My Fair Lady - Review

The Mill At Sonning, Sonning

****

Music by Frederick Loewe

Lyrics and book by Alan Jay Lerner

Directed by Joseph Pitcher

Mark Monoghan and the cast of My Fair Lady

Joseph Pitcher directs an entertaining take on My Fair Lady at The Mill at Sonning that sees Nadim Naaman play a perfectly clipped Henry Higgins opposite Simbi Akande's Eliza Doolittle.

In a class act Naaman nails the Professor in a performance that captures both the man’s genius as well as his insensitive chauvinism. Akande brings vocal excellence to Eliza but she needs to dig a little bit deeper to bring out her character’s complex fragility and chemistry.

There is excellence elsewhere in Pitcher’s company. Jo Servi’s Colonel Pickering is drilled to perfection. Sophie Louise Dann delivers her usual flawless work, doubling up firstly as Mrs Hopkins and also as an outstanding Mrs Higgins, while the inspirational Mark Monaghan offers up perfectly executed comic relief as Alfred P. Doolittle.

Sonning’s intimate space is transformed by Diego Pitarch’s designs that elegantly suggest the story’s locations, from Covent Garden to Wimpole Street to Ascot. Pitcher and Alex Christian co-choreograph the show with Get Me to the Church on Time an exquisite riot of dance.

My Fair Lady at Sonning is a Christmas treat!

Runs until 17th January 2026

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Anything Goes - Review

The Other Palace, London


****


Music and lyrics by Cole Porter
Book by Guy Bolton, PG Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse
Directed by Alex Sutton

Olivia Hallett and the company of Anything Goes

Continuing the National Youth Music Theatre’s summer residence at The Other Palace sees this formidable company stage Cole Porter’s satirical musical Anything Goes. Comedy is a tough gig for even the most experienced of performers and it is a credit to NYMT that they deliver a show that, for the most part, hits the mark and captures Porter’s piercing wit.

Packed with songbook classics, any production of Anything Goes will always stir great expectations from its audience that are more than exceeded here, the enormous cast proving spectacular in their ensemble numbers.

Throughout, the song and dance work is performed to such a high standard that it is almost invidious to single out specific performers. However Olivia Hallett as Reno Sweeney leads the line with some sensational solo numbers and she is equally supported by Lulu-Mae Pears, Milo Hallett, Daniel Gray, Spike Maxwell, Toby Turpin, Miguel Rivilla and Sarah Dare in the show’s other key and featured roles. Vocal work is spot on throughout with Porter’s moments of comedy and irony - that are at times ridiculously silly - all being delivered with aplomb, confidence and above all, perfect timing.

The young company are supported by an outstanding creative team drawn from industry professionals. Jordan Li-Smith is, as ever, a masterful musical director. Lee Proud and Adam Haigh’s choreography, drawn from the 1987 Broadway revival is breathtaking - the full company tap numbers are a particular delight - while Diego Pitarch’s designs neatly suggest the SS American and all cleverly helmed by Alex Sutton.

Anything Goes doesn’t come around that often and this one’s a treat. Only on for three more dates, it makes for a great evening in the theatre.

Runs until 24th August

Photo credit: Konrad Bartelski

Parade - Review

The Other Palace, London


*****


Book by Alfred Uhry
Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Directed by Hannah Chissick

Matt Pettifor and Lucy Carter

This year’s National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) residency at the Other Palace sees this remarkable theatre company tackle Jason Robert Brown’s Parade, a musical that is as technically demanding as its story is grim and harrowing. A true story that stained the USA's early 20th Century, Parade tells of Leo Frank, a Jewish bookkeeper in Atlanta, Georgia who was accused of the murder of Mary Phagan, a 13 yo Christian girl who worked at the pencil factory he supervised. This being America’s Southland, racial prejudice was (and many will argue, still is) prevalent, with the show’s narrative being driven by the hatred of antisemitism.

