John Bruce
The Music Man
★★★★☆ Massive
Huge production numbers and constant energy dominate Southern Light’s The Music Man at the Festival Theatre. Undeniably frothy and not a little silly, it has a scale and magnetism that draw the audience in.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
★★★★☆ Star car
The car is, of course, the star in Southern Light Opera’s production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Festival Theatre all week, but it would be nothing without a tight and committed cast around it.
The Sound of Music
★★★★☆ Big sings
Huge performances, memorable staging and a strong message make Southern Light’s 125th anniversary production, The Sound of Music at the Festival Theatre, a fabulous night out.
SLO Sings For the King’s
★★★★☆ Pure Theatre
Southern Light Opera burst back onto the stage after the Covid hiatus in full celebratory mode with a portmanteau show of songs from its back catalogue which refuses to be obvious, while rounding off the night with a fanfare of show stoppers.
I love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
★★★★☆ Deliciously cynical:
Room 29 theatre has come out of the Covid closet with a neatly packaged and deliciously cynical production of I love you, your perfect, now change available online for just 24 hours.
The Hollow
★★★☆☆ Stately:
Huge care and attention has gone into the staging of Threepenny Theatricals’ version of Agatha Christie’s The Hollow. That care, however, does mean that there is a definite absence of energy in a production that never outstays its welcome but frequently threatens to.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
★★★★★ Spell-tastic
Phylactery, cystitis, and Mexican are some of the words the contestants of have to spell in Room 29 Theatre’s hilarious production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
My Fair Lady
★★★★☆ Loverly:
Southern Light Opera’s My Fair Lady at the King’s is a sumptuously staged production. It also boasts a truly outstanding central performance; if the rest is a little overshadowed as a result, it is nevertheless highly impressive.
SLO’s Fair Lady
My Fair Lady seen in Southern Light:
Southern Light is bringing a new production of Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady to the King’s from Tuesday 5 March 2019, and promise a 21st century feel to a story which is over a century old.
Hello, Dolly!
★★★★☆ Frothy:
Southern Light Opera’s production of Hello, Dolly! at the King’s combines showbiz pizzazz with real emotion to great effect.
