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The View From The Stalls, Suffolk Street Queensway, Birmingham (2026)

17/06/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A hilarious slice of life in 1970s suburban Britain

Few and far between are those TV plays which accurately reflect the zeitgeist of the time and even fewer are those which have, as their lead, a performer who will forever be associated with that role and embedded in the nation’s hearts for decades to come. The play? Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party. The actress? Alison Steadman of course who brought to life this little piece of suburban life in late 1970’s Essex and who was married to Leigh at the time.

Starting its Summer tour in Malvern, this time it is the turn of acclaimed actress Tamzin Outhwaite to take on the role of Beverly, the music loving, cigarette-smoking, bitchy wife of poor downtrodden estate agent husband Laurence (Kevin Bishop, recently seen on TV in Only Child). New neighbours Angela (Lauren Patel from Small Prophets) and Tony (Omar Malik) initially bear the brunt of Beverley’s over-enthusiastic welcome until the arrival of another more grounded neighbour Sue (Pandora Colin), mother of the eponymous never-seen but often spoken of Abigail, who has left her 15 year old to have her own party.

Anyone who knows the play will remember that it takes place in the lounge of Beverly and Laurence’s home so it comes as a bit of surprise when the first thing that the audience sees when they see the stage is a view of the outside of the house and a window. Not to worry – a few special effects later and Beverly is viewed standing on a table giving Donna Summer’s “Love to love you baby” all she’s got. If that was a surprise, the start of the second act is even more hilarious and inventive (no spoilers here!). Other pieces of music feature in the play, most notably Demis Roussos…

Tamsin Outhwaite does an excellent job at displaying the extremes of behaviour of Beverley in her voluminous orange dress, whether she is offering to repeatedly “top up” her guests’ drinks, showing her obvious delight at the fact that Tony is a former Crystal Palace football player and consequently flirting with him or her disdain for her husband’s blandness and devotion to pleasing his clients’ needs above hers. She is manipulative, crafty and coercive all without necessarily realising it, never taking No for an answer from anyone and yet there are moments when you genuinely have to feel sorry for her too particularly in the final few minutes of the play.

The script is incredibly well-written, making the most of the mundane nature of most of life’s interactions and cringe-inducing moments with Tony a man of few words, mostly “Ta” when offered yet another drink or a cigar, and Angela getting increasingly “relaxed” and opening up about their marriage as the booze takes hold. Sue is the one person who suffers most with drink, in spite of being the most level-headed of all of them – blame Beverly for that!. And Laurence – well, you feel sorry for him throughout the play (though his barely concealed views on how the neighbourhood has “changed” over the years are more than a little telling) with Kevin Bishop in his drab estate agent suit in complete contrast to the somewhat hideous orange/brown/beige wallpapered setting which is entirely self-contained within a "box" on stage. If only the play had taken us to the bathroom, we would no doubt have been treated to an avocado green bath suite of which Beverly would have been as proud of as the print that she shows her guests which was consigned to the bedroom by Laurence due to it being actually quite dreadful!

This is one of those shows where you feel almost embarrassed to laugh at, given the nature of Beverly towards her guests and husband. It is still nonetheless very, very funny in a sad sort of way!

All reviews are available on the website: www.theviewfromthestalls.org.uk

11/06/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An incredibly professional and stunning achievement from a wholly amateur company

It is now 140 years since BMOS Musical Theatre Company first started presenting shows and over those decades, they have staged many different types of shows, not necessarily just “opera” ones. In recent years, these have ranged from 42nd Street to The Sound of Music and from Guys and Dolls to last year’s rather spectacular Les Misérables. “Beat that!” as they say. In making their choice for this year’s show, they may well have done that but to do so, they have moved the scenario well into the future…

With the story and script by Ben Elton, We Will Rock You takes the audience on a journey into a world where one global corporation named Globalsoft rules, AI is king and music is effectively banned as are all instruments. Songs and lyrics are hidden away in secret vaults never to be heard. Unless…

