The Cherry Orchard, Young Vic **

The Cast of the Cherry Orchard

It has been a blinding season at the Young Vic, with Streetcar just being nominated for a London Evening Standard award along with A View from the Bridge and the Scottsboro Boys, who both in turn have received west end transfers. All of the pieces have been edgy and exhilarating and have challenged its audience. This production, therefore, seems slightly safe and disappointing. The actors were great, with some such as  Hugh Skinner's Simeon giving a great comic role. Having been described as a tragi-comedy, I was expecting for Stephen's adaption to contain more laughs than it did as well as perhaps see through several themes which are picked up for one act and then are not referred to again. Also, through Mitchell's direction of the part of Peter, he is portrayed too much as the one sane man in a house of lunatics. A mixture of Stephen's text and Mitchell's direction shows him to be the man that has all the answers if everyone just listened to him where in fact, he is just as useless as everyone else. This combined with a mixture of needless full- frontal female nudity and a lack of any heart leads to a, frankly, lack- luster production of a true classic.

Great Britain, Theatre Royal Haymarket ***

Lucy Punch in Great Britain

When I first saw the first trailer for Great Britain's west end transfer, I was anxious. I adored the play at the Lytellton, a week after the show was announced. Having seen the show at the Haymarket, I feel that whilst the play is still strong, it has been weakened by changes to both the script and the cast. Lucy Punch gives Paige a "working class" accent which gives the journalist more of a mucky feel. Hippie Piper gave Paige the feel of someone who kept her hands clean and was a slimy character. Punch's interpretation means that no one is particularly surprised by her actions. Her monologues also feel slightly more forced than Piper's effortless display. Oliver Chris' absence is also felt and, whilst Ben Mansfield's performance as DD is good, it is not a patch on the actor currently playing Prince William in King Charles III. There are several scenes cut from the play that was at the National and many o those cuts help the play to maintain focus. However, the one scene which gave the original heart is missing which is a real shame. However, Sully is just as funny as always and the extra YouTube videos were hilarious. Robert Glenister was also brilliantly funny, as was the rest of the cast. Therefore, whilst some grit and punch has gone, it is still an extremely strong and funny take on the phone-hacking scandal.

East is East, Trafalgar Studios ****

The cast of East is East at the Trafalgar Studios

Theatre in the West End is usually performed by and watched by middle class, middle- age, white people and often centres around male characters. How refreshing, therefore, to see two productions in 3 days which bucks that trend. This modern classic about a northern, white woman living in a Pakistani family in Salford 1971 is brought to life by Tom Scott's fantastic designs. The comedy is brilliantly executed by the cast, with the divide between western culture and Pakistani culture provides lots of humour, with sausages and the female anatomy providing the biggest laughs of the evening. However, the character development is so strong that, when the dark events occur in the second half, it is more disturbing than anything that happened in Jamie Lloyd's Richard III. I have found Jane Horrocks annoying in the past, with a slightly wingey accent but in this, she is astonishingly good. The children also are great, showing the split of east and west nicely, with impressive performances from both the inexperienced and experienced actors, one of which (Amit Shah) is particularly recognizable from such shows as Bluestone 42 and Fresh Meat. After a rather dissapointing first production in this revolutionary season, this piece puts Trafalgar Transformed solidly back on track.

Henry IV, Donmar Warehouse ****

The cast of Henry IV at the Donmar Warehouse

The Donmar is undoubtedly the most exiting space in British theatre and all the productions I have seen there have been ambitious, with varying levels of success. Therefore, it is no surprise that Henry IV could not be just played as Henry IV. The result, admittedly not instantly lovable, is a great success. I had not seen Julius Caesar so the prison setting was totally new to me. It set the atmosphere in a way that no other play I've seen has done, with the possible exception of Dominic Dromgoole's plays at the Globe.The part of the play itself is the fact that they develop the lives of the inmate's characters as well as the character's they play. It is set up as a play within a play, with these female convicts putting on a production of Henry IV. The cuts are extensive, with a 6 hours of material cut  into a 2 hour show without an interval. Therefore, most of part 2 is cut in order to cut back to the main story line of choosing between two father figures. It also diverts away from the play,with a last scene which made me cry. Ashley Mcguire's Falstaff, whilst not particularly funny, is a character for whom more pathos can be felt. Erivo as Poins and Douglas is also a notable performance from a truly great actress. The other actors are also fantastic.The Donmar also seem to have prioritized experience over fame, with theatre- virgin Sharon Mooney being given one of the less substantial roles despite being one of the most recognizable faces in the cast. It also good to have normal women playing the roles instead of the 'perfect', idealised woman which is so often the case. For me, this love letter to feminism has met my expectations of what a good Shakespeare play is like, and far exceeded them.

Tenors Unlimited, Churchill Theatre

Tenors Unlimited

Unfortunately, having seen this act, I don't think I can give an unbiased evaluation of their performance. This is primarily because I performed in it as well in their choir. It was an absolute privilege to perform with such talented musicians with a very polished act. From what I saw of  the show, the majority of pieces were delightful to listen to and they are great people to work with. As I said, I can not give a star rating or proper review but I would seriously recommend this group to anyone wanting a fun night out. I don't think we were too bad either.

Comedy of Errors, Theatre by the Lake ***

The set of the Comedy of Errors

When looking at this production of farce and jollity, it is hard not to compare Keswick's production with the one at the globe earlier this year. As you would expect, this production does fall short of the Globe production. The farcical nature of the play is somewhat diminished in Keswick, where comedy is sought in all the wrong places and moments that should be getting belly laughs only result in scattered chuckles throughout the auditorium. There are also some performances that belong in am-dram rather than on, arguably, the finest stage outside the capital. However, despite these errors, the set design is joyous and some performances, especially Lucciana by Jennifer English, that far exceed those at the Globe. One Dromio being on crutches also broke the fourth wall effectively, even if only accidentally. Therefore, whilst several key issues let the piece down, it is still a strong romp which entertains it's audience.

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.