Brown’s score is a musical wonder - the staccato phrasing of the opening number, The Old Red Hills Of Home setting the tone, not only for the inhumanity that is to follow but also, brilliantly, defining the bruised brutality of the Confederate states that were left licking their wounds following defeat in the Civil War barely a few decades earlier. Brown's music spans a range of Southern styles and under Laurence Stannard’s baton the ten piece band make perfect work of the demanding compositions. Rarely does one hear Brown’s melodies played to this remarkable standard.

Hannah Chissick has delivered a work of sensitive perception from her youthful cast. On the night of this review (for the two lead roles are shared) Matt Pettifor and Lucy Carter played Leo Frank and his wife Lucille. The love between the Franks is complex - he is a dominant man who struggles with his wife’s aspirations and initiative, while she has to journey from being a compliant spouse, to contemplating the horror that her husband may have been a paedophile and murderer, to finally (together with Leo) discovering their shared deep and profound love as she fights to prove his innocence. Pettifor and Carter are magnificent in their roles, melding convincing acting with well weighted vocal work. Pettifor shining in particular with How Can I Call This Home? and Come Up To My Office while Carter makes fine work of You Don’t Know This Man. The pair’s duet of All The Wasted Time in the musical’s penultimate moments is heartbreaking in its perfectly pitched poignancy.

Brown’s lyrics in Parade are razor sharp and, for the most part, this youthful cast have captured the writer's brilliantly barbed irony and comment. Conor Cox and Reuben Browne open the show with flair as the Young and Old Soldiers, respectively - and it remains a masterstroke of Brown’s genius that we do not see the Old Soldier again until the show’s closing moment of horror. Their talent however is swiftly followed by the Zoe Troy’s Mary Phagan and Ben Skym’s Frankie Epps. All too often productions of Parade will deploy adults to perform these key child roles so to see them played out by teenagers, in line with story’s narrative, and to be performed so well only adds a further layer of distinctive excellence to this production.

There is fine work throughout - Robin Franklin as Govenor Slaton (and, in a tiny role, with flawless support from Matilda Boulay as his wise supportive spouse Sally) catches the troubled gravitas of the Democrat politician. Alfie Richards as chief of police Hugh Dorsey, a man more interested in securing a conviction by any means rather than the truth is similarly on fine form. There is a turn of chilling genius from Joseph Beach as the vile, racist propagandist Tom Watson and a stylish insouciance to Iyinoluwa Michael Akintoye’s Jim Conley, the African American janitor at the pencil factory.

Perhaps the most musically uplifting moment of the show’s second half (where the lyrics could be slowed down just a fraction) is in Samuelle Durojaiye in the modest role of Angela, leading A Rumblin’ And A Rollin’ that opens the act. The song is another masterful composition from Brown, contexting the lived, oppressed, experience of Georgia’s black population - and remember that slavery had not long been abolished - with the attention and support that Frank was receiving, as the North clamoured to see the injustice against him overturned. The line in the song “There's a black man swingin' in ev'ry tree,But they don't never pay attention!” is as precise as it is tragically timeless. The song is undoubtedly grim, but Durojaiye comes close to taking the roof of The Other Palace with her wonderful delivery.

It is worth noting that the show does not just highlight racial prejudice, but picks out other failings that are still around today. In Real Big News (well led by Ciaran McCormack as journalist Britt Craig) Brown reminds us that biased media and 'fake news' have been around forever. 

The show’s design from Diego Pitarch is simply stated - and it is a credit to all that the show’s varied scenes that encompass a sun-drenched riverbank through to the Governor’s Mansion are all so well suggested.

Choreography from Matt Cole is inspired. Chissick has rightly placed much emphasis on the strength of the show’s ensemble numbers, with many moments of the show's full company proving spine-tingling. Cole’s visionary movement however sees the cast only emphasising the passion of the show’s drama through his ingenious routines.

Jason Robert Brown would do well to contemplate a quick hop across the pond. Productions of Parade are rarely finer than this!