We may be 300 years into the future, but the key to unlocking individualism lies with the music of Queen who, fortuitously, have an amazing number of varied hit tracks which form the soundtrack to what is effectively a jukebox musical. The two main characters are Galileo and Scaramouche – see what they did there?! – played with excellent vocal skills by Dan Smith and Charlotte Jervis in a pairing which moves seamlessly between a dislike for each and other and lust for each other (the latter being well appreciated by the audience!). Galileo has dreams which he cannot make head nor tail of, formed mainly of song titles and bits of lyrics and these elements are part of the laugh-out-loud humour of the show. After all, before deciding on calling her “Scaramouche”, an alternative put forward was “Ernie, the fastest milkman in the West”! Working for the Corporation are Killer Queen (Fiona Farnsworth) and Khashoggi (Robin Love) who will do all in their power to stop this underground movement by the so-called Bohemians, led by Brit and Oz (Gavin Whichello and Heaven Okah. One of those, Buddy (Mike James), has some inkling of what things were like in the old days, looking much like a Status Quo roadie in the process! Other members of the Bohemians have taken names of past musicians too such as David Bowie, Tina Turner, Boy George and Madonna (a hilarious portrayal by Tim Jones).

The songs themselves have been cleverly crafted into the script by Ben Elton and form the perfect vehicle for not only heartfelt solos or duets but also many rousing ensemble pieces. And the music of Queen needs to be played loud! So it is a good thing that there is, hidden away somewhere, a superb 7-piece band. At least, they are hidden away until towards the end, the screen at the rear of the stage rises and they are revealed in all their glory.

That screen, which takes up the whole width of the Alexandra stage, is important too as it is used to display some incredibly complex and detailed moving graphics – a world away from what was achievable a few years ago for a professional company let alone an amateur one. The stage itself is fairly simple, the main element being illuminated moveable “doorways”. Words can describe it but only the images from the show can really convey how colourful and well-staged this production is with superb costumes and the behind-the-scenes operations ensuring everything, from microphones to sound, going exactly as expected to provide a show which would put many a professional one to shame and one which the audience absolutely adored.

In something of a contrast, next year’s show will feature an embittered ogre, an obsessive ruler, a donkey and a princess. Yes, Shrek The Musical will run from 15th to 19th June 2027!

The Alexandra
Birmingham's BMOS Musical Theatre Company

All reviews are available on the website: www.theviewfromthestalls.org.uk

Note: ATG Entertainment require the following statement. This review is an advertisement and has been incentivised by the provision of tickets.

10/06/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Creepy and believable – a modern take on a 90s classic

Although Single White Female is as recent as the 1992 film version starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh, based on a 1990 book of almost the same name (“SWF Seeks Same”), it has, for numerous reasons, undergone quite a step change for the new stage version.

The initial premise remains the same – post marriage break up, a woman is struggling financially to pay the bills and so agrees to have a lodger to help cushion the blow. That lodger slowly insinuates herself into her life and becomes her worst and very dangerous nightmare. There are quite a few changes however which allow the script to be bang up to date. The puppy Buddy of the original has become Bella, a stroppy social media obsessed 15 year old and with talk of Ozempic and other current terminology, the show is pretty much as up to date as it could be, whilst retaining the tension of the original plot and enclosed one-room setting. Oh, and there is also the baby…

