Reviews by Simon Jenner Reviews Mandy Ching Man Liu, Bonnie Liu, Irine Chagunava Recital, St Nicholas Church, Brighton “The Story of Peer Gynt” Coronet Theatre, Notting Hill “After Miss Julie” Park Theatre “Man and Boy” National Theatre Dorfman “Glorious!” Devonshire Park Theatre Eastbourne “The Tempest” The Wanamaker, Shakespeare’s Globe “Jerusalem” New Venture Theatre, Brighton “1.17am, or until the words run out” Finborough Theatre Ellie Blackshaw Violin Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “Blood Brothers” Theatre Royal Brighton “Arcadia” The Old Vic “Dance of Death” Orange Tree, Richmond “The Gambler” Coronet Theatre Notting Hill Elise Jasmine Hills Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “Midsomer Murders” Theatre Royal Brighton “The Rat Trap” Park Theatre “American Psycho” Almeida, Islington “The Lion in Winter” Brighton Little Theatre Yohei Nakajjina and Miho Sanou Viola and Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “Mrs President” Charing Cross Theatre “Cable Street” Marylebone Theatre “Guess How Much I Love You?” Royal Court Downstairs “Being Mr Wickham” Chichester Festival Minerva Theatre Kitty-Maria Clarke, Marcus Martin, Nick Boston Soprano and Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “The Olive Boy” Southwark Playhouse, Borough “Safe Haven” Arcola, Hackney “4000 Days” New Venture Theatre, Brighton “Our American Queen” Bridewell Theatre London “Single White Female” Theatre Royal Brighton Sussex Musicians Club Chapel Royal, Brighton “Orphans” Jermyn Street Theatre “The Playboy of the Western World” National Theatre, Lyttelton “The Rivals” at Orange Tree Theatre “Beauty and the Beast” New Wolsey, Ipswich “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” Orange Tree, Richmond “Pickwick and Weller” New Venture Theatre, Brighton “Christmas Day” Almeida, Islington “Sunny Afternoon” Theatre Royal Brighton Caroline Goodwin and Zhanna Kemp Soprano and Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “Alice in Wonderland” Brighton Little Theatre Sussex Musicians Club Chapel Royal, Brighton “Little Miss Christmas” Southwark Playhouse Borough “Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson” Arcola, Hackney “Cockfosters” Southwark Playhouse Borough “The Mask Policy” The Hen & Chickens, Islington “Nachtland” The Lantern Theatre, Brighton “Q.E.D.” Drayton Arms, London “Ballet Shoes” National Theatre, Olivier “Here & Now” Theatre Royal Brighton “Forbidden Places” TSITSIT Fringe, King Alfred Phoenix Theatre, Golders Green “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” The Wanamaker, Shakespeare’s Globe “The Grim” Southwark Playhouse Borough “Darkie Armo Girl” Finborough Theatre “David Copperfield” Jermyn Street Theatre John Collins Organ Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “End” National Theatre Dorfman “Jobsworth” Park Theatre 90 “Porn Play” Royal Court Daria Robertson and Jason Pimblett Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “The Woman in Black” Theatre Royal Brighton Gema Lu Cai Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “Mummified” Waterbear Music Bar, Brighton “Medium” The Lantern Theatre, Brighton Sussex Musicians Club Chapel Royal, Brighton “Kill Local” New Venture Theatre, Brighton “Kindling” Park Theatre 90 “We Are the Lions, Mr Manager” Brighthelm Centre, Brighton Emilia Karaliute Kankles Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “This Little Earth” Arcola, Hackney “Wyld Woman: The Legend of Shy Girl” Southwark Playhouse Borough “The Unbelievers” Royal Court Downstairs “Mr Jones” Finborough Theatre “The Line of Beauty” Almeida, Islington “Women Only”, “Albert’s Bridge” Brighton Little Theatre Emily Jennings and Cassandra Mathews Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “The Talented Mr. Ripley” Theatre Royal Brighton “Hedda” at Orange Tree Theatre “Crocodile Fever” Arcola, Hackney James Kirby Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts” Theatre Royal Brighton “Safe Space” Chichester Minerva Theatre “Ragdoll” Jermyn Street Theatre Paul Taylor Piano Improvisation Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “Twelfth Night” The Tabard, Turnham Green Sussex Musicians Club Chapel Royal, Brighton “Salomé” Haymarket Theatre “Troilus and Cressida ” Shakespeare’s Globe “Blue/Orange” Greenwich Theatre “The Soon Life” Southwark Playhouse Borough “2:22 A Ghost Story” Theatre Royal Brighton “Hamlet” National Theatre, Lyttelton “W. M. D. Woman of Mass Deception” New Venture Theatre, Brighton “Lee” Park Theatre “Mistero Buffo” Pleasance Theatre Peter de Souza Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton “The Lightning Thief” Theatre Royal Brighton “Inter Alia” National Theatre Live “Keep Your Sunny Side Up” The Lantern Theatre, Brighton “Who Do They Think They Are?” The Actors, Brighton “Bacchae” National Theatre Olivier Jason Ma and Seth Schultheis Cello and Piano Recital, St Nicholas Church, Brighton “Remember Your Lovers” Finborough Theatre “The Poltergeist” Arcola, Hackney “The Truth About Blayds” Finborough Theatre David Lan “The Land of the Living” National Theatre Dorfman “Cow/Deer” Royal Court Theatre Upstairs Alice Birch “Romans: A Novel” Almeida, Islington Caroline Goodwin and Zhanna Kemp Soprano and Piano Recital, St Nicholas Church, Brighton “Hamlet”, Chichester Festival Minerva Theatre “Creditors” at Orange Tree Theatre Miller “The Crucible” Brighton Little Theatre Benny Ainsworth “Vermin” Park Theatre 90 “(God Save My) Northern Soul” Park Theatre 90 Beckett “Cascando” Jermyn Street Theatre Dominic Downs Piano Recital, St Nicholas Church, Brighton Sam Edmunds “The Chaos That Has Been And Will No Doubt Return” Southwark Playhouse Borough “Deaf Republic” Royal Court Theatre Downstairs Sylvia Akagi and Peter Golden Flute, Guitar and Voice Recital, St Nicholas Church, Brighton “Death Comes to Pemberley” Theatre Royal Brighton BBC Prom 55 Shostakovich “Lady Macbeth” Royal Albert Hall “Suddenly Last Summer”, Brighton Open Air Theatre BOAT Berniya Hamie Piano Recital, St Nicholas Church, Brighton “Don Giovanni” Arcola, Grimeborn Opera, Hackney Neal Hampton, Jeffrey Haddow “Sense & Sensibility” Arcola, Grimeborn Opera, Hackney “Twelfth Night ” Shakespeare’s Globe “The Wild Washerwomen”, Brighton Little Theatre at BOAT Adrian Lukis “Being Mr Wickham” Jermyn Street Theatre BBC Prom 35 Gubaidulina, Ravel, Shostakovich Symphony No. 13, Royal Albert Hall Bubil & Schonberg “Les Misérables” Theatre Royal Brighton Trio Cavatina, St Nicholas Church, Brighton Gail Louw “ADHD? WTF is ADHD!” Playground Theatre, Kensington Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti “Choir”, Chichester Festival Minerva Theatre John Joubert “Jane Eyre” Arcola, Grimeborn Opera, Hackney Sophocles “Electra”, Brighton Open Air Theatre BOAT Matt Jelf Song Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Matthew Bourne “The Midnight Bell”, Theatre Royal Brighton Paul Gregory Guitar Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Short Plays 2025 New Venture Theatre, Brighton “UnTethered ” Yellow Book Theatre “Extraordinary Women” Jermyn Street Theatre “Top Hat”, Chichester Festival Theatre Mercedes Gancedo and Quimey Urquiaga Soprano and Piano Recital Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Robert Bolt “A Man For All Seasons “, Theatre Royal Brighton Handel “Saul”, Glyndebourne Chiara Atik “Poor Clare “, Orange Tree, Richmond “The Merry Wives of Windsor” Shakespeare’s Globe Shaan Sahota “The Estate ” National Theatre, Dorfman Ivan Hovorun Piano Recital Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton James Inverne “That Bastard, Puccini” Park Theatre 200 Fever Concert, Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” by Candelight, Brighton Pavilion Music Room Lynn Nottage, “Intimate Apparel” at Donmar Warehouse Sean Daniels “The White Chip” Southwark Playhouse, Borough Tim Price “Nye” National Theatre, Olivier Emily Jennings and Cassandra Mathews Song and Guitar Recital Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Conor McPherson “Girl from the North Country” The Old Vic “Ghost Stories”, Theatre Royal Brighton Kwanita Lau and Charles Tam Violin/Piano Recital Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Claire Dowie “H to He (I’m Turning into a man)” Finborough Sarah Kane “4.48 Psychosis” Royal Court Theatre Upstairs O’Neill “A Moon for the Misbegotten” Almeida, Islington Claire Dowie “See Primark and Die” Finborough Sheridan “The Rivals” at Brighton Open Air Theatre Regent Wind Quintet Recital Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Jordan Ross, Lindsay Rosin, Roger