Runs until 10th August

Photo credit: Konrad Bartelski

Night Of The Living Dead - Review

Pleasance Theatre, London


****


Written by Christopher Bond, Dale Boyer and Trevor Martin
Created by Christopher Harrison and Phil Pattison
Directed by Benji Sperring

Ashley Samuels and Marc Pickering

George A Romero’s 1968 movie Night Of The Living Dead not only unleashed zombies upon an unsuspecting world, but was also one of the first movies to fuse horrific gore with political allegory and just a spattering of satire. The film rapidly garnered cult status and it was a bold move from the 5 (predominantly Canadian) minds behind the stage show’s inception to translate the picture from stage to screen.

Holed up in a remote farmhouse and surrounded by hordes of the rapacious undead, 5 survivors seek to avoid the gruesome demise that inevitably awaits them. Aspects of the movie’s plot surface throughout the narrative, and it is a tribute to Diego Pitarch’s outstanding set design and costume theme, that the era and location (including frequent switches between the farmhouse’s ground floor and basement) are delivered so convincingly. Reflecting the original black & white photography of the story, Pitarch deploys an effective monochrome throughout.

But the narrative depends on the people and co-producer Katy Lipson has chosen wisely in engaging Benji Sperring to helm the show. As seen with The Toxic Avenger a couple of years ago at the Southwark Playhouse, Sperring is an accomplished director of comic ghastliness and he has chosen two of his Southwark stalwarts, Marc Pickering and Ashley Samuels to drive the evening’s morbid irony. A seminal 60s work, Romero ensured (and the play repeatedly acknowledges) that the issues of the Cold War, civil rights and sexual inequalities that were riving America’s psyche at the time fuelled his satire.

Mari McGinlay plays the eponymous Barbara while Jennifer Harding doubles up for Helen and Judy – with their respective interactions being as deliciously nuanced as a Roy Lichtenstein cartoon. The sound (Samuel West, James Nicholson and Paul Gavin) and lighting (Nic Farman) are top notch too, enhancing the shock comedy horror and providing the perfect complement to Pitarch’s designs.

The tropes and familiar plot lines play out well, though a re-run scene between a cop and his assistant (Mike Bodie and Tama Phethean respectively) proves a little tiresome. Nonetheless a quality and innovative piece of theatre that offers up a neat tribute to Romero’s original.

Runs until 8th June

Photo credit: Claire Bilyard

Sweet Charity (at The Watermill Theatre, Newbury) - Review

Watermill Theatre, Newbury

****

Music by Cy Coleman

Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

Book by Neil Simon

Directed by Paul Hart

Gemma Sutton

Cy Coleman’s score for Sweet Charity, much like his compositions for The Life, define his ability to create a musical around humanity’s grittier perspectives. Inspired by a Fellini screenplay, Neil Simon’s book carries a timeless ring of abuse.  Charity is a good trusting woman who is ultimately used by both the men we see her become involved with; the humble Oscar and the powerful Vittorio Vidal. The message is clear - irrespective of their place in society, men are manipulative misogynists. And yet although the narrative may be harsh, the genius of the show’s writers lies in having framed their tale within a structure of some of the 1960’s finest musical theatre writing.

The powerhouse driving this production is Gemma Sutton’s Charity. Sutton is a performer who only knows the meaning of excellence in her work, capturing Charity’s kooky complex vulnerability and delivering a performance that by turn breaks our hearts and then makes them soar in the show’s biggest numbers. Her voice and presence are majestic in songs such as If My Friends Could See Me Now and I’m A Brass Band and yet, throughout, she captures Charity’s precious fragility, so painfully recognisable in her exquisite interpretation.

Sutton is well supported by a perfectly cast company. Tomi Ogbaro as Daddy revives and inspires the audience as he leads Rhythm Of Life. Elliot Harper’s Vidal is convincing in his suave arrogance, while the show’s girls (Nicola Bryan, Vivien Carter, Stacey Ghent Emma Jane Morton and Laura Sillett) make magnificent work of Big Spender, returning it to its pre-Bassey beauty.