Lisa Faulkner (mum Allie) and Kim Marsh (as the lodger Hedy) become sparring partners in this creepy thriller, one conniving and deceitful, the other naïve and so easily led, or rather misled, that you want her to stop and take a good look at herself. Meanwhile daughter Bella (Amy Snudden) naturally sides with whoever gives her the most benefits with mum strictly applying the rules and leaving Hedy to sneakily buy her expensive shoes and pretending to be her mother when it comes to agreeing for her to break those rules. The other two male characters are Allie’s ex Sam (Jonny McGarrity) and best friend Graham (Andro) both of whom suffer at Hedy’s narcissistic and deviant hands… All the roles are well played and believable (in the sense that you have to believe that someone can be as coercive as Hedy and as manipulatable as Allie which, again, we now understand does take place) but it is possibly Amy Snudden who best portrays a character so wound up in social media to the exclusion of everything else, throwing the toys out of the pram at every opportunity whilst at the same time being bullied for being different (ie poorer) compared with her fellow students. Not that she is in any way an angel herself…

The set portrays the clean lines of modern living, in contrast to the “affordable” flat with its many faults, noisy lift, regular power cuts and dodgy electrical fittings, all hallmarks of today’s city living. In between the scenes, there is a thumping soundtrack and flashing lights as the cast reposition themselves (although the set itself doesn’t change). And there is the baby’s cot…

Truth be told that if you know the original story/film and are expecting a faithful stage adaptation, you may be bemused by the lack of fidelity at the detail level. On the other hand, if you enjoy a thriller with a great deal of tension and a few shocks along the way, then this will be right up your street and by bringing it firmly into 2026 rather than trying to replicate 1990 when social media did not even exist, the impact of Rebecca Reid’s adaptation is that much greater and more relatable. Key to the book/film/show is to have two actors who ultimately can be mistaken for one another and here, the combination of Lisa Faulkner and Kim Marsh works very well indeed.

As an aside, there is an amusing typo in the show programme where the expression is written as “single while female” which could indeed be a whole different play!

All reviews are available on the website: www.theviewfromthestalls.org.uk

03/06/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Annie’s back in town with a great cast and La Voix particularly impressive as the iconic Miss Hannigan

Annie is one of those shows where actors must clamour to be considered for one of the main roles, more specifically that of Miss Hannigan who “cares for” the young orphans or foundlings under her wing. In the previous tour of the show, this honour went to the late and much-lamented Paul O’Grady followed by Craig Revel Horwood but it is not exclusively a male-in-drag role as it has also been played by Elaine C Smith and Jodie Prenger and will be performed by Claire Sweeney from July. There is definitely something about having this overbearing woman played by a man and in this new touring version, now in its second week on the road, it is Christopher Dennis who takes on the role. Christopher Dennis? Better known, of course, as La Voix! Given that Miss Hannigan’s fridge is full of bottles of gin, she is clearly not the ideal person to be responsible for a bunch of not-unsurprisingly unruly kids, all of who were on stage in their beds as the audience took their seats and suddenly burst into life on cue.

Another force to be reckoned with is little Annie, determined to find who her real parents are after being left at the shelter some years before. With all the children’s roles, there are three young actors for each one and in this opening performance it was Sophia Saravanan who played the young orphan Annie (there are also 3 more understudies waiting in the wings for their turn at the role!). There is one other important element which has to be split between two “actors” – that is Sandy, the stray pooch befriended by Annie and played by either Amber, a labradoodle, or Dizzy, a cockapoo. And the key to getting the animals to act as required? A subtle supply of treats, and lots of them! Perfectly cast and well-behaved, the audience fell immediately in love with the pooch.

The set which greets the audience is a massive array of street maps of the city along with large pieces of an illuminated jigsaw with the first scene taking place in the room where the orphans sleep. With the two most famous songs from the show - It's a Hard Knock Life and Tomorrow - giving the audience a good introduction to the talented young actors playing the orphans, it is a lively well-choreographed start to the evening. Hearts melt of course when the stray dog Sandy appears on stage, as she does regularly throughout the show, sometimes just charging from one side to the other and disappearing into the wings. And when Miss Hannigan appears to much cheering from the audience, the villain of the piece is revealed giving La Voix the chance to ham it up in the way drag artists do best.