Kumble “Cruel Intentions”, Theatre Royal Brighton Wagner “Parsifal”, Glyndebourne Sarah Ruhl “Eurydice” New Venture Theatre, Brighton Euripides “Medea” Coronet Theatre, Notting Hill Frantisek Brikcius Cello Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton James Graham “Boys From the Blackstuff”, Theatre Royal Brighton Sussex Musicians Club Chapel Royal, Brighton Tolstoy, adapted Phillip Breen “Anna Karenina ”, Chichester Festival Theatre Joan Littlewood “Oh What a Lovely War” Brighton Little Theatre at BOAT Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti “Marriage Material” Lyric Hammersmith Claire Dowie “Why is John Lennon Wearing a Skirt?” Finborough Claire Dowie “Adult Child/Dead Child” Finborough Mario Banushi “Taverna Miresia” Coronet Theatre, Notting Hill Rachel Wagstaff “The Girl On The Train”, Theatre Royal Brighton Charlie Josephine “I, Joan” Brighton Little Theatre at BOAT The Blue Cafe Duo Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Rattigan “In Praise of Love”, Orange Tree, Richmond Aristophanes, Sondheim, Lane “The Frogs” Southwark Playhouse Borough Beth Levin Recital MOOT Concert Unitarian, Brighton Stockhausen and Feldman MOOT Concert Unitarian, Brighton Miaoyan Li Piano Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Sophocles “Electra” BN1 Arts Studio Theatre, Brighton Suse Crosby “Duty” The Lantern Theatre, Brighton Ibsen “Ghosts” New Venture Theatre, Brighton Billy Barrett, Ellice Stevens “After The Act” Royal Court Theatre Downstairs Saskia Wesnigk-Wood “Darwin’s Cleaner” Unitarian, Brighton Harriet Madeley “Outpatient” Park Theatre 90, Finsbury Park Miller “The Crucible” Shakespeare’s Globe Yoko Ono Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Timberlake Wertenbaker “Little Brother ” Jermyn Street Theatre Isaac Freeman “Medium ” The Lantern Theatre, Brighton G. K .Chesterton “The Man Who Was Thursday”, Rotunda Bubble, Brighton Fringe Athena Stevens “Diagnosis ” Finborough “North by Northwest” Wise Children, Theatre Royal Brighton Cellist Siriol Hugh-Jones and Pianist Stephen Carroll-Turner Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Ava Pickett “1536” Almeida, Islington Stephen Sondheim, David Ives “Here We Are” National Theatre Lyttelton Shakespeare “Hamlet” Teatro La Plaza (Peru), Theatre Royal Brighton Stoppard “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead”, Friends Meeting House, Brighton Jonathan McLean “Touching it Makes Baby Jesus Cry: The Musical”. Caxton Arms, Brighton Deborah Clair “Dangerous to Know ” The Lantern Theatre, Brighton Jon Fosse “Einkvan” Coronet Theatre, Notting Hill Jez Butterworth “Parlour Song”, Greenwich Theatre John Collins Organ Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky “The Gang of Three” King’s Head Theatre, Islington Shakespeare “Romeo and Juliet” Shakespeare’s Globe R L Stevenson/Neil Bartlett “Jekyll and Hyde” Brighton Little Theatre Corrina O’Beirne “With Ruby & I” The Lantern Theatre, Brighton Tim Coakley “In Search of the Dance” The Lantern Theatre, Brighton Heather Alexander “Becoming Maverick” The Actors, Brighton Melanie Bell, Hannah Doyle “Joan”, The Actors, Brighton Joel Tan “Scenes from a Repatriation” Royal Court Theatre Upstairs St Nicholas Kenny Fu Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Samuel Rees and Gabriele Uboldi “Lessons on Revolution” Jermyn Street Theatre Helen Edmundson “The Heresy of Love” New Venture Theatre, Brighton Mark Ravenhill “Ben and Imo”, Orange Tree, Richmond Conor McPherson “The Brightening Air” The Old Vic St Nicholas Eugenia and Quentin Russell Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Christie “Murder on the Orient Express” Theatre Royal Brighton Simon Stephens “Heisenberg” Arcola, Hackney Grace Joy Howarth “The Inseparables” Finborough El Blackwood “Tending” Riverside Studios Hammersmith Richard O’Brien “Rocky Horror Show” Theatre Royal Brighton Sussex Musicians Club Chapel Royal, Brighton Robert Icke “Manhunt” Royal Court Theatre Downstairs Martin McDonagh “The Beauty Queen of Leenane”, Southwick Players, The Barn Southwick Naomi Denny “All the Happy Things” Soho Theatre Louis-Viktor Bak Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Jonathan Maitland “WILKO: Love and Death and Rock ‘n’ Roll” Southwark Playhouse Borough Ian Shaw, Joseph