Perhaps the greatest revelation of the evening is Alex Cardall’s Oscar. Straight out of the Arts Educational School, and yet another NYMT alumnus to make a leading debut this summer, Cardall masters Oscar’s manipulative maturity with a confidence that belies his years. With perfectly weighted nuance and pinpoint delivery on the gags, his is classy work indeed.

Behind the scenes Diego Pitarch’s designs sees two pairs of bi-folding mirrors whirled around the stage ingeniously, while the translations of Coleman’s score to an actor-muso company is, yet again, flawless musical supervision from Sarah Travis. Charlie Ingles has directed Travis’ work with the instrumentalists, but on the night and on stage it is an assured Tom Self that oversees the delivery of these bold, brassy melodies.

Bob Fosse directed the show (originally on Broadway and later, its Hollywood iteration too) and while Tom Jackson Greaves has choreographed with imaginative flair within the Watermill’s cockpit space, Fosse’s fingerprints (footprints?) are everywhere. But for all the talent within this show, it is hampered by the Watermill’s challenging (and sometimes non-existent) sightlines that can render too much of Jackson Greaves’ (no doubt brilliant) dance work, invisible.

Yet again, the people of Newbury find themselves spoiled with this display of some of the finest talent in the land putting on a show that alongside being a rollercoaster of emotions, is a festival of sensational song and dance.

Runs until 15th September

Photo credit: Philip Tull

The Addams Family - Review

New Wimbledon Theatre, London


*****

Music & lyrics by Andrew Lippa
Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice
Characters created by Charles Addams
Directed by Matthew White

Cameron Blakely and Samatha Womack

Having recently started out in Edinburgh, The Addams Family finally makes its London premiere. Starting life on Broadway in 2010 the show failed to make an immediate transfer across the pond, but having toured internationally, this gloriously ghoulish musical has at last been given a British life and judging by the reaction of tonight's audience, its arrival is more than welcome.

From the moment the overture commences with the iconic clicks from the cartoon / TV series the audiences are not only on side, but clicking along. The story, characters and settings are iconic. But with such a cultural resonance of course comes great expectations. Have no fear however, this production doesn’t just meet expectations, it smashes them!

The long road to London has been well worth it for this company, for their comic timing and delivery has been honed to perfection. The evening's run of constant stone cold gags sees each wisecrack delivered with the utmost sincerity. Most importantly, Matthew White’s direction has ensured a strong connection to the famously familiar elements of the TV classic, while still allowing creativity from all of his team to blossom. Complete with a mystery arm frequently making an appearance through the letter box, Diego Pitarch's design in particular sets the classic scene from the offset.

The performances are flawless. Too many to mention them all, but Cameron Blakely's Gomez is sensational. His presence is a force to be reckoned with and in the opening number When You're An Addams, which is the first taste we get of Alistair David's impressive choreography, Blakely not only establishes his character but alongside Samantha Womack’s Morticia, draws the audience into their not so normal family life. Stunt / celebrity casting can often be a critique of many UK Tours but not tonight. Womack’s motherly warmth actually comes across with an icy chill. Not only that, but the comedic chemistry between these two fantastic actors is more than alive and certainly at no point do either of these two need a kiss of life from their opposite. The gags also flow thick and fast from Les Dennis’ fabulously crazed Uncle Fester.

A strong mother deserves an equally strong on stage daughter and Carrie Hope Fletcher’s Wednesday is a blast. As the hot headed, torturing yet adorable Wednesday, Fletcher is quite simply a raring ball of energy on stage as her romance with Oliver Ormson's Lucas Beineke develops. Her rendition of Pulled complete with puppet butterflies was top notch, very few actors can deliver such vocal and comical class through song.