The man of the moment is Daddy Warbucks (a great vocal performance from Alex Bourne), a billionaire who decides to invite one orphan to spend Christmas at his mansion and selects Annie, ultimately making plans to formally adopt her. But that plan could be thwarted by Miss Hannigan and her brother Rooster who along with his floozie hatch a plan to pretend to be Annie’s parents and share the $50,000 “reward” money.

In spite of the large cast, many of them still have to perform dual roles within the show and it is the finale when we get to see them all on stage together that we see how big a production it has been, especially impressive for a touring show with multiple set changes and an 8-piece orchestra.

Annie is always going to attract big audiences and with La Voix at the helm of this part of the tour, it was pretty much a full house on opening night with a very appreciative audience showing their support.

The Alexandra

All reviews are available on the website: www.theviewfromthestalls.org.uk

Note: ATG Entertainment require the following statement. This review is an advertisement and has been incentivised by the provision of tickets.

02/06/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Funny, touching and a real delight to have stage royalty in town

If there is one thing that is amazing about Allegra, it is that it stars a sprightly Dame who has just celebrated her 80th birthday and has decided to go on tour with the show performing in it 8 times a week from Monday to Saturday. Dame Maureen Lipman is the actor in question and if Allegra has shades of another play which is on tour – Glorious! The story of a woman who will sing (badly) at every opportunity – it is not surprising as both are written by Peter Quilter and Dame Maureen has, in fact, appeared as Florence Foster Jenkins as well.

Whilst Glorious! deals with a woman who virtually bribes her friends to go along with her, Allegra is different in many ways. She lives alone in a style of her own choosing but supported by her brother Ronen (John Middleton who played Emmerdale’s Ashley Thomas for more than 20 years), who much against her wishes organises for a lady to pop in and do a bit of cleaning and cooking. Fortunately, Anna (Elizabeth Bower) can play on her Czech background and forms a solid bond with Allegra. But with Allegra bursting into song at the most unexpected moments (the pastries have arrived in the local shop. Hurrah! Let’s sing about it…), it seems that her behaviour is becoming more of a nuisance than a pleasure, something which Officer Rogers (Bailey Patrick) is determined to stamp out. Fat chance of that happening!

The other thing about Allegra is that she has some mild form of dementia, becoming very forgetful, going shopping for food and returning with a petrol can, and occasionally living in what she admits is her own little world where her singing is done to the exclusion to everyone else. Allegra just wants to live life in accordance with her name – being happy and fun, though not everyone agrees with her approach.

This not just a comedy but a musical comedy and it is the musical elements which are really unexpected and which work so well, performed by all four on stage who are obviously having a whale of a time (the standing ovation was their reward). With lighting and sound effects and the words often displayed too (yes, the audience get to join in as we are deemed to be the old folks in the care home), the rather bizarre nature of these musical interludes – especially Tiptoe through the tulips - is both hilarious and wonderfully evocative of what is going on in Allegra’s mind, the biggest transformation being Bailey Patrick’s conversion from stuffy officious policeman to becoming the hilarious life and soul of the dance routines.

Beneath all this jollity is the more serious side of ageing and forgetfulness – maybe it’s not good to think that 3pm is a suitable time to get out of bed, or the need to keep one’s mind occupied and the need to take medication as prescribed. On the other hand when Ronen declares that “unhappiness is the new normal – the default resting state”, Allegra unsurprisingly – and perfectly logically – responds “So why am I the one taking the tablets?!”. The serious side is deftly handled and you come away with the feeling that with people like Allegra around, the world is a much happier place and it is not so much Allegra whose condition has to be dealt with, but the rest of us who miss out on such a happy state.

Maureen Lipman has been a stalwart of stage and screen for many years, from classical theatre to a TV Agony aunt, from being unidentified in last year’s Christmas The Masked Singer to being the star of the only adverts for BT that anyone actually remembers – “you get an ology, you're a scientist” - from her own one-woman West End show Rose to this funny and touching musical comedy – we must be grateful that Dame Maureen wisely decided not to pursue her childhood dream to become an air hostess if only because she “hates flying”, instead becoming one of our most respected and much loved actors. Allegra the show and Dame Maureen the actor demonstrate that if you put your mind to it, nothing is impossible whatever your age, an attitude which puts a number of younger actors to shame.

