festive:
The touring version of Dr Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical is a suitably frothy confection for the upcoming festivities; not particularly full of nutrition but oddly irresistible all the same.
A West End Winter Wonderland
★★★★★ Christmas Cracker:
Christmas came early in aid of a great cause at St Giles’ Cathedral on Friday night.
9 to 5 The Musical
★★★★☆ Packs ambition:
There’s enough ambition delivered with sustained ability to get the blood pumpin’ in the touring production of Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 the Musical, which is at the Playhouse through to Saturday.
Cabaret
★★★★☆ Have a Kit Kat (Klub):
Emotional truth and powerful staging make Bill Kenwright Productions’ touring version of Cabaret at the Festival Theatre to Saturday nigh unmissable.
Made in Dagenham
★★★★☆ Up-standing:
As the political stew bubbles over the edges of the Westminster cauldron, Allegro’s big and bold production of Made in Dagenham reminds us of a time when politics was a lot more simple – and the issues were even more fundamental.
Footloose for Playhouse
Gareth Gates to star in UK Tour:
Gareth Gates is to star in the 2020 UK tour of Footloose The Musical, coming to the Playhouse in July and on to the Glasgow King’s in August.
The King and I
★★★★★ Fit for a King:
Shall we dance? You’ll certainly be singing the praises of this Broadway production of The King and I as it lights up the Playhouse stage.
Annie
★★★☆☆ Optimistic:
The sun, as always, is coming out tomorrow in Annie, but in this touring production at the Playhouse to Saturday, the orphan’s optimism is more dearly bought than it might be.
