If the onset of winter, the continuing saga of Brexit and a looming general election is getting you down, maybe stepping back in time to a completely charming musical is what you need? That’s what the Menier Chocolate Factory is betting on with this bright and relentlessly cheery revival of 1950s hit musical, The Boy... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: & Juliet (Shaftsbury Theatre, London) ★★★★
British theatre is loving a bit of historical revision these days and & Juliet gives us re-written Shakespeare with liberal lashings of scandi-pop brilliance. I loathe jukebox musicals but & Juliet is just fantastic! What if star-crossed Juliet didn’t take her own life after Romeo died? What if instead, she woke up and got on... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: My Brilliant Friend Parts 1 & 2 (National Theatre, London) ★★★1/2
April De Angelis’ two-part adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s beloved Neapolitan Novels has a lot of stories to tell you and this production ricochets from magical realism to mobster-camp with frequent stops at political-feminism-polemic to bring them to you. It’s a bit exhausting. How do you translate an epic, adored literary series to the stage without... Continue Reading →
Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest London – Nov 12 – 17th 2019 – Festival Highlights
Now in its ninth year Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest has established itself as a hugely anticipated fixture on any discerning queer filmgoer's calendar. Organised and run single-handedly by volunteers, it continues to offer a refreshing, daring and exciting alternative to some of the arguably more bland offerings of queer cinema elsewhere. Taking up... Continue Reading →
BFI London Film Festival 2019: LGBTQ+ Preview
The 63rd BFI London Film Festival is coming (October 2nd - 13th 2019) and the programme has a wealth of queer and queer-friendly films from around the world (not to mention some blockbuster presentations). Here are The Queer Review’s LFF 2019 LGBTQ+ highlights. Matthias & Maxime Xavier Dolan returns to his roots by writing, directing... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: Fleabag (Wyndham’s Theatre, London) ★★★★★
‘YES! Fleabag back on the stage, gotta get tickets!’ Posts like this filled my social media feeds earlier this year. Wonderful! I thought, now I can see Fleabag in its original form before I binge two seasons. Yes, I’m one of the few people who hasn’t seen the TV show yet. I can hear the... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Actor Mateo Oxley on Gay Footballer Play Target Man (King’s Head Theatre, London)
Mark Starling's new gay footballer themed play Target Man closes the King's Head Theatre's Queer Season in London later this month. Ahead of the production's limited six performance run, The Queer Review's James Kleinmann spoke with one of the play's lead actors Mateo Oxley about his role as England goalie Joel. Oxley also talks understudying... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: The View UpStairs (Soho Theatre, London) ★★★★
It was a sweltering 38+ degrees celsius (100+ fahrenheit) outside so I grabbed a last minute ticket to the Soho Theatre on the promise of air-conditioning and showtunes. Turns out the air-con was either not working, or was so weak it made no difference. So I wasn’t exactly excited to sit through an hour and... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (Harold Pinter Theatre, London) ★★★★
An epic tale of love and loss on a Greek Island? No, this isn’t a Mamma Mia spin-off, this is Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, and while it contains fewer disco hits and sequins, this World War II romance doesn’t skimp on imagination and stagecraft. Melly Still is a director of almost seemingly endless imagination. This is... Continue Reading →