All reviews are available on the website: www.theviewfromthestalls.org.uk

28/05/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 short stories encompassing comedy and pathos in a single setting

“Deckchairs” by Jean McConnell gives us not one but five separate short stories based around one location - a couple of chairs on a seaside promenade overlooking a pier. And each of these stories concerns two people - both women from different walks of life - in a mix of comedy and drama vignettes, each lasting no more than 20 minutes and each with a sting in the tail. The show is at the Swan Studio and is directed by Jason Mosely who has directed many other shows from STAC.

So it is that we start with Thelma and Eleanor (Helen Broadfield and Julia Blois) as dog lovers, Thelma with her pedigree pug ready to sire the next generation whilst Eleanor’s mongrel is happy to do what dogs do naturally with little regard to class or pedigree. Sparks fly as the owners trade insults…

From comedy to drama in Early Blight with mother and daughter Helen and June (Kate Moore and Gemma Matthews). June feels trapped having to look after her mother at home rather than leading her own life but worse is to come as Helen has been hiding a secret from her daughter which could have led her having a more fulfilling life. Walking away seems to be June’s only option.

Then it’s back to comedy in Shoppers where Rosemary and Angela (Rebecca Sharp and Sarah Gill) meet up to discuss their once-a-week shopping trip, and who, whilst good friends, try subtly to outdo the other in their purchases from famous shops.

After the interval, two more plays follow starting with Late Frost where friends Pamela and Kate (Kimberley Bevan and Kerry Horne) have to confront an uncomfortable truth about Pamela’s deceased husband in a test of friendship in the unexpected face of disloyalty and deceit.

Finally, Dancers brings together Betty and Wynn (Michelle Whitfield and Jane Lush) as ballroom dancers on the lookout for their next able-bodied partners - will two apparently recently bereaved fellas do the trick or will their competition get to them first?

Five totally different stories and ten different actors playing the roles, portraying characters who are linked together in some way and who, by the end of the short time that we get to meet them, are either closer together or further apart than ever. Either way, you can certainly believe in the characters we are presented with, whose conversations typify what you might encounter if you happen to be eaves-dropping one day on the seaside promenade…

In addition to the run at the Swan Studio until 30th May, the play will be performed at the Coach House Theatre, Malvern from 11th to 13th June 2026

The next production from STAC will be The Birds by Conor McPherson (based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier) which is a dark intense exploration of 3 characters from different walks of life experiencing relentless and inexplicable attacks from the birds in the sky. It runs from 1st to 3rd October at the Coach House Theatre, Malvern and from 28th to 31st October at the Swan Studio

All reviews are available on the website: www.theviewfromthestalls.org.uk

27/05/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐A superbly atmospheric adaptation of life in an American State Penitentiary

The fans were out in force last night at the Alexandra. Oriental fans, show programmes, printed tickets – anything, in fact, that could create a bit of a breeze in an auditorium which felt at times like we were captive inside a prison. Which is lucky, as what we were witnessing on stage was exactly that.

The Shawshank Redemption is horror writer Steven King's 1982 story (a novella actually called Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption - Rita actually plays a key part in the story) of a group of men incarcerated for their typically murderous deeds and was, back in 1994, made into a film starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. In this touring version of the play, those roles are played by Ben Onwukwe as Ellis "Red" Redding, Joe McFadden as Andy Dufresne and Bill Ward as Warden Stammas. As this takes place in a male penitentiary, all the characters, inmates and staff, are male and the play covers 20 years of their lives.

