REVIEW: The King and I at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking

After their hugely successful run on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre and at the London Palladium in the West End, The King and I is back in all its glory to showcase Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved musical in its finest hour. Directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher, this hugely popular classic from the golden age of musical theatre dazzles and astonishes in every way. 

The King and I is a tale of love in so many forms; for children, for lovers, for those lost and for those who puzzle us most. Despite being written over 70 years ago, these themes remain as timeless as ever. There is also such an empowering discussion of women and females, and their roles in a ‘modern’ society. Anna, a British Schoolteacher, is brought to Siam to educate The King’s children. All 67 of them. The King is spoiled and controlling but begins to soften the more he heeds Anna’s lessons. As their relationship blossoms, their enmity melts away to be replaced by a mutual respect that each rightfully deserves.

REVIEW: Rebecca at the Charing Cross Theatre

From the first chilling note to the final fiery scene, Rebecca is an all-out melodrama, complete with sinister plots, a soaring score, and characters that wouldn’t look out of place in a panto – but that’s all part of its charm. It’s an over-the-top, entirely gorgeous piece of outlandish theatre, and I absolutely loved it. However, that’s not to say there aren’t a few issues.

One of the biggest problems with Rebecca is that something seems to have been a little lost in translation. The story still makes sense (although perhaps knowing the Daphne du Maurier novel or the 1940 Hitchcock adaptation with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine does help with that), but some of the lyrics just seem too on the nose, or just not clever enough to be memorable. Perhaps the original German gives a different feeling, but in English, there are a few moments that get lost and aren’t as strong as they might be.

REVIEW: 42nd Street at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking

The musical 42nd Street ran for five years at Drury Lane from 1984 and has been regularly revived for regional tours and West End outings ever since, so it is no surprise to find the latest production arriving in Woking on a tour that will last well into 2024 (with a Christmas trip overseas to Toronto) and to find another full house of fans looking for an entertaining feelgood night out. The real delight is that the leading lady Nicole-Lily Baisden, playing Peggy Sawyer, the chorus girl who makes good, is absolutely brilliant in her movement and dance and outshines the bigger names in the cast. Just as the 1984 West End production discovered nineteen-year-old Catherine Zeta-Jones, this production may have revealed another huge rising star of musical theatre.

Its Jukebox musical format, using a 1933 film as a base and adding other period songs, is a formulaic and cliched ‘show within a show’ story with a simple plot of a chorus girl who makes good. It succeeds due to an excellent well-drilled Ensemble, sparkling performances from the leads, slick scene transitions and elegant glittering costumes, with an energetic execution throughout and music that sweeps you along in a toe-tapping evening that is simply irresistible. Of course, the really big tap routines live long in the memory and the choreography feels fresh and exciting.

REVIEW: God Of Carnage at The Lyric Hammersmith

Yasmina Reza’s (translated by Christopher Hampton) unassuming but vicious satirical unmasking of the modern-day middle class, God Of Carnage, has stirred up attention since it first premiered in 2008. Boasting as a hit on Broadway and The West End, its anticipated revival has been met with great expectation. In this new version directed by Nicholas La Barrie, the question I was left asking, however, is why this play now?

God Of Carnage introduces us to two middle-class, pre-middle-aged couples who are brought together by the act of violence between their two eleven-year-old children Ferdinand and Bruno (whom we never meet). What begins as a ‘civil’ interaction and desire to de-escalate the incident between their boys, quickly unleashes a swirling passive-aggressive dance between the four parents fulled by entitlement, misguided values and unrealistic expectations.

REVIEW: Infamous at the Jermyn Street Theatre

History buffs will instantly recognise Lady Emma Hamilton as an enduring figure who is a gift to any dramatist. Born in 1765 she became a hostess to the great and good in Georgian society. But her notoriety was assured when she became the mistress of Lord Horatio Nelson. The liaison was under the nose of husband Sir William Hamilton who served as Envoy to the Kingdom of Naples. April De Angelis has fashioned a compact two-act play that delves into the machinations of a woman who was both mesmerising and enigmatic. Three generations of women populate the narrative and shed new light on a blacksmith’s daughter who started life as Amy Lyon.

The story begins in 1798 and the exotic climes of Naples. Lady Emma Hamilton (Rose Quentin) anxiously awaits the arrival of her beloved Horatio Nelson. She is less enthused by the return of her mother Mrs Cadogan (Caroline Quentin), who has trudged across Europe to see Emma’s love child. She feels a twinge of guilt as the product of a previous tryst lives a lonely existence. But Mrs Cadogan despairs at the direction her daughter’s life has taken. Emma pays little heed to her mother who is seemingly relegated to the role of housekeeper. The years roll by and we find Emma in middle age dreaming of past glories and lost youth. Her spartan surroundings are shared with Horatia Nelson; the illegitimate daughter of Lord Nelson who craves freedom and recognition of her heritage.