A lively and enjoyable mix of operatic and west end musical style songs, incorporating some excellent dance routines, with passion, betrayal and humour thrown in. 

Clare Annamalai picks her top shows of 2017.

A fabulous and flamboyant farce overflowing with feel good factor.

A light-hearted medieval musical with a solid cast, occasionally brilliant comedy and some catchy songs, but sadly lacking the overall polish and wow-factor of Tim Rice’s later triumphs.

A joyful family musical with a simple aesthetic that cannot disguise its high production values.

Pros: A voyeuristic Chekhov. Clear and easy to follow with no extraneous detail. Staged well with intricate use of sound. Some audience members loved it. Cons: It lacks the weight required by the text. Character is often diluted to serve the pace of the storytelling. A short jaunt through the rain from Southwark Tube, the new locale of the Union Theatre is a stone’s throw from its previous spot, albeit on the other side of the road. With its cosy bar, ...

Pros: A high-energy cast kept up the pace with talent and panache. Cons: The syrupy storyline oversimplified the serious and difficult subject matter. Rumpy Pumpy takes its inspiration from the true story of Jean Johnson and Shirley Landels, two women who campaigned for the legalisation of prostitution in 2006, following outrage over the murder of six sex workers in Ipswich. As part of their research these two formidable women travelled the world in pursuit of the “perfect brothel” in an ...

A musical play about two meandering lives, which has a meandering past of its own.

Despite some excellent performances and some really lovely songs, this sweet show is let down by a script which is trying to be more complex and complicated than it can manage.

An uncompromising interpretation of Henry V. Well performed, but a little dry.