The impressive set is designed to give some idea of the conditions in which the men are kept, noisy, cramped and a lack of privacy leading to the inevitable clashes of individuals (though always under the auspices of the guards who can spot most, but not all, of the things going on). Additional scenes are brought in to cover the canteen, library, the prison governor's office and the solitary confinement cell. And all the time, the wardens are watching from high up, guns at the ready and always perfectly willing to use them. The play doesn't - and shouldn't - shy away from strong language and has scenes of physical abuse and implied male r**e as well as the bribery and corruption we would expect in such an environment. That is exactly what Red does - he is a man who can get things for the other inmates. When Andy first arrives, and for a couple of years afterwards, he is quiet, reserved and shy but is befriended by Red. He also has banking skills which are of use to the governor, which could be either his making or his downfall…

Among the threats and actual violence, particularly that meted out by the two "sisters" Rooster (Ashley D Gale) and Bogs (Sean Kingsley), are moments of humour from Rico (Samarge Hamilton) with his quotes from Lady Chatterley's Lover, pages of which he stole from the “library” run by Brooksie (Kenneth Jay)!
Onwukwe is effectively also the narrator of the story, often talking directly to the audience whilst McFadden is well cast as the introvert Andy who manages to have his feet in both camps and is seen as the saviour of new arrival Tommy Williams (Kyle Harrison-Pope) who has some information about his conviction which could prove useful. Andy takes on the mentorship of Tommy believing he can get him through his exams which leads to one of nastiest and catastrophic betrayals in the show (not by Dufresne who all the time was working on his own escape and attempt to clear his name). The tension remains right to the end regarding the situation between Red and Andy - plans had been made and agreed on but could they be achieved?

This stage version benefits from being on a virtually static set - regardless of the specific scene, we are always inside the prison with its 4 walls and attentive vicious guards. Things don’t change much even after 20 years and to be confined for such a length of time must be quite soul-destroying, especially if you consider that you have been wrongly convicted.

The oppressive dank set also provides the biggest possible contrast to the very final scene…

The show is well worth a visit even if you have seen the film or the show when it last toured 4 years ago.

All reviews are available on the website: www.theviewfromthestalls.org.uk

Note: ATG Entertainment require the following statement. This review is an advertisement and has been incentivised by the provision of tickets.

The Alexandra

13/05/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A lot of characters and a lot of travel – with a cast of just four!

Graham Greene’s Travels with my Aunt concerns retired bank manager Henry Pulling, whose only pleasure in life is tending to his dahlias, and the aunt he comes across at the funeral of his mother, who it turns out is not actually his mother anyway. Aunt Augusta is unexpectedly his sole remaining relative and she has a somewhat more lively and open attitude to life in spite of (or because of) her advancing years. Hers is a life of fun, adventure, travel, political intrigue and romance with a guy called Wordsworth from Sierra Leone. Subsequently he decides to set off with his aunt on her travels across Europe and beyond, ending up in South America, along the way meeting upwards of two dozen characters.

Quite a grand scenario then so it might come as a bit of a surprise when, on the relatively small stage of the Coach House Theatre, we are introduced to the cast, all four of them, all of them dressed identically and all male. And the stage contains just a couple of packing crates and coat stands.

What follows is a masterclass in actors taking on multiple roles with just a few additions such as a hat or an umbrella and an appropriate accent to represent a whole range of different people. Under Director David Hubball, Giles Havergal’s adaptation of the book involves the actors Mark Topping, James Parsons, Jolyon Wolfin and Morgan Rees-Davies and whilst Mark Topping is the only one to take on Aunt Augusta’s character, all of them play Henry as well as a range of characters from Henry’s erstwhile lover Miss Keane, Turkish policemen, the Tooleys - a CIA agent (father) and young American female hippie (daughter) - and Visconti, another of his aunt’s lovers. The best impersonation of the night though was none of these, nor was it even human - it was Jolyon Wolfin’s impression of a randy Irish Wolfhound which was so true to life!

