Iolanthe continues at Wilton’s Music Hall, London until 28 February 2026. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ This fun production, with excellent singing in a beautiful historic venue, is well worth the price of the ticket.
Tag Archives | John Savournin
HMS Pinafore – London Coliseum
HMS Pinafore continues at the London Coliseum until 7 February 2026. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This excellent laugh-a-minute production is suitable for all the family from age five and up.
The Magic Flute – Wilton’s Music Hall
The Magic Flute continues at Wilton’s Music Hall, London until 8 March 2025. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Mozart’s family-friendly masterpiece The Magic Flute is given some English patter in this new, clever and deliciously cheesy translation from John Savournin (book) and David Eaton (lyrics).
The Pirates of Penzance – London Coliseum
The Pirates of Penzance continues at the London Coliseum until 21 February 2025. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ This is family entertainment at its best.
The Yeomen of the Guard – Opera Holland Park
The Yeomen of the Guard continues at Opera Holland Park, London until 10 August 2024. Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ Despite this tragic ending, the joyful tunes of this bittersweet story stay with you.
The Sorcerer – Wilton’s Music Hall and Touring
The Sorcerer was reviewed at Wilton’s Music Hall, London. The tour continues until 18 August 2024. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ G&S fans and lovers of English comedy should flock to see this rare gem.
Five Questions With: John Savournin
Script writer and director John Savournin and composer, lyricist and musical director David Eaton’s Christmas production Odyssey: A Heroic Pantomime – a madcap retelling of one of the oldest and most thrilling journeys ever undertaken – continues at London’s Jermyn Street Theatre until 31 December 2023.
Express G&S – Wilton’s Music Hall
Express G&S continues at Wilton’s Music Hall, London until 18 August 2023. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
HMS Pinafore – London Coliseum
HMS Pinafore continues at the London Coliseum until 11 December 2021. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Colourful costumes, bawdy jokes, silly songs, Les Dennis: oh, how we have missed panto season! That isn’t quite fair of course. Dennis has recently been praised for a string of RSC acting roles, proving himself […]
Cal McCrystal directs ENO’s first ever production of HMS Pinafore
The English National Opera will present its first ever production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic masterpiece HMS Pinafore at the London Coliseum later this month. Directed by Cal McCrystal, the award-winning Irish director who returns to the ENO for the first time since the hit 2018 production of Iolanthe, the new version of the much-loved […]
Express G&S – Pleasance Theatre
Express G&S continues at the Pleasance Theatre, London until 2 July 2021 (Wednesday to Friday) before embarking on a UK tour. Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩ Billed as “When Agatha Christie meets Gilbert and Sullivan”, Express G&S is a new parlour production from Charles Court Opera inspired by the one-act frivolities popular […]
Iolanthe – Maltings Theatre, St Albans
Iolanthe at the Maltings Theatre, St Albans as part of the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival and Touring. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Hats off to the cast for cheerfully continuing on a relentlessly wet night. They stopped ten minutes in so that the stage management team could cover the set and […]
London premiere for Charles Court Opera’s Express G&S
Charles Court Opera has emerged from lockdown with the London premiere of musical murder mystery Express G&S and a UK tour of its acclaimed production of Iolanthe. Described as ‘the masters of G&S in small spaces’, the company will present its new spoof of the classic railway whodunnit at the newly configured, socially distanced Pleasance […]
Reschedued dates announced for the world premiere of Express G&S
Due to the upcoming lockdown Express G&S will now get its rescheduled world premiere at the newly configured, socially distanced Pleasance Theatre from 2-7 February 2021 (press night is 3 February). Award-winning Charles Court Opera (“The masters of G&S in small spaces”) take on the challenge of performing the complete works of Gilbert and Sullivan […]
Special outdoor version of Charles Court Opera’s H.M.S. Pinafore
Charles Court Opera is emerging from lockdown with a re-worked outdoor staging of their Offie Award-winning production of H.M.S Pinafore at The Maltings Open Air Theatre Festival later this month. Described as ‘the masters of G&S in small spaces’, the group has customised the production which played an award-winning run at London’s King’s Head Theatre […]
Kiss Me, Kate – Grand Theatre, Leeds and Touring
Kiss Me, Kate at the Grand Theatre, Leeds. The Opera North production plays four performances at the Alighieri Theatre in Ravenna, Italy before returning to the UK to play the London Coliseum from 20-30 June 2018. The show will then head for the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh from 4-7 July. Star rating: five stars ★★★★★ Reviewing Opera […]
Cast for Opera North’s Kiss Me, Kate return
Casting has been announced for the return of Opera North’s award-winning production of Cole Porter’s classic Kiss Me, Kate, which is due to open at Leeds Grand Theatre in May ahead of UK touring dates. Opera North’s production of Porter’s Golden Age musical version of the Bard’s The Taming of the Shrew, will once again […]
Kiss Me, Kate – Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff and Touring
Kiss Me, Kate continues at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff until 7 October, then plays dates in Liverpool, Llandudno, Birmingham, Oxford and Southampton. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Strictly speaking, it isn’t at all necessary to ‘Brush Up Your Shakespeare’ to enjoy the infectiously foot-tapping music and lyrics of Cole Porter’s musical […]
