Speculations - Review

Marylebone Theatre, London

**

Written by Torben Betts

Directed by Trevor Nunn

Gloria Obianyo and Janie Dee

The premise behind Speculations - or to give the play its full title: Speculations On the Unexplained Deaths of Several American Icons - is strong. Torben Betts’s new play uses the narrative of an exchange between investigative journalist Dorothy Kilgallen (Janie Dee) and her young babysitter Flo (Gloria Obianyo) to explore the suspicious deaths of Lee Harvey Oswald and Norma Jeane aka Marilyn Monroe.

Directed by Trevor Nunn, although the two-act drama hints at a potentially exciting story this unfortunately is never realised as Betts’s script becomes quickly mired in sensational and cliché-ridden melodrama. Dee’s leading role is assured but her character rarely gets beyond two-dimensionality. Obianyo by contrast - describing aspects of Flo’s painful journey through the racism of the 1960’s United States - gives a performance that’s beautifully weighted and at times, deeply moving.

As Kilgallen describes her research to Flo, the action shifts firstly to Norma Jeane’s Californian bungalow bedroom and thence to a Louisianan bar. The bedroom action sees a bitter exchange between Jeane (Natalie Dunne) and her lover Robert Kennedy (Jolyon Coy), the country’s Attorney General and brother of the President. While Dunne captures the movie star’s tragic pathos, her presence fails to convince as an effective lookalike. The image of Marilyn Monroe was to become one of the 20th-century’s defining icons and this role could have been far better cast. Coy’s performance is dire, his American accent frequently slipping into posh-boy English as he bumbles his way through being the evening’s most thinly sketched out villain.

Down in Louisiana, Ferdy Roberts delivers a gem of a turn as Carlos Marcelo, a crime-boss and avowed enemy of both JFK and his brother. As he engages Lee Harvey Oswald (Joseph Potter) to assassinate the President, Roberts’s speeches crackle with a wryly convincing menace. 

Lee Newby’s imaginative set design sees three ingenious revolves transport the action from coast to coast. Once seen however, the impressive gimmickry of the whirling scenery becomes a repetitive predictability and, perhaps unintentionally, a reminder of the spinning visuals of the scene-changes in the Batman TV series of that era. 

As Joe Gillis sings in Sunset Boulevard: “It’s fun to see how bad bad writing can be”.

Runs until 17th January 2027

Photo credit: Helen Maybanks

Memoriam - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

***

Written by Noga Flaishon

Directed by Daniel Goldman

Beverley Klein

Noga Flaishon’s Memoriam tackles an ambitious conceit. That the memory of the world’s last survivor of the Holocaust can be digitally extracted from their brain and preserved so as to be able to be downloaded by future viewers. This of course is science-fiction - always a challenging genre, even for the best of writers.

Flaishon then muddies her waters somewhat by introducing an exploitative commercial angle to the narrative, setting out the risks to any memory-donor of their own memory being edited to enhance the memory’s profitability. And all of a sudden what could have been a fascinating analysis of a new (albeit fictional) medium for telling the ghastly history of the Holocaust, gets lost in a mini-parable on the evils of capitalism.

Delivering a magnificent performance, Beverley Klein is Rivka, the 92 year-old survivor. Klein embodies the grievous pain that her character has endured, whilst still possessing a formidable energy and rumbustiousness that clearly defines her will to live and her ability indeed, to have survived. 

Rachel Barry plays her granddaughter (Rachel), who conveniently happens to be an accomplished acquirer of memories for the Memoriam Corporation, the ugly rapacious corporate and the baddy of the piece. While the character of Rachel may at times be clumsily created, Barry makes fine work of the script.

Ben Wiggins is Chris, Rachel’s boss and the story’s pantomime villain. Again, and from an acting perspective, Wiggins makes a decent fist of a very two-dimensional character. Ashley Margolis is Rachel’s brother David whose role in the tale amounts to little more than distracting sibling rivalries and squabbling. Completing the quintet is perhaps the most modest but perfectly formed role in the whole play, that of Jimena Larraguivel’s Becky who discovers first-hand how brutal the Memoriam Corporation’s editing process can be.

There is food for thought in this finely performed, but somewhat haphazard tale. 

Runs until 21st November

Photo credit: Charlie Flint

The Pianist - Review

Park Theatre, London

****

Music by Wladyslaw Szpilman

Based on the book by Wladyslaw Szpilman

Adapted and directed by Thom Southerland

Daniel Krikler and the cast of The Pianist

Thom Southerland’s adaptation of Wladyslaw Szpilman’s story of survival is a beautifully devastating work of theatre. The Pianist, already an acclaimed novel and Oscar garlanded movie tells of Szpilman’s life as a celebrated Warsaw pianist in the early 20th century.

Before the Germans invaded Poland in 1939, thus triggering the Second World War, Szpilman, together with his parents and siblings lived a gilded life in the capital. But as Jews now under the Nazi regime, the Szpilman family was to be brutally torn apart. That Southerland manages to convey the horror of the Holocaust with an understated yet menacing sensitivity within the confines of the Park Theatre's space, speaks volumes for his gift as a director.

