Franco Milazzo

London

Stage Critic and Writer at Freelance

"A man with an encyclopedic knowledge of the city’s underground culture." @thedailybeast @broadwayworldUK @1883Magazine @PIEeurope @theatreandtonic @Londonist

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Articles

Review: THE MERRY WIDOW, Opera Holland Park

1 week ago | broadwayworld.com | Franco Milazzo

On the face of it, three celebrated opera companies joining forces is, without doubt, A Good Thing. This adaptation of Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow, on the other hand, decidedly Not A Great Thing. The idea that “success has many fathers, failure is an orphan” is turned on its head here as this operetta co-produced by Opera Holland Park, Scottish Opera and D’Oyly Carte Opera manages to just about hold its head above water thanks to some superlative singing and the supremely charming staging.
Review: FIGHT FOR AMERICA!, Stone Nest

1 week ago | broadwayworld.com | Franco Milazzo

On 6 January 2021, while the US Congress gathered in Washington DC to confirm Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States of America, a mob waited outside. Demanding that their leader Donald J Trump be returned to power, they stormed the Capitol building to confront the lawmakers. Right-wing groups - the OathKeepers, The Proud Boys, QAnon conspiracists - charged the perimeter.
Review: LONDON CLOWN FESTIVAL: OPENING CABARET, Soho Theatre

1 week ago | broadwayworld.com | Franco Milazzo

Time to turn that frown upside down: London Clown Festival returns in its typically rambunctious style. Spread across Soho Theatre and Jackson’s Lane, two of the capital’s biggest supporters of clowning and circus, this year’s carnival runs for over a month featuring acts from around the world.
Review: STOREHOUSE, London

1 week ago | broadwayworld.com | Franco Milazzo

Somewhere in a massive warehouse in Deptford, a collection is being made of every digital artifact since the birth of the internet in 1983. Every blog, every tweet, every DM. This archive called Storehouse is, unsurprisingly, reaching bursting point. A proposed solution called The Great Aggregregation has instead turned into “an epic fail”. We, the audience, are being asked to help resolve this critical situation.
Review: GODZ, Peacock Theatre

2 weeks ago | broadwayworld.com | Franco Milazzo

Out of the Spiegeltent and into the West End, Head First Acrobats’ GODZ sees an assortment of deities descend on Peacock Theatre with a heavenly blend of adult comedy, scintillating circus and enough raw sex appeal to send Magic Mike back to Hogwarts. A hit down under, this Australian company have previously performed their tribute to the denizens of Olympus at the Brighton Fringe in a big top environment.
Interview: 'It's Bloody Huge!' : Creative Director Sophie Larsmon On Her Immense Immersive Theatre Show STOREHOUSE

2 weeks ago | broadwayworld.com | Franco Milazzo

Just who gets to decide on what is (and isn't) the truth is an eternally relevant discussion and a subject at the heart of Storehouse, a new immense immersive theatre production set in a 90,000 square metres warehouse in Deptford. Starring as the four Founding Members, Toby Jones, Meera Syal, Kathryn Hunter and Billy Howell are part of a voiceover cast joined by a cast of real-life performers leading the audience through this experience.
Interview: 'It's the dream of being in the bright lights': Head First Acrobats' Thomas Gorham On The London Premiere Of GODZ

2 weeks ago | broadwayworld.com | Franco Milazzo

Down from Mount Olympus, these Greek Gods - sorry GODZ - come to London this week in the earthly form of Head First Acrobats (or is Acrobatz?). With a heavenly blend of adult comedy, scintillating circus and enough raw sex appeal to send Magic Mike back to Hogwarts, the Australian company scored top marks when they came to Brighton in 2023. An updated version of their hit show descends upon Peacock Theatre from 11-14 June.
A Midsummer Night's Dream

3 weeks ago | theatre-news.com | Franco Milazzo

There are few phrases in contemporary theatre more abused than “immersive.” It conjures promise—of the fourth wall dissolving, of audiences swept into a new world like leaves in a storm. But let us be clear: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge Theatre is no tempest. It is, at best, a mild breeze—delicately scented, expertly lit, and ever-so-politely passing you by.
Giffords Circus: Laguna Bay

3 weeks ago | theatre-news.com | Franco Milazzo

There’s a certain magic that descends when the Giffords Circus big top appears on the horizon—like a mirage stitched from sequins, vintage posters, and half-forgotten dreams. This year’s show, Laguna Bay, celebrates a commendable 25 years of shows with a sun-soaked trip to a 1950s Californian coast, where quiffed hunks flip around like salmon, lifeguards leap through blazing hoops, and even the seagulls seem choreographed. It’s a pastel-drenched promise of nostalgia, spectacle and summer joy.
Review: ITCH, Opera Holland Park

3 weeks ago | broadwayworld.com | Franco Milazzo

Opera Holland Park has never shied away from audacious programming, and with Jonathan Dove’s Itch, it plunges boldly into radioactive territory—literally. Originally seen here in 2023 and based on Simon Mayo’s YA novel about a teenage element hunter who stumbles upon a potentially world-altering discovery, this opera bubbling with energy, invention and musical firepower. Visually dazzling and musically engaged, it’s a thrilling experiment.