Adam Filipe and Jinkx Monsoon in End of the Rainbow at Soho Theatre Walthamstow, London. Picture: Danny Kaan
End of the Rainbow continues at Soho Theatre Walthamstow, London until 21 June 2026.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
In December 1968 and into 1969, legendary performer Judy Garland commenced a five-week residency at London’s legendary Talk of the Town nightclub and ‘restaurant theatre’ (the venue is now Leicester Square’s Hippodrome Casino, which also plays host to Magic Mike Live, a very different theatrical proposition).
When we first meet Garland at the start of Peter Quilter’s play, there is a sense that the downward spiral of her life may be about to change. After four unsuccessful marriages, she is now engaged to Mickey Deans, who has taken on the role of her manager and is organising her London concerts. But the cracks emerge almost immediately: while they are staying in the The Ritz, Garland is constantly evading the hotel manager who wants payment for their suite.
Jinkx Monsoon first came to public prominence when she won an early season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. When she returned to an ‘All Stars: All Winners’ season in 2022, she ended up winning that too. One of the performances that secured her crown was a note-perfect, comedic impression of later-in-life Garland. And so, when it was announced that Monsoon – who has since taken on Broadway roles in Chicago, Little Shop of Horrors, Oh Mary! and Pirates! The Penzance Musical – would be playing Judy in this revival, it seemed an immediately natural choice.
The big question was that while Monsoon could clearly pitch her performance at the comedic end of the spectrum, whether she could also manage the more serious, tragic aspects of Garland’s life. The answer is a resounding yes. Perhaps enhanced by her own history of struggling with addiction, Monsoon provides an electric portrayal as the woman who swears she can only function if she is pilled up.
Alongside her, Jacob Dudman’s Mickey is slightly more one-note. Although we initially see his obvious affection towards his fiancée, her reluctance to behave brings out an angrier, more frustrated side. One would hope that director Rupert Hands could have elicited a more nuanced portrayal to balance Quilter’s version of Garland.
In contrast, Adam Filipe as Judy’s pianist, Anthony, becomes Judy’s confidant and protector, even as she continues her drug and alcohol-fuelled spiral and Mickey spits homophobic abuse at him. Filipe and Monsoon become the backbone of the play. When Anthony suggests that Judy could marry him (he wouldn’t be the first homosexual she married) and retire to his flat in Brighton, one can see the flickers of such a hopeful dream flit across Monsoon’s face.
Jasmine Swan’s set, tiered steps decked in ruched chiffon, lends an abstract air to the show’s early scenes in Judy’s hotel suite. It means that the sudden changes from hotel to theatre are less dramatic than they could be, largely relying on lighting changes and a drawing apart of the backdrop curtain to reveal musical director Nick Barstow’s five-piece band. However, Monsoon’s onstage costume quick-change is executed flawlessly.
And flawless is how one would also describe Monsoon’s portrayal of Garland, especially in Act II. True, Garland’s performance is anything but – some songs are performed to a T, and yet in others she slurs her words, gets tangled in the microphone cord, runs off stage and even sings the wrong song. But all these missteps are executed with such precision that it’s important to recognise Monsoon’s ability to characterise one of the greatest stage singers of all times on the occasions when she could not match her reputation.
End of the Rainbow is long, perhaps overlong. Billed at two and a half hours, it runs closer to three. There are periods where the pace could be tightened without losing either characterisation or plotting. Despite that, though, this revival of Quilter’s play demonstrates not only what an awesome talent Judy Garland was even when high on pills and booze, but how this is the role that Jinkx Monsoon was born to play.
Scott Matthewman
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