The Scottsboro Boys, Garrick Theatre *****

The Cast of the Scottsboro Boys

This new retelling of the famous case of The Scottsboro Boys has now finally made it's way to the West End and it is no understatement that this is perhaps the best music I've seen in some time. The audience lulled into a false sense of security before being smashed to pieces in no time at all. Kander and Ebb's music is typically creepy, especially 'the electric chair' which is just as creepy as anything from Cabaret. The actors also create a deeply uncomfortable feeling, portraying minstrels performing for its audience. It creates a similar setup to the recently cancelled Exhibit B but, unlike the show depicting human zoos, is probably slightly more direct in it's attack at racism and could never be said to be racist itself, made evident in some of the best closing scenes ever to be portrayed in theatre. Throughout the show,a woman is present, observing the action. However hard I tried, I could find no link until the final scene where everything is answered in such a poignant piece of theatre. It is worth seeing this musicalas it does not rely on a huge set or huge orchestration but is carried through by pure talent.

The Commitments, Palace Theatre ***

The previous cast of the Commitments

 The Commitments is about the formation of a band in 1970s Dublin; how they overcome the gigantic problems facing their lives and carry a band from strength to strength. The programme talks at length about the reasons why The commitments 'take enthusiastically to Soul because they're living in a country that seems to have sold its soul.' To me, it is trying to challenge views, set out something challenging. However, this ambition clearly has failed. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic musical with a great set and brilliant singers (especially Deco). However, slight indications like the depth the programme goes into or the lack of a souvenir programme is an indication of a production trying to be something it isn't. If you leave your brain at the door, it is a lot of fun but be warned, if you come expecting what the creative team want to put across, expect to be disappointed.

The Wolf from the Door, Royal Court ***

The cast of the Wolf from the Door

 After the reviews came out for this rather surreal piece from Rory Mullarkey, I was full of dread for to see this piece, not least due to the alert of full- frontal male nudity. Despite this, I left feeling pleasantly surprised. Of course there are serious flaws. The budget seems to have been blown on Anna Chancellor and the huge quantities of food used throughout, the set could be done much better, with scene changes indicated by an LED screen, and the script does require a space which can both be intimate and provide huge spectacle which this theatre cannot pull off well. As well as this, the numerous deaths in the play could have been handle in a better fashion. I was not expecting Titus Andronicus scale gore but just to have a voice over giving stage directions. But on the other hand, this fantasist piece tackles a tricky subject in a rib- tickling manner with a very heartfelt speech given by Chancellor to some civil war reenactors. Pearce Quigley and Lucy Robinson are fantastic as the ensemble with special note to Quigley's taxi driver which gives perhaps the most poignant moment of the play. He is never quite as funny as his Bottom in Midsummers Night Dream last year at the Globe but to be honest, it would have been hard to top that. The two leads also are great, as is expected. Whilst this production will never set the world alight, there is plenty in it to cherish.

Once, Phoenix Theatre **

David Hunter and Jill Winternitz in Once

Coming out of the theatre after seeing Once, I walked down Shaftesbury Avenue, past Les Mis and Curious Incident and then down to Haymarket, where people were coming out of Phantom of the Opera and Great Britain. All in the West End for varying amounts of time but all fantastically popular because on one level or another, they provide the audience with emotional impact. This is the thing I sensed missing from this show. I greatly admire it's ambition. It's set, whilst done similarly and more effectively in Billy Elliot, has a lot of beauty to it and the idea to have mirrors surrounding it, making each detail of these people's lives visible to the audience, is ingenious. The songs, despite my indifference to folk music, are quaint and pretty, although none stick out. The actors/ musicians are fantastic too. However, I could never engage with that main plot line. Two subplots, namely the gay, untalented banker and the housemate looking for a job, interested me far more than what was, frankly, a boring romance drama. Perhaps my view on this piece was slightly tainted by the person in front of me filming throughout but, to be honest, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it any more if she had not been there at all. It comes to no surprise to me that clearly Once has not been performing well at the Box office and set to close next year.

Side note: With Ronan Keating coming in to play the role of Guy in a few weeks time, I would say that it is highly inappropriate for any celebrity to play one of the main roles in this production. You are seeing the events totaly detached from the situation. This is primarily because you do not find out either of the lead's real names.Therefore, having a celebrity, whether it be Arthur Darvill or Ronan Keating in the role of someone who is supposed to be anonymous defeats the point of this musical as the audience will come in with a biased opinion and a name to Guy or Girl which, whether for better or for worse, distorts the original intentions of the playwright.

Julius Caesar, Shakespeare's Globe ***

The Cast of Julius Caesar

Shakespeare is rarely as fun as this as Dromgoole won me over in the last performance of Caesar and my last Globe production of the season.The show won me over from the start with a puppet show in the groundling's queue giving the background to Shakespeare's errors in the play. This is what Dominic Dromgoole is great at, creating theatre which has atmosphere and excitement. Being the artistic director of the Globe, he understands the Globe the best, making Shakespeare's gaping script errors seem non- existent. Whilst the play has now come to a close, due to cinema screenings next year, I will keep spoilers to a minimum, however, there is a superb interpretation of the text at the end which left me with a huge grin on my face. I don't think Irving's Caesar sets the world alight but the young senate more than make up for it, with Thompson's divisive Anthony played almost perfectly. Having seen the 'Freinds, Romans, Countrymen' soliloquy (not the Carry On one) performed by James McAvoy, I couldn't see Luke Thompson holding a candle to it. Whilst he is not as good, obviously, he still maintains an emotionally driven performance. At times, the pace tended to drop but apart from this, it is certainly a production to remember.

The Trial, Royal Opera House Linsbury Studio ****

Johnny Herford and Nicholas Folwell in the Trial

For my uncle's birthday, I managed to get tickets to the world premiere of Glass' new work. Having been to the insight the night before and having received a sneak preview of Glass' work, the excitement increased. I came away amazed at the feet Glass had seemed to pull off. The plot is about a man named Joseph K who, on his 30th birthday, is arrested on the grounds of which the audience never finds out. He then tries to bribe, sleep and argue his way out court with little success. The score is utterly beautiful, being more melodic than previous compositions and, whilst Hampton's libretto does not always gel with the score, it adapts Kafka's work well. The cast too impress with a spellbinding performance from K who is onstage for almost all of the play. The other singers also have a equally tough job multi- rolling which is pulled off perfectly. However the stand out aspect of this new opera is Michael McCarthy's direction. His minimalist style helps emphasize the absurdity of K's situation with fantastic situations of bathos. In one scene, K gives a speech of the corrupt courts which builds in a climax only to end in the maid having sex with a student which gets the attention. This direction is also evident in the costumes and makeup. As you can see in the photo,only Joseph K is dressed normally and the other singers are dressed in a surrealist manner also displaying the juxtaposition from the seriousness of the situation and eventual denouement of the piece.

Matilda , Cambridge Theatre *****

The cast of Matilda

So many things could have gone wrong when making Matilda into a musical. Despite it's success, a beloved children's classic being adapted into a musical by a man who talks about a critic eating his own face in front of his children. However, the result is just brilliantly, spine tingley good. In fact, it was so good, it gave me a small warmth in my lower intestine. It is the children's show. They are adorable, charming and hilarious and pull off difficult choreography as if it was the most simple thing in the world. It is a masterpiece of the human imagination. This was the second time I have seen this show and was also the second Dahl musical adaptation I had seen. I am going to reassess Charlie and the Chocolate factory but if it had even a tiny proportion of the heart, wit or musicality of Matilda, I may have enjoyed it more.