- To be fair, Fletcher has dreamed of playing Wednesday for years. This website saw her sing Pulled nearly four years ago at Andrew Lippa’s gig at the St James Theatre. Read Jonathan's review from then - she “took the roof off”. -

Amongst the cross bows, gory dead rabbits, cackles and cries is a story about the simple day to life of a family in New York. Albeit not your average tribe, but the monstrous leading performances and hauntingly slick ensemble bring this family tale to life. Supported by Andrew Hilton's polished band with Lippa's numbers superbly arranged by Richard Beadle, the show plays at Wimbledon until the end of the week before hitting the road as one of the best productions currently touring the land.

If you know your Addams Family songs – Full Disclosure! To everyone else the show is unmissable.

Playing at the New Wimbledon Theatre until May 20th, then touring. Full schedule here.
Reviewed by Josh Adams
Photo credit: Matt Martin

The Battle of Boat - Review

Rose Theatre, Kingston upon Thames


****

Written by Ethan Lewis Maltby and Jenna Donnelly
Directed by Kate Golledge

The Company

The Battle of Boat is a new musical from the National Youth Music Theatre. Set in a seaside town on the English south coast in 1916, the carefree happiness of a group of young children is short-lived as they find themselves discovering more and more about the First World War that is unfolding around them. Their initial response, to join the army, is thwarted as they are inevitably each rejected for being too young. There is one exception however as William, the oldest of the group (played by Jonty Peach), is enlisted and is sent to fight in France.

The tale is of the persistent attempts that the children make to do whatever it takes to help their friend and their country, with Ethan Lewis Maltby and Jenna Donnelly weaving powerful themes of rivalry, leadership and battle. As is the NYMT protocol, the cast and orchestra are entirely comprised of young artists ranging from 11 to 21. The youthfulness of the cast, and of the nation's young generation lost to the Great War, serve to make the scale and impact of the musical even greater. 

With such a strength of talent arrayed across both stage (and orchestra pit) it would be unjust to single out individual cast members. This is not to suggest that the piece lacks standout performances, rather the contrary. There is an infectious emphatic energy amongst the entire company that is tangible from the outset. Director Kate Golledge and choreographer Darragh O’Leary have combined to create some exquisite work both in scenes and songs; taking us from land to stormy seas in the blink of an eye. Golledge ensures that while the script demands a lot from the young performers, their natural innocence and raw juvenile energy is never lost. Alongside a demanding text Candida Caldicot leads the orchestra and company through Maltby and Donnelly’s emphatic score that is almost akin to cinema, such is its grandeur. 

In the vast space that is the Rose, Diego Pitarch’s set sits comfortably, whilst at all times being scarce enough to leave ample space for the show’s controlled chaos that seems at times to overspill the stage’s edge. Illuminated trees and shadows that could in time serve for the ultimate game of hide and seek form the back drop to the piece, while four seemingly plain long wooden containers are used in every possible way under O’Leary’s genius and playful choreography. 

From the epic company numbers to stunning solo moments, each line, note and lyric carries a punch. The company has the audience in the palm of their hand from the word go and under Golledge’s sensitive direction have the audience laughing along with their childish games just as effortlessly as they achieve immense empathy facing the emotional and physical challenges of their journey.

The Battle of Boat is an epic piece of musical theatre. Maltby and Donnelly have made a brave decision in focussing a story about war from the perspective and reactions of a group of children. Credit too to Jeremy Walker who has produced the show and who time and time again ensures that the NYMT’s quality and standard is nothing short of exceptional, across all departments. With only three performances remaining, the show makes a theatrical voyage that is well worth catching.

Runs until 13th August

Reviewed by Andrew Milton

Photo credit: Matt Hargraves

Crazy For You - Review

Watermill Theatre, Newbury

****

Music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin

Book by Ken Ludwig

Directed by Paul Hart

Caroline Sheen, Tom Chambers and Company

Crazy For You is a musical drawn up by Ken Ludwig in the 1990's and broadly based on the Gershwins’ Broadway foray Girl Crazy from some 60 years earlier. While the show's narrative may hang on a story that lacks both consequence and credibility, it does comprise some of the 20th century’s finest songs, along with the opportunity for some spectacular dance routines.

