Emma Rowley

I was enthused, enthralled and excited to be asked recently to attend the press night of the UK touring production of Sister Act at the Princess Theatre Torquay.  Being one of my favourite feel good musicals, I was pleased to accept the kind invitation and was rewarded with a stand out evening of top class musical theatre entertainment. The cast, headed by Wendi Peters as Mother Superior and Landi Oshinowo […]

Since first appearing in the West End in 2018, Heathers has achieved something of a cult following, and has had a number of runs in the West End since, most recently appearing at @sohoplace, and a previous UK tour.  It's now back out on the road with it's blackly comic tale of American High School hierarchy. Written by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O'Keefe, it is based on the 1988 film […]

2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the Broadway premiere of Fiddler on the Roof and it continues to be immensely popular with young and old. Now, set in the beautiful background of Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, would this production, directed by Jordan Fein, be a worthy way to celebrate this musical milestone? The simple answer is, yes! With book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by […]

Hairspray is a well established and well loved musical.  It's 21 years since it first appeared on Broadway, and is the winner of 8 Tony and 4 Olivier awards. Based on the 1988 film by John Waters which tells the story of Tracy Turnblad a girl who doesn't fit in but is born to stand out, the show has everything, a heart warming story, touching moments, hilarious comedy and a […]

Shrek and the fairy tale company have been on a huge tour around the regional theatres since the spring of 2023 and now at the end of its journey it has taken up a summer residence at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, West London. This production has all the glamour of a West End show. Excellent direction and tight choreography by Samuel Holmes and Nick Winston that still feels fresh after […]

A Chorus Line is a musical that tells the stories of seventeen different dancers at the final recall audition for a Broadway show in the 1970s. The director, Zach (Adam Cooper), assisted by choreographer, Larry (Ashley-Jordan Packer), gets each dancer to talk about themselves rather than perform, and to tell the truth about why and how they are where they are today. It explores the separate stories of each dancer […]

To begin, Your Lie In April is based on the manga of the same name by Naoshi Arakawa, with which I am unfamiliar, so I cannot draw any direct comparisons. However, audience members did say that the characters of Ryota Watari and Tsubaki Sawabe, performed by Dean John Wilson and Rachel Clare Chan, had been cut down considerably. This is to be expected when translating a series into a musical […]

Very occasionally a show comes along that stuns the world of musical theatre. Fairly recently it was Hamilton that sent shockwaves out when it opened at the Victoria Palace in 2017, and, way back in 1984, the same thing happened when Starlight Express opened across the road at the Apollo Victoria. Now, Starlight Express is back, and it is just as thrilling and entertaining as it always was – with […]

When writing this review the only words I can find are WOW, WOW and WOW!! Unfortunately our reviews need to be a little longer than just four words! So, where to begin. I had no preconceived idea as to what to expect from this show. I’d read the blurb and had a basic understanding, but nothing prepared me for the two and a half hour emotional rollercoaster I was a […]