Our House is a musical, written by Tim Firth, with music and lyrics by Madness. This production is by Cross Keys Productions, a University of Oxford theatre company. I was interested to see it at Oxford Playhouse, and went along to review on opening night. The show opens with a medley of Madness music. This was a good chance to hear the band playing without distraction, and the musicians were superb. It was also good to see the musicians onstage when the curtain rose. I per

I was invited to review William Street at the Burton Taylor Studio by The Fifth Act Company, a student founded theatre company. The performance I saw of William Street was the first of the run. It was interesting to walk into the studio space and see a different layout to those for recent shows I’ve seen in this venue, one that worked particularly well for this show. The set consisted of a family’s living space which instantly transported us to the 1970s with furniture and

When I saw the information about Perfect Show for Rachel on a poster at the theatre, it was apparent that this was a show that would be unique. A collaboration between Zoo Co and Improbable, I was keen to review it, and who better to go with me than my friend Rachel. At the beginning, Flo O’Mahony, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Zoo Co, but more importantly, Rachel’s little sister, takes to the stage for her allotted 5 minutes to introduce the concept. She is going rel

The Beekeeper of Aleppo was inspired by Christy Lefteri’s bestselling novel of the same name. Adapted for the stage by Nesrin Alrefaai and Matthew Spangler, I was excited to see the show at Oxford Playhouse. I should note that despite having a copy of the novel, I have yet to read it so I can’t compare the two. What follows is based entirely on the stage show. Nuri and his wife Afra have been forced to flee from Syria after war takes hold. With Nuri a beekeeper in their hom