Reviews

To my everlasting regret, I managed to miss both the World Premiere of this play at the Hampstead Theatre in 1999, when it received an Olivier nomination for Best New Comedy, and the revival, again at Hampstead, towards the end of last year. My loss. But now that I’ve finally caught up with it at the Chesil Theatre, exquisitely produced, directed and performed, my gain, and everyone else’s too. It charts a day in the life of Margaret (‘Peggy’) Ramsay, the forthright and formidable literary agent whose championing of New Writers went a considerable way towards the transformation of the

After a long, tiring day at work and then travelling straight to Ferndown in the pouring rain I was so hoping this musical performed by P&P was going to be worth it. Godspell is not a musical I am familiar with only knowing it is based around the stories of the Bible and not being overly religious I was sceptical as to whether or not I would enjoy it but wow! I was blown away. This production, directed by Jo Legg and choreographed by Leanne Holland, was all you could hope for in a musical and with Chris McDoull as

The second of four productions this term showcasing third year students on AUB’s BA (Hons) theatre courses features a cast of ten in a play derived from an original script by Creative Writing student Hannah Probyn-Duncan. At just under an hour and a half in length and played, wisely, without an interval, the production follows Edward, a young gay man, who runs away from home to make a new beginning in 1986 Bournemouth. At the same time, it seeks to explore and reflect (how accurately I don’t know) on the town’s LGBT+ culture from the period when AIDS was taking

Spooky season is well and truly upon us, and with that an array of creepy activities for all the family. Whether you are a lover or a hater of Halloween, most of us have seen or heard of the Addams Family in some capacity. You may have started watching the TV series in the 60s, been thrilled by the films in the 90s, or become a more recent fan by watching the animated series in 2019. Whatever your Addams Family ‘poison’ is, there is no doubt in my mind that you will not be disappointed by taking a trip to

When the RSC’s delicious musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s equally delicious original creation transferred to the Cambridge Theatre in October 2011, I attended one of the first previews, and sensed – as we all did – that we were in the presence of something very special. The fact that this original production remains resident at the Cambridge to this day, suggests that our senses hadn’t been deceiving us, and I’m not the only person who’s made a number of return visits, revelling every time in Denis Kelly’s skilful book, and Tim Minchin’s irresistible music and lyrics. It’s a show that

  Staged in the excellent Ballard School Theatre in New Milton, and teasingly billed as The thriller to die for…!, Death Trap is the latest inducement from the ever-good New Forest Players, who continue to build on their track record of delivering high quality productions that stretches back almost 100 years! The play has an auspicious history – written in 1978 by celebrated playwright Ira Levin (Rosemary’s Baby, The Boys From Brazil, et al) – it holds the record for the longest running comedy-thriller on Broadway. It also had a 3-year stint in London’s West End and has been revived