The Watermill has cast the show perfectly, with Tom Chambers and Caroline Sheen leading the company. But whilst the theatre may have landed one of musical theatre’s finest male dancers, unfortunately the venue’s flat performing space (there is no raised stage) means that most of Chambers’ fleet-footed brilliance is invisible to anyone in the stalls who’s had the misfortune to be sat behind the front two rows. The tap dances choreographed by Nathan M Wright sound terrific for sure – but in row 7 one barely catches a glimpse. 

The acting is strong throughout, with some fine moments of physical comedy too, but where this production excels in in its treatment of the classic songs. Sheen’s character Polly is given the lion’s share of the Gershwin greats and she delivers them with excellence and flair. Her interpretations of Someone To Watch Over Me, Embraceable You and the heartbreaking But Not For Me are spine-tinglingly good. 

Some of the singing spoils are shared: Lucy Thatcher delivers a wonderfully steamy Naughty Baby as she seduces Jeremy Legat’s (also excellent) hotelier and there’s a delightful ensemble of rednecks offering a very droll interpretation of Bidin’ My Time.

Diego Pitarch’s imaginative designs can’t conceal the fact that the show is a quart being awkwardly squeezed into the Watermill’s pint-pot, though Howard Hudson’s lighting wizardry (with some fabulous use of mirrored follow spots) does a fine job of trying to “big-up” the space. For the most part the actor-muso set up works well even if occasional lapses suggest an Arvide Abernathy's Save A Soul Mission tribute band. No doubt the musical hiccoughs will settle down over the run.

Notwithstanding the production’s flaws, the talent on display here still makes for an evening of fine entertainment - if you can grab a seat in the circle or front stalls, even better. And with Caroline Sheen’s enchanting take on a handful of the American Songbook’s greats, who could ask for anything more?

Runs until 17th September 2016

Photo credit: Richard Davenport

Prodigy - Review

St James Theatre, London


****


Music and Lyrics by Pippa Cleary
Book & Lyrics by Jake Brunger
Directed by Kate Golledge

Callum Howells and Francesca McKean

The National Youth Music Theatre's production of Prodigy at London's St James Theatre offers much to celebrate in Britain's musical theatre talent, both in composition and performing. With lyrics, book and some gorgeous music all from the emerging wunderkinder that are Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, the show is themed around an X-Factor type reality TV show – themed around the search for a child prodigy musician. 

The ensuing combination of pushy parents, gifted kids and the celebrity worship of TV has already proved fertile ground for musicals - there are hints of I Can't Sing!, Matilda and even an occasional whiff of Hairspray in the evening’s entertainment - but where NYMT continue to triumph is in assembling a troupe of talented young performers, all under 23 and then exposing them to the creative genius of acknowledged industry experts.

The satire kicks off mercilessly with Callum Howells’ and Francesca McKean's sizzling take on the superficial TV hosts that typically give these shows a pulse. Ridiculing (but not mimicking) the likes of ITV's Dermot O'Leary et al, these two gifted performers, under Kate Golledge's perceptive direction are spot on.

There are too many characters to name and credit in this review - all were excellent, but some are given moments of creative genius from Brunger and Cleary that linger on long after the youthful band's exit music, under the intuitive musical direction of Candida Caldicot, fades away.

Talent show finalists Kate and Luke (Caroline Whittingham and Harry Al-Adwani) provide the unlikely love story of the plot, in a heart-warming tale that sees romance blossom from adversity. Much respect is earned by the bulk of the cast who at times take on some challenging actor-muso responsibilities, with one of the show's most remarkable melodies coming from Al-Adwani's solo on an all too rarely heard vibraphone, providing an almost ethereal treat. Rupert, the villainous contestant of the piece, is played by Jamie Dodd who turns in a very convincing cad.

