Reviews and Features
LATEST
Dear MJ
When we see a show, we’re accustomed to hearing the ushers remind us: ‘no filming or photography during the show.’ YOUR ushers, however, need to add ‘and no singing.’ That’s how much you know we want to. But ushers be damned, your audience are breaking into…
Dear Pirates of Penzance
For nearly 150 years your comedic story has endured: part operetta, part musical. You made John English synonymous with the late eighties and early nineties. You’ve enjoyed being a send-up of politics and contemporary culture – and popular culture has enjoyed…
Dear Hadestown
It’s your first trip to Australia. Very few of us have seen you in the flesh before, and yet, you’ve already gathered a cult following. Impressive work. You combine the mythological story of Orpheus and Eurydice, with that of Hades and Persephone. The setting is a…
Dear Lord of the Rings
We had all been wondering – how do you translate to the stage a story that takes 1,216 pages to tell in a book, and 9 hours to tell on the screen? (11 hours if it’s the extended version). After all,…
Dear Six
Oh you are so cheeky. With your catchy, kick-ass anthems, dazzling punk rock costumes, and punchy dance moves. Your creators, Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow, described you as being all about ‘the six…
Dear Jesus Christ Superstar
Have we ever really seen musical theatre if we haven’t seen you? For 50 years, you’ve been the godfather of musicals. When it comes to describing you in this latest production, sentences fail. We…
Dear…Dear Evan Hansen
Holy dooly, are you trying to scare the bajeezus out of parents everywhere? If so, you’ve thoroughly succeeded. Right from your opening number, Anybody Have a Map? you’ve left us all slightly shell…
Dear Sunset Boulevard
You’re the musical theatre equivalent of a luxury day spa. Everything about you is lush and extravagant – with your decadent score, glitzy costumes, grandiose sets, and talent that is…
Dear Titanique
You. Are. Ridiculous. You are so shamelessly ridiculous. That summarises it really. Though if we needed to elaborate, we’d explain to our friends that you’re a recreation of the Titanic movie, set…
Dear Hamilton
You’re not just a musical, you’re a global phenomenon. We’d be hard-pressed to find anyone – even non-theatre goers – who haven’t heard of your creator, Lin Manual Miranda, or American Founding…
Hamilton: Cheat Sheet
Hamilton we love you, but you’re complicated. It’s not us – it’s you. At 144 words per minute, you cram in double the words of a normal musical (and average 6 words per second in your fastest song)….
Dear Sister Act
You are a musical of contrasts! You set a moody, gothic, cathedral against a thousand shiny disco lights. You present us with the drab Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow, and then give us…
SIX: The Real Stories of the Tudor Wives
Divorced. Beheaded. Died… The stories behind the wives of King Henry VIII that feature in the smash hit musical SIX are filled with the kind of drama and intrigue you just can’t make up. We…
LATEST
Dear MJ
When we see a show, we’re accustomed to hearing the ushers remind us: ‘no filming or photography during the show.’ YOUR ushers, however, need to add ‘and no singing.’ That’s how much you know we want to. But ushers be damned, your audience are breaking into…
Dear Pirates of Penzance
For nearly 150 years your comedic story has endured: part operetta, part musical. You made John English synonymous with the late eighties and early nineties. You’ve enjoyed being a send-up of politics and contemporary culture – and popular culture has enjoyed…
Dear Hadestown
It’s your first trip to Australia. Very few of us have seen you in the flesh before, and yet, you’ve already gathered a cult following. Impressive work. You combine the mythological story of Orpheus and Eurydice, with that of Hades and Persephone. The setting is a…