Karen Bussell

6 days ago | britishtheatreguide.info | Karen Bussell

Hugely complex, beautifully engaging and rather unsatisfactory, the 10-year-old Olivier and Tony Award-winning emotional rollercoaster Dear Evan Hansen continues to provoke difficult conversations. Dealing with the big, dark issues of teenage angst, tenuous friendships, exploitation of tragedy, mental health, the desperation to belong and fractured relationships magnified and skewed by social media, Steven Leverson somehow manages to still make the piece entertaining.

1 week ago | britishtheatreguide.info | Karen Bussell

A family-friendly fairy tale. Gone are the staging reductions and performer bubble constraints seen last time out hot on the heels of the COVID lockdown, and instead, all is opulent and bursting at the seams with sparkly sumptuousness. Carlos Acosta is now established at the BRB helm, and he masterfully directs the revival of Sir David Bintley’s award-winning three-act classic resplendent with sparkly corps de ballet pieces, ghastly and garish stepsisters, magicked animals and glittering coach.

3 weeks ago | britishtheatreguide.info | Karen Bussell

Charming. A sweet, homespun 60 minutes for tinies and adults alike tells the tale of the Little Red Hen’s quest to plant seeds in the hope of a loaf. Her farmyard friends—the football-loving pig, languid cow and lazy rat—are far too selfish to help her sow, water, reap and grind the wheat but rather too keen to help eat the final product. Maria Gray is the erstwhile, endearing chicken and Gareth Price-Baghurst everything else—puppeteer, helper and musician.

1 month ago | britishtheatreguide.info | Karen Bussell

The powerful examination of toxicity in a relationship coupled with the language of flowers is the unlikely premise for James Pett and Travis Clausen-Knight’s IMAGO. Fixating on the word and one of its several meanings—to emerge, butterfly-like, from darkness striving to be one’s perfect self—Clausen-Knight initiated the mesmerising piece as the duo explore connections, façades, heartbreak, abuse, desperation and anxiety—and probably more (or maybe less).

1 month ago | britishtheatreguide.info | Karen Bussell

Just a spoonful each of Walt Disney, Matthew Bourne, Cameron Mackintosh and Bob Crowley and there’s a practically perfect family musical in Mary Poppins. Playing to packed houses, the unbeatable creative quartet has crafted a spectacular show to enchant youngsters and oldies alike. Based on the stories of P L Travers and the Disney film, Stefanie Jones is spit spot-on as the magical nanny, the practically perfect answer to the Banks children’s advert.