Jake and Pippa’s collection of parents straddle Britain’s social strata and are cleverly fleshed out. Again, amongst excellence all round, it is Emma Ernest’s Eileen (Kate’s parent) that is gifted the juiciest of roles, the actress punching well above her 19 years in a monstrous take on motherhood that almost suggests a 21st century Momma Rose!

The plot brims with perceptive wit and in Laura Barnard’s alcoholic TV producer Melissa Marconi, another cracking stereotype of the glib media world is brilliantly nailed.

Credit to this show’s creatives – they’ve even managed to throw in a jazz hands showstopper too. Luke Rozanski and Hannah Irvine (14 and 12 respectively and both great violinists) bring the house down with their hilarious younger siblings’ plea, We’ve Got Talent Too. And a worthy mention for Prodigy’s other “Finalists” Amelia Thompson (clarinet) and Seophora Parish (piano), both of whom put in accomplished performances. 

Luke Rozanski and Hannah Irvine

Diego Pitarch has designed an ingenious set that suggests a conservatoire, yet also offers an abstract flair that lends itself across the scenes. When it comes to the TV contest however, James Whiteside’s lighting design, all swooping spotlights across a smoky stage creates the location perfectly - with Darragh O'Leary's choreography remaining a delight throughout, particularly in the impressive ensemble numbers

Bravo to tireless producer Jeremy Walker, for it is largely down to his endeavours that NYMT continues to nurture talent across musical theatre, developing not just performers, but writers and creatives too. Prodigy only runs until tomorrow and if you can get your hands on a ticket you won’t be disappointed.

Runs until 15th August

20th Century Boy

New Wimbledon Theatre, London

***

Director and choreographer - Gary Lloyd

Warren Sollars

Some twenty years ago, Steven Spielberg shocked the world, bringing life to a T. Rex in Jurassic Park. Today the movie-maker's feat has been more than matched by the clever pair of Gary Lloyd and John Maher, who having successfully delivered Michael Jackson's hits to the West End in Thriller Live, turn their creative focus to Marc Bolan and his eponymous band.

Where other juke box musicals attract an audience that spans the ages, The New Wimbledon Theatre was a packed out sea of grey as a throng of 60-somethings re-lived (or more likely imagined) a mis-spent youth. Either way, it didn't really matter. They were there to enjoy the recreated glam-rock sensation and the show did what it said on the tin. The sound (all played live) was a nigh on perfect cover and in hiring Warren Sollars to play the wild-haired rock star, casting director Anne Vosser has found a performer recognisably Bolan-esque to those of us old enough to remember the 1970's. Sollars is simply immense as the doomed singer and leads a cast that matches his skills. Donna Hines and Lucy Sinclair as Gloria, Bolan's girlfriend and June his ex-wife respectively, both put in turns that are vocally thrilling and contribute to spine-tingling moments, whilst Katia Sartini offers up a convincing Helen Shapiro.

Away from the songs, the narrative is trite and cliche-ridden. The show tracks Bolan's (real life) son Rolan on a fictional journey from LA to London, to learn about his father and ultimately reconcile Phyllis (a decent performance from Sue Jenkins), Bolan's grieving mother with June. Whilst Bolan's back story is fascinating, the show renders it trivial, with a mediocrity clearly signalled in the evening's programme: always be suspicious when no book writer is credited amongst a show's creative team.....

It is however when the band is in full spate that 20th Century Boy becomes a slick pulsating display of excellence. Lloyd's dance work is inspired and with Maher's musical arrangements, this replica T.Rex roars with an authentic magnificence. Diego Pitarch's sliding screens of scenery, married to projections that range from powerful to occasionally cheesy, lend themselves well to the touring production and credit to Chris Whybrow's sound design which was perfectly balanced on this first night in Wimbledon. A nod also to Ben Cracknell, whose lighting design that needed to segue from moments of intimacy to simulated stadia performances, was never less than convincing.

Fans will not be disappointed. All the band's hits are there and a 3 song encore had everyone dancing in the aisles and cheering for more. Technically and musically, there's no finer company in town.

Plays until 28th June then tours