Given the number of countries they passed through, from London to Paris and Istanbul then, somewhat surprisingly, Argentina and Paraguay, the cast also have the chance to play on country stereotypes too, to great effect.

Whilst the stage may be small, the production was very successful in using that to its advantage – with everything happening right in front of our eyes including many rapid changes of scene and character making the whole show a really enjoyable small theatre experience.

Here to There productions will be back in Malvern at the Coach House Theatre with The Father from 23rd to 28th November as well as for Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at Priory Park on 30th August. Some shows are also staged at the Acorn Theatre in Cheltenham.

Here To There Productions

All reviews are available on the website: www.theviewfromthestalls.org.uk

12/05/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐An utterly brilliant yet ridiculously silly musical comedy!

Operation Mincemeat was a massive deception which caused Hi**er to relocate 90,000 troops from Sicily to Sardinia. Make a film about it? Sure – they did that in 2021 with Colin Firth. But prior to that, in 2019, someone had the bright idea of creating a comedy musical about the event which helped change the course of World War II.

And as luck would have it, SplitLip have created one of the funniest, most inventive shows you will ever see.

The show is relatively unique in that it is running concurrently in London and touring the UK (as well as on Broadway and shortly China and Australia/New Zealand) which means that they have to produce identical shows simultaneously. The touring show has a cast of 9 possible actors with 5 of them chosen for each performance. Each of those actors has one major character to represent but a myriad of others as well. In true British farce style, men play women, women play men. And this is done on a massive set (with the show running 6 days a week) which towards the end of the show gets even bigger…

The characters they play are real people, those who were involved in the actual events of 1943 – Ewen Montagu, Charles Cholmondeley, John Bevan, Jean Leslie and Hester Leggat. And finally Major William Martin who did not actually exist but was created by the Brits to put the Germans off the scent. In reality, it was revealed until 1996 that the body used for this deceit with a briefcase full of fake documents, was that of a homeless Welshman called Glyndwr Michael, dumped in Vuelva in Spain (How to get there? “Just carry on past France until you hear the maracas”!).

It is a musical so the songs tell the story with conversations often turning into musical numbers. With quite dazzling speed, the set continually changes as do the roles being played by this incredibly talented cast, one minute office workers then a second later with the flick of a light switch, the crew of a submarine. It pays homage to those involved in the most British and gentle, fun way (given that there will be descendants of these people who must be intrigued as to how they are represented) and even pokes fun at Ian Fleming who worked for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War. It also mentions the film version, proclaiming “at least it’s not a bloody musical”! There is also a phrase which you hope to never hear again. In a variation on what bears do in the woods, Cholmondeley, a nervous person at the best of times, responds to a question with “Do newts have a pen*s!?”.

Three things in particular are worthy of specific mention:

When Hester Leggatt is given the task of writing a love letter – in song form - from the dead man’s fictitious fiancée to make the character more “real”, it is the most beautiful, quiet couple of minutes which had the audience enthralled in total silence.

Which is more than can be said for the opening of Act 2, which had the 5 actors playing N***s in a loud colourful Germanic rave to enormous applause from the audience. Which led to the comment from the stage: “Really?! Whose side are you on?”.

The final thing is one which cannot be described as it would spoil the surprise. Suffice to say that to finish the show, the cast put on “A Glitzy Finale”. When the curtains open, you will have never seen anything quite like it. It is a stunning end to a remarkable show.
It really is a treat to have the opportunity to see a touring version of a now well-established and multi award winning show. The whole audience gave it the standing ovation it truly deserved.

The Alexandra
Operation Mincemeat

All reviews are available on the website: www.theviewfromthestalls.org.uk

Note: ATG Entertainment require the following statement. This review is an advertisement and has been incentivised by the provision of tickets.

The View From The Stalls

17/06/2026

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10/06/2026

03/06/2026

02/06/2026

28/05/2026

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12/05/2026

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