Phil Willmott
11 Dec
Reviews 
Review: MATTHEW BOURNE’S SLEEPING BEAUTY at Sadler's Wells Theatre
By Phil Willmott Friday, December 11 2015, 21:39
It’s hard to put into words quite how much I love this production. Celebrated choreographer, Matthew Bourne, who transformed the ballet SWAN LAKE into a modern West End and Broadway hit when he re-imagined the swans as sexy, topless bird-thugs has now turned his attention to SLEEPING BEAUTY. He has taken the notoriously thin plot, traditionally staged as a series of technical dance exercises and given it wit, depth and psychological insight. The result is stunning and utterly satisfying on every level.
11 Dec
Reviews
Review: PETER PAN GOES WRONG at the Apollo Theatre
By Phil Willmott Friday, December 11 2015, 17:35
I first saw this hilarious comedy in a try out fringe production at the Pleasance Theatre some years ago.
A lot has happened since then for this brilliant team of comics, writers and improvisers and their visionary producer, Kenny Wax. Most notably the unexpected success of their first show, THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, on tour and in the West End at the Duchess Theatre.
07 Dec
Reviews
Review: AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS at St. James Theatre
By Phil Willmott Monday, December 7 2015, 16:14
AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS is a much loved novel by Jules Verne from 1873 in which Phileas Fogg, a methodical, emotionally stunted adventurer, bets a fortune that he can travel the circumference of the globe in under 80 days. He's joined by a bumbling servant, Passepartout, pursued by a detective who believes him to be a bank robber and along the way he meets his future bride, Aouda, when he rescues her from sacrifice in the Indian jungle. The chemistry between the protagonists, the race against the clock and the scrapes and escapes, which come thick and fast, all contribute to its enduring popularity.
07 Dec
New Shows
Friends star Matthew Perry returns to the West End with his own play
By Phil Willmott Monday, December 7 2015, 14:11
The American sit-com FRIENDS which ran from 1994 to 2004 has been a permanent background to our lives ever since it captured the world with its vision of loveable and witty twentysomethings starting their adult lives in Manhattan. It’s repeated across the globe, all the time, on satellite TV channels and is as popular as ever with young viewers.
It’s big news then that one of the stars, Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing in the highly rated, critically acclaimed series, is to take the lead in a new West End production of his own play, THE END OF LONGING at the Playhouse Theatre.
07 Dec
Reviews
Review: WONDER.LAND at the National Theatre
By Phil Willmott Monday, December 7 2015, 13:47
Older audiences and critics were rather underwhelmed by this massive new show, inspired by the classic children’s book ALICE IN WONDERLAND, when it premièred in Manchester earlier this year. It has now transferred to London's Oliver Theatre and if the enthusiasm of the younger audience members at the late preview I attended is anything to go by, it could prove a massive hit if it can reach the urban teenage audience it’s aimed at.
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