Nixon “The Shark is Broken” Theatre Royal, Brighton Lula Mebrahtu “I Am – OommoO” The Old Market, Brighton Micheál Mac Liammóir “The Importance of Being Oscar” Jermyn Street Theatre Ionesco “Rhinoceros” Almeida, Islington Anna Brikciusova Solo Cello Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Sammy Fain/Paul Francis Webster/Philip J Lang “Calamity Jane” Theatre Royal Brighton Elizabeth Newman “The Secret Garden”/Mark Evans “Bleak Expectations” Brighton Little Theatre Armando Iannucci, Sean Foley, Stanley Kubrick “Dr Strangelove” NT Live Mark O’Rowe “The Approach” New Venture Theatre, Brighton Pam Cragg and Maggie Grimsdell Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Harvey Fierstein/Cyndi Lauper “Kinky Boots” The Musical, Theatre Royal Brighton Nick Hyde “Double Act” Southwark Playhouse, Borough James Graham “Dear England” National Theatre Olivier April de Angelis “Playhouse Creatures”, Orange Tree, Richmond Franz Xaver Kroetz “Men’s Business” Finborough Theatre John Bruzon Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Steve Barrey “Flutter-Bye” Ironworks Studios, Brighton O’Donnell/Meehan/Waters “Cry-Baby” Arcola, Hackney Jane Upton “(the) Woman” Connaught, Worthing C. S. Lewis/Sally Cookson “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” Theatre Royal Brighton Topher Payne “Perfect Arrangement” Brighton Little Theatre Sussex Musicians Club Chapel Royal, Brighton Shakespeare “Macbeth” Lyric Hammersmith Michael Abbensetts/Trish Cooke “Alterations” National Theatre, Lyttelton Peter James “Picture You Dead” Theatre Royal Brighton Nick Payne “One Day When We Were Young” Park Theatre 90, Finsbury Park Teatro dei Gordi “Pandora” Coronet, Notting Hill Anna Morris “Son of a Bitch” Southwark Playhouse, Borough Oliver Cotton “The Score” Theatre Royal, Haymarket Khawla Ibraheem “A Knock on the Roof” Royal Court Theatre Downstairs Ronojit Bhuyan Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Chekhov “Three Sisters” Shakespeare’s Globe Sam Wanamaker Chris Bush “Otherland” Almeida, Islington Raold Dahl David Greig, Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” Theatre Royal Brighton Olivia Hurst/David Byrne “The Incident Room” New Venture Theatre, Brighton Vaughan Williams, J.M. Synge “Riders to the Sea” OperaUpClose, Arts Depot David Greig “Outlying Islands”, Jermyn Street Theatre Nadya Menuhin/Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz “The Passenger” Finborough Theatre Lauren Mooney, James Yeatman “More Life” Royal Court Upstairs Paul Hendy “The Last Laugh” Theatre Royal Brighton Howard Brenton “Churchill in Moscow” Orange Tree, Richmond George Orwell/Adapted Ian Wooldridge “Animal Farm” Rose Theatre Kingston Sussex Musicians Club Chapel Royal, Brighton Sebastian Faulks/Rachel Wagstaff “Birdsong” Theatre Royal Brighton John Bruzon Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Mark Jagasia “The Double Act” Arcola, Hackney Diane Samuels “As Long As We Are Breathing” Arcola, Hackney Emily Jenkins “Bobby & Amy” Brighton Little Theatre Dan O’Brien, The “Voyage of the Carcass”, Emily Jenkins “Bobby & Amy” Brighton Little Theatre Luca Luciano Clarinet Solo Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Dave Florez “The Gift” Park Theatre 200 Mark Tournoff “A Word With the Bird” SweetVenues, Brighton Shakespeare “Macbeth” Theatre Royal Brighton Shakespeare “Cymbeline” Shakespeare’s Globe, Sam Wanamaker James Pusey and Marc Clayton Sitar/Tabla Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Shakespeare “Macbeth” New Venture Theatre, Brighton Faradena Afifi, Steve Beresford & Paul Khimasia Morgan “Bee Reiki” Amy Jephta “A Good House” Royal Court Theatre Downstairs Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson “Kyoto” RSC Soho Place Yohei Nakajima/Miho Sanou Viola/Piano Recital St Nicholas Church, Brighton Shaw/Mark Giesser “The Devil May Care” Southwark Playhouse, Borough Philip Ridley “Tarantula” Arcola, Hackney Genet “The Maids”, Jermyn Street Theatre Sussex Musicians Club Chapel Royal, Brighton Saana Sze “Belly of the Beast”, Finborough Theatre Hannah Khalil/R. L. Stevenson “Treasure Island” Orange Tree, Richmond Tennessee Williams “Cat On a Hot Tin Roof” Almeida Theatre Zinnie Harris/Douglas Hodge/Johnny McKnight “101 Dalmatians: The Musical” Theatre Royal, Brighton
