REVIEW: Mrs Doutbfire at the Shaftesbury Theatre

With the weight of the 1993 classic film on their shoulders, the cast, crew, and creatives of Mrs Doubtfire the Musical set out to bring the story to the stage; and what a triumph it is!

This show is a marathon for the whole company, but none so more than Gabriel Vick who takes the iconic role of Mrs Doubtfire. Taking on a role made famous by Robin Williams on the silver screen, Vick is an unstoppable force on stage. Vick brings unyielding energy to both Daniel Hillard and his alter-ego Mrs Doubtfire and is one of the many great driving forces behind the bouncy pace of this musical. His comic timing has been expertly crafted, matched by his well-honed impersonations which are highlighted brilliantly in a meeting with Micha Richardson’s Janet Lundy (the famous “I do voices” scene). Richardson brings a welcome warmth to the traditionally cold character which works well. Cameron Blakely and Marcus Collins pair up as Frank Hillard and Andre Mayem. Both bring great energy to the stage, and Frank’s inability to lie without shouting is a constant source of laughter throughout. Match this with their chemistry and satisfyingly sassy attitudes; they are a match made in heaven (well, San Fransisco).

COMING HOME: Alex Tranter, appearing in The Best of the West End at the Royal Albert Hall and will reopen in & Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre

 Pocket Size Theatre and Liza Heinrichs (Captured by Liz) have teamed up again and created our new series 'Coming Home'. In this new piece, we look at the reopening of Theatres in London and around the country and celebrate our industry coming back. We got together some performers who will be some of the first to return to theatres and created this piece to bring some positivity to the theatre industry which has been through one of the toughest years in our lifetime. Whilst it is important to acknowledge the hardships we've all gone through, it's important we pull together as a community and celebrate our beloved industry finally coming back! 

The reopening of the West End and theatre in general has been an exciting and also excruciatingly painful time, with the buzz of shows opening around the country and the West End also came the disappointments of cancellations due to venues not opening or for isolation purposes. As hard as it's been, we’re getting closer to the end of the tunnel and what better way to celebrate than with a big concert at the Royal Albert Hall, ‘The Best of the West End’ will play tomorrow (21st July 2021) and will celebrate all things musical theatre. 

Alex Tranter will be appearing in the show, he will also be returning to his roles in & Juliet when it reopens at the Shaftesbury Theatre on the 24th September 2021. Alex appears in the ensemble of the show and also covers the roles of Romeo, Shakespeare and Lance. Previously he has also appeared in White Christmas at the Leicester Curve, Eugenius at The Other Palace, The Glenn Miller Story at the London Coliseum and on tour, Closer to Heaven at the Union Theatre and on the UK tour of Our House. 

REVIEW: Be More Chill at the Shaftesbury Theatre

Full of your stereotypical American high school students, a pulsing soundtrack, and a Japanese supercomputer that embeds itself inside people brains, Be More Chill has an air of familiarity but with an original twist. As we follow the nerdy Jeremy (Scott Folan) on his journey to become cool, the show tackles bullying, self-perception, and world domination by a SQUIP. It makes much more sense in context! 

Folan takes the lead role and tackles it well. He made fantastic acting decisions throughout, particularly in musical numbers. Blake Patrick Anderson is the standout performance of the evening for me. His voice and tone are beautiful, and during act 2 I leaned over to my friend and whispered something that I feel sums up his performance: “Every time Blake opens his mouth I get goosebumps”. This is the West-End debut for Anderson, and he is certainly a performer to watch as his career soars to great heights very soon. This pairing of young actors is a real triumph. Not only is the on-stage relationship between Folan and Anderson heartwarming, but they bounce off of each other with an energy that keeps their scenes racing along. 

REVIEW: & Juliet at The Shaftesbury Theatre

After an extremely successful run at Manchester Opera House, ‘& Juliet’ has finally found a new home at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London. 

‘& Juliet is the hilarious and fun-loving new West End musical that asks: what if Juliet’s famous ending was really just her beginning? What if she decided to choose her own fate? Soaring with pop anthems including ...Baby One More Time, Everybody (Backstreet's Back), Love Me Like You Do and Can’t Feel My Face, & Juliet is a riotous blast of fun and glorious music that proves when it comes to love, there’s always life after Romeo.’

I saw the show on Thursday 21st of November, the night after press night. The press night is really worth mentioning here as it wasn’t your typical press night. It was full to the brim with A List celebrities, including Simon Cowell, Jessie J and the writer of the music and lyrics, Max Martin. Apart from the one original song written for this production, the show is packed with iconic pop songs from my generation, all written by Max Martin.