Review: The Insatiable, Inflatable Candylion, SSE Swalec Stadum

Published in The Independent on December 20, 2015

Only the imagination of Gruff Rhys could have come up with this singular show. He expands his 2007 album Candylion into a psychedelic fable – for all the family! Billed by National Theatre Wales as a “theatre gig”, live music propels the story, with the audience standing or moving about the space. Continue reading “Review: The Insatiable, Inflatable Candylion, SSE Swalec Stadum”

Review: Goodnight Mr Tom, Duke of York’s

Published in What's on Stage on December 18, 2016

If it’s just not Christmas till you’ve blubbed into your reindeer jumper sleeve at a tear-jerking family show, Goodnight Mister Tom should sort you out. The hit stage version of Michelle Magorian’s children’s book may not feature any festive snowmen or Father Christmases, but its story of a damaged little boy and a lonely old man who come to love each other is certainly moving. Continue reading “Review: Goodnight Mr Tom, Duke of York’s”

Why Christmas shows are going down a psychedelic rabbit hole

Published in The Independent on Sunday on December 4, 2015

At no other time of the year are family-friendly shows more welcome than at Christmas. Yet it’s also often a time of boringly traditional, bankable fare. Panto reigns and theatre can tend towards the literary, twee and old-fashioned: Dickensian orphans in the faux snow, endless visits to Narnia and Neverland. This year, however, there’s a sleigh-full of alternative shows hurtling down a distinctly psychedelic rabbit hole. Continue reading “Why Christmas shows are going down a psychedelic rabbit hole”