By Graham Hiley. If Jane Austen were alive today, Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of) is exactly what she might have written – without as many swear words! Or jokes. Or songs. While the Hampshire author’s original version remains a work of literary genius, the satirical musical (at Chichester’s Festival...
Entertainment Reviews
Review: Ghost The Musical, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
By Martin Brisland. Having loved the movie the musical is based on; would this production be what I’ve hungered for? The Oscar-winning movie from 1990 with Demi Moore, the late Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg, was the highest grossing film of 1990 and won an Oscar for screenwriter Bruce...
Review: Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Cinderella at Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
By Charlotte Ndupuechi. I think this is when Mayflower Theatre is at its best, when hosting productions of grand scale, and Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Cinderella proved to be a dazzling showcase of artistry, spectacle, and heartfelt storytelling with of course flawless dancing. With detailed costumes, sweeping set changes that...
Review: Ryley Walker, The Joiners, Southampton
By Darren Grayer. I first became aware of Ryley Walker’s music in 2015 on release of his second solo album, Primrose Green. It picked up a fair amount of critical acclaim and the comparisons to John Martyn, Nick Drake, Michael Chapman, and Bert Jansch were enough to gain him...
Review: Dial M For Mayhem, Middle Ground Theatre Company at The Theatre Royal, Winchester
By Dan O’Farrell. A play-within-a-play is always good value, especially if it goes disastrously wrong. Shakespeare knew this well: he saved the whole last act of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ for the workmen’s hilariously inept production of ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’. In more recent times people have queued in...
Review: New Years Day with Conquer Divide – The Engine Rooms
By Spring Wise. Saturday night at The Engine Rooms was packed full of energy for New Years Day, supported by Conquer Divide. I was excited when this gig exceeded capacity from The Joiners, to fill one of Southampton’s more wheelchair-accessible venues, and it was packed. Conquer Divide are a...
Review: Dear Evan Hansen, Mayflower Theatre
By Jamie Wise. Dear Evan Hansen is a musical, book, and film about an isolated teenage boy. Evan Hansen gets stuck telling a lie that he can’t keep up with, in the hopes to gain friends, love, acceptance, and maybe even popularity. This was an incredible thing to watch....
Review: Now That’s What I Call a Musical, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, 14 January 2025
By Catherine Collins. In 1989 I was 15, so when I saw Now That’s What I Call a Musical – which opened at Mayflower Theatre last night – was set then (and in 2009 for the friends 20 year reunion) I knew I had to go. Much like we...
Review: Hairspray, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, 7 January 2025
Photo credit – Ellie Kurttz By Catherine Collins. 23 years after Hairspray the Musical first premiered there was no stopping the beat as it took to Mayflower Theatre’s stage last night. From start to finish, this vibrant, high-energy show took the audience along on the journey of teenage misfit,...
Review: The Wind in the Willows – Toad’s BIG Musical Adventure, MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton
By Martin Brisland. The Wind in the Willows – Toad’s BIG Musical Adventure, is at MAST Mayflower Studios until 31 December. Superbly directed by Jacquelyn Ockwell, this festive musical comedy version is a triumph and an absolute must see! This was the ultimate feel-good family-friendly show full of energy,...