The dramatic power of this musical is driven by Daniel Krikler’s compelling performance as Szpilman mirrored, as it were, by the virtuoso piano skills of Malcolm Forbes-Peckham, immaculately attired throughout in white tie and tails and who provides a breathtaking piano accompaniment to the narrative. That the musical’s score is entirely drawn from Szpilman’s compositions (with an occasional splash of Chopin) only adds to the evening’s poignancy. 

A company of 10 actor-musicians support the two leading performers, giving a finely crafted haunting charm to Szpilman’s melodies. This band has been lavishly furnished with string and wind players, creating perfect harmonies and solos that have to be amongst the finest on London’s fringe theatre scene. Notably strong accompanying performances in the cast come from Nitai Levi as Szpilman’s brother Henryk and Rosalind Ford as the pianist’s mother.

Whilst the music may well be exquisite, the show’s lyrics, that have been transplanted onto the score in more recent years by a team of no less than eight lyricists, frequently lack depth. With too much schmaltzy sentimentality they mask instances of emotional impact.

Southerland’s creative partners however match him well with their inspired work. Andrzej Goulding’s design that sees Forbe-Peckham and his grand piano waltzed around the stage on a wheeled platform is simple yet phenomenal. And Goulding's set that opens the show as a bleak wooden wall, carries ingenious projections that serve well to suggest the charm of pre-war Warsaw. The wall in turn morphs through to the barbed-wire enclosure of the city’s infamous ghetto, and ultimately into the infernal cattle trucks that were to transport the city’s Jews east to be murdered in their millions. Stunningly suggestive visuals. Gareth Tucker’s sound design that enhances so much of the evening’s narrative, ranging from bomb-blasts to children’s laughter is equally well crafted.

The Pianist is already a fine tribute to Wladyslaw Szpilman. One world-class lyricist could yet transform this piece into a world-class show.

Runs until 28th November

Photo credit: Anthony Leary-White

Derren Brown: Only Human - Review

Apollo Theatre, London

***

Directed by Andrew O'Connor

Derren Brown

Towards the end of his press night performance, Derren Brown asked for the critics in the house to refrain from revealing what’s in the show. A not unreasonable request as no one likes spoilers and equally, a request that could make for this website’s shortest review ever….

To be clear, Derren Brown is a gifted entertainer. He may well have a robust understanding of psychology and the human condition but he is also, unquestionably, a sublimely talented illusionist. That being said Only Human, his solo show at the Apollo, and which at times requires a fair amount of audience movement, does not easily translate into the theatre's awkwardly Edwardian confines. Brown's various routines follow a consistent theme of appearing to predict the future. All well and good, but a bit of variety would not have gone amiss and at close to 3 hours, what would have ideally filled a one-hour TV Special, tends to drag.

The acts are also too low-tech. Punters splashing out more than a £100 for a ticket are entitled to see more than just some Polaroid photos, a few bits of paper and a family-sized packet of Smarties being used as props. While Brown may briefly use an onstage electric gizmo (that looks as though its been lifted from the first series of Dr Who) for one of his stunts, in all honesty there is not enough breathtaking trickery in the evening to win over more hardened cynics. Live projections attempt to enhance the evening’s visuals which in theory should be helpful, especially for those sat in the cheap seats. But for a 2026 West End show where the AV equipment deployed should be cutting edge, the televised images lack clarity and brilliance.

Ultimately this is little more than music-hall entertainment for the 21st century, where much like the real-life P.T.Barnum or L. Frank Baum’s fictional Wizard of Oz, Derren Brown is selling illusion and flim-flam. If one believes Brown's bona fide baloney then the evening will indeed be truly magical. Only Human ? Brown had (some of us) on our knees looking for the answer.

Runs until 30th January 2027

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

High School Musical - Review

Troubadour Theatre, London

****

Music adapted, arranged and produced by Bryan Louiselle

Book by David Simpatico

Directed by Joseph Houston and William Whelton

Tobias Turley and the cast of High School Musical

Just opened at Wembley’s Troubadour Theatre, High School Musical is a glorious celebration of all that is wonderful in musical theatre performance. Drawn from the movie of 20 years ago, talented Manchester duo Joseph Houston and William Whelton have taken Disney’s original, restaging it with imagination and flair for the present day.

Yes, the story may be sweet and shallow but it oozes humanity and heart. Set in the all-American East High school, as basketball jock Troy and geeky brainiac Gabriella discover a surprising love amidst the chords of a song, the strength of their self-belief and the support of their friends sees them outwit the jealous bully Sharpay, that all leads towards a deliciously predictable happy ending.

The cast’s star billings are headed by McFly’s Harry Judd as Coach Bolton and Kaycee Stroh – a Disney High School Musical original cast member - as Ms Darbus the school’s drama teacher desperately trying to stage the eponymous musical. The real performing strengths of this young company however rest with the actors playing East High’s pupils. Tobias Turley and Leonor Correia are Troy and Gabriella, both investing beautifully in the credibility of their characters. Not only that , their singing is exquisite too. Matching them in vocal charm – and possibly stealing the evening’s dance-based laurels are Caitlin Tipping as Sharpay and Luke Bayer as her brother Ryan. Their deftly executed routines are immaculately delivered.

This is an evening where the show’s entire ensemble are quite simply magnificent. On Andrew Exeter’s stunning baseball court/gym of a set – that is equally brilliantly lit by Rory Beaton, choreographer Aaron Renfree has drilled his company into imaginative routines that are performed with pinpoint precision, while the imaginative technical touches that include creating the scoring of a spectacular basket in the show’s nail-biting basketball climax makes for a magical coup de théâtre.

The massive space at Wembley lends itself to this gorgeous spectacle of Americana. A simple story, beautifully told and flawlessly performed. Take your teens (or your teenage selves), grab some popcorn and go see this slam-dunk of a show.

Runs until 3rd January 2027

Photo credit: Matt Crockett

The Banality of Evil: Hannah Arendt, France, 1940 - Review

Arcola Theatre, London

**

Written and directed by Julia Pascal

Helen Goldwyn, Ariella Barnett, Anja Fahlenkamp, Mai Weisz, Anna Eckhard, Pat Dynowska

Hannah Arendt was one of the 20th century’s leading Jewish thinkers whose phrase “the banality of evil “ was drawn from her seminal work on the trial in Jerusalem of Adolf Eichmann, published in 1963. Eichmann had been the architect of Hitler’s Final Solution, with Arendt’s writing chillingly dissecting the calm evil that fuelled the Holocaust.  

Julia Pascal’s play however has scant commentary on Arendt’s study of evil’s banality. Rather, her 90-minute one-act drama focuses on the chapter of Arendt’s life who, as a German Jew had fled to France in 1933, that saw her in May 1940 being interned with thousands of other Jews in the Gurs prison camp, on the orders of the French government. There is therefore a distinct feeling that the play’s title, much like a tabloid newspaper’s sensational and attention grabbing headline, has been thrust exploitatively on to Pascal’s script in the hope of attracting an audience.

A talented all-female cast perform the piece, with imaginative movement and frequent moments of beautifully performed singing, mostly a capella. But the drama is disjointed and short of describing - in sometimes prurient detail - the appalling and inhumane degradation of life in Gurs, says little else, least of all about Arendt.

As an educationally historical play, the work disappoints, Pascal’s style proving so abstract and disjointed that she fails to make any coherent argument as to the banality of evil. That being said, a spin-off from the narrative is an explanation of a little of the history of the artist Charlotte Salomon, another internee at Gurs, who was later to be murdered by the Nazis in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The banality of a clumsily constructed drama, albeit one that’s brilliantly performed.

Runs until 8th November

Photo credit: Alex Brenner

The Gang of Three - Review

Richmond Theatre, London

*****

Written by Robert Kahn and Tom Salinsky

Directed by Kirsty Patrick Ward 

Hywel Morgan, Colin Tierney and Alan Cox

Returning after its 2025 premiere at London’s King’s Head Theatre, The Gang of Three is a fabulous dissection of the Labour Party between 1972 and 1980 and a fascinating glimpse into the skullduggery and disloyalties of parliamentary politics over the same era.

Labour grandees Tony Crosland, Roy Jenkins and Denis Healey are played, respectively, by Alan Cox, Hywel Morgan and Colin Tierney who all give performances that are as sparkling as Robert Kahn and Tom Salinsky’s script. This is an exquisitely crafted drama that layers frequently funny, fictional dialogue over a factual framework of modern history. As the story unfolds each of the three actors increasingly and uncannily evolves into the character that he is playing.

Opening to Jenkins having just resigned as deputy leader from the Labour Party's shadow cabinet, the play explores the trio’s friendships and bitter rivalries that dated back to their times at Oxford. Kahn and Salinsky's script scorches as Crosland and Jenkins caustically remark on their “ersatz camaraderie” while damning the left-wing Tony Benn as akin to a “vicar with a speech impediment”. 

Libby Watson's simple design, a book-cased wall and a red Chesterfield sofa elegantly frames the evening's one-act 90-minute narrative, itself copiously oiled with claret and gin. The trio mark Callaghan’s rise and fall that was to culminate in Margaret Thatcher's sweeping into 10 Downing Street in 1979. Throughout, the Machiavellian machinations of Westminster’s political machine are laid bare, the text at one point describing MP’s (who typically had responsibility for voting in the Labour Party’s leadership ) as the “most duplicitous electorate” - a phrase that has sadly proved timeless in its prescient truth.

There’s an intriguing glimpse of (hitherto largely unreported) intimacy between Crosland and Jenkins during their student years that only adds yet another immaculately researched fragment of history to the play.

If you lived through those years, the evening is unmissable. For everyone else, this is political drama of the highest calibre that deserves a West End showcase.

Runs until 17th October, then on tour

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan