THEGAYUK

Author: Tim Baros

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Soho Cinders, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Soho Cinders, London

    ★★★★ | Soho Cinders, Charing Cross Theatre, London

    Cinderella In Soho is the premise of the new fun musical Soho Cinders.

    Now playing at the Charing Cross Theatre until December 21st, the show tells the story of Robbie (Luke Bayer), who is in love with closeted mayoral candidate James Prince (Lewis Asquith) – who by the way is married – to a woman! Robbie is also being pursued by the rich and well-connected Lord Bellingham (Chris Coleman). But poor Robbie – he’s got two evil stepsisters who have taken ownership of the laundromat in Soho that his mother was supposed to have left him and that he still manages, along with Velcro (Millie O’Connell – very good, and the voice of reason in the show) while the step sisters keep on raising his rent. Luckily the money that Lord Bellingham gives him keeps him affloat, but all Robbie wants to do is to be with his Prince Charming.

    Meanwhile the Prince campaign is run by the determined William George (Ewan Gillies) who will stop at nothing to make sure Prince wins. But gay love affairs are always hard to keep secret – so will Robbie and Prince manage to stay together amidst the campaign and the lure of the money from Bellingham, and what tricks do the evil stepsisters have up their sleeve next?

    There is no glass slipper in this production, but what there is are good songs, a cast that are enjoying their work, smooth direction from Will Keith, and an all-around Panto vibe. Soho Cinders is a lot of fun and a great night at the theatre.

    http://www.charingcrosstheatre.co.uk

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Bloomsbury Street Kitchen, London

    ★★★★ | Bloomsbury Street Kitchen, London

    Lower Bloomsbury Street has finally come alive with the opening of the new restaurant Bloomsbury Street Kitchen.

    In the restaurant space in the Bloomsbury Hotel that used to be Steak & Lobster, and a whole host of other boring restaurants that just weren’t exciting, Bloomsbury Street Kitchen changes all that.

    Part of the Street Kitchen brand (others include May Fair Kitchen, Monmouth Kitchen, Leicester Square Kitchen, and Peter Street Kitchen (Manchester)), Bloomsbury Street Kitchen serves contemporary Japanese and Mediterranean small plates in a very cool and contemporary setting, with staff who are attentive, international, and very knowledgeable about the food.

    As you walk in, you are enveloped in an olive tree-adorned entrance, into a room that is beautifully designed, sleek, comfortable, and oh so cool. And this also describes the food. The small plates come in all sorts of varieties and flavours, in different categories such as Starters, Fish and Seafood, Small Plates and Salads, Signature Gyros, Japanese Flat Tacos, Bincho Grills, and Sides (these are the categories we ordered from), but there are a few others as well.

    One of my favourite dishes of the ten we ordered on our Thursday night visit was the Zucchini and eggplant chips with tzatziki (a steal at £5). Eight piled high, deep fried, the tzatziki had a twirled cucumber in it – and was absolutely divine, and great value for the money. The Oven-baked lobster and king prawn with parmesan crème and chilli herb crust was beautifully presented in a seashell, had a nice golden brown crust on top, but was a bit too rich, but at £14 it’s a right price.

    The Crispy-spiced Lamb Bites from the Small Plates menu were very good.  Similar to empanadas, the dish included 6, not spicy at all, but a bit pricey at £9. The Crab and asparagus salad with dijon mustard and lemon mayo from the same section of the menu was absolutely delicious. A fairly large portion, the mustard and lemon enhanced the taste of this dish (£9) as well, and it was very very unique.

    We also ordered the Slow-cooked glazed lamb shoulder with chilli fries and lemon feta yoghurt from the Signature Gyros menu – at £9 you get two gyros, medium sized, that are tasty. These are not quite a main dish, but the lamb was delicious. The Japanese Flat Tacos, however, are not tacos at all but tortilla crisps (4 in total for each order) laid out flat with a topping. We had the Tuna sashimi with truffle ponzu mayo (£7) and the Seared beef tenderloin with wasabi and shichimi mayo (£9). The seared beef literally melted on our tongues (but was a bit salty) while the tuna was chunky and good. Next time I would skip these and order other dishes. I would also skip the Bincho Grill choices (King Prawns and Baby Chicken). We ordered the prawns which were smothered in chilli and cumin and were very very spicy. Two sticks with two each – it comes to your table in a bincho (hibachi) grill – so expect lots of smoke! But for what you get it’s not good value for the money. Instead throw in a couple of the side dishes – specifically the Chilli and sake flamed tender stem broccoli (£5) – very very good.

    There are loads of cocktails to choose from. I had the Rosé Sangria which included San Salvatore Rosé, Malfy Rosa gin, RinQuinQuin, Hystérie liqueur, strawberry, raspberry, lemon and nasturtium (£10.50).

    Beautifully coloured, tasty, and refreshing, it made for a nice start to the evening. My dining companion had the non-alcoholic Pineapple and Cucumber drink. While a bit too tart, the green in color cemented this as a healthy option. Other unique options include Lychee & Elderflower Martini, Kyoto Sour (whisky, ginger, apple, citric cordial, yuzu, rosemary and egg white) (£9.50), Hoba Smoked Old Fashioned (Diplomático rum, Laphroaig whisky, Mozart Black, umeshu, chocolate bitters and hoba leaf smoke (£11.50), and other wonderfully-flavoured uniquely different cocktails.

    Bloomsbury Street Kitchen also has a Vegan Menu, and a lunch and pre-theatre menu, A Christmas Day menu (at £95), and a New Years Eve menu (£75). The restaurant is centrally located, minutes away from Tottenham Court Road Station, and accepts reservations here:

    Bloomsbury Street Kitchen is an excellent addition to this dreary area of London. Come for the unique selection of drinks and stay for the unique selection of dishes, and atmosphere. There is a DJ on some nights, but it’s not loud and gives the restaurant the cool vibe that will make it last.

    T: +44 20 7666 2044

    E: reservations@bloomsburystreetkitchen.co.uk

    9-13 Bloomsbury St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3QD

    Breakfast

    Monday – Saturday: 7am – 10.30am

    Sunday: 7.30am to 11am

    Lunch

    Monday – Saturday: 12pm – 2.30pm

    Sunday: 12.30pm – 3pm

    Dinner

    Sunday to Thursday: 5pm – 10.30pm

    Friday to Saturday: 5pm – 10.45pm

    Pre-Theatre

    Monday – Friday: 5pm – 6.30pm

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Noises Off, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Noises Off, London

    (C) PR SUPPLIED

    ★★★★ | Noises Off, Garrick Theatre, London

    The production of ‘Nothing on’ in Western-Super-Mare is now playing at the Garrick theatre in a new production of Noises off.

    Confused? Dont be. We are treated to the show, as well as the backstage antics of the cast, in this hilarious and new production of Noises Off – a show that has been around since 1982. It’s a farce, with lots of physical humour which the cast amazingly carry out. They are all amazing and all have impeccable timing.

    We are at the Grande Theatre in the play within a play, and the show we are seeing involves a lot of tooing and froing. We are watching a rehearsal of ‘Nothing On,’ and the cast seem to be hopelessly not getting it. The director (Lloyd Owen) is at his wits end, but the actors continue to act out the plot, which is just as zany as the show. (It involves two couples and a very large house with a maid (Meera Syal) who goes about her business while mayhem goes on around her).

    Then after the interval, the set is turned around so we are now looking behind the stage but it’s still the same scene we just saw in the first act – so get so see what is happening backstage at the same time. Genius! The actors at this point are performing twice – and they do it brilliantly! Especially the contact lens scene that was in the first act and it is also actually happening backstage – it boils all to great laughter!<

    And act 3 carries on with the show that we saw in the first act and the physical humour is ramped up (way up when Daniel Rigby falls down a flight of stairs. God bless him, and the other actors who have to do this 8 times a week.

    Noises off is a play within a play, a farce within a farce, and one off the most hilarious shows you will see this year, or any  year.

    Noises Off plays at the Garrick Theatre until 4 January 2020 noisesoffplay.com

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Afterglow, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Afterglow, London

    ★★★★ | Afterglow, Waterloo East Theatre, London

    An extramarital relationship takes its toll on two men expecting a baby in the return of the sexy play Afterglow.

    After a sell-out run at the Southwark Playhouse which ended just a few months ago, Afterglow returns to the cosy Waterloo East theatre, with a new cast, and 15 minutes shorter. Does this make the show better than the previous production? Yes it does.

    The problem with the previous production was the time-consuming moments when the actors would re-arrange the furniture for the scene changes – all a bit tedious and it took away from the sexually charged energy of the show.

    What we have now is a cast who are just as sexy, but with a show that is tighter and sexier, while we are still treated to those delicious and sexy scenes where the actors are totally naked (in the bed, in the shower, practically all over the stage)!

    The plot, if you buy a ticket for that, involves Josh (Adi Chugh), Alex (Peter Mcpherson) and Darius (Benjamin Aluwihare). Josh and Alex have been together a long time and have decided to have a baby via surrogate. But their relationship is an open one – they participate in three ways and allow each other to have fun with other guys. But when Darius enters their bedroom he and Josh click right away, and start to see each other, with Alex’s approval, and they eventually start to fall in love. But with the baby coming very soon (Josh and Alex cheekily change the name of their unborn baby weekly to peaches, lemon and cauliflower), and with Alex starting to get worried about Josh and Darius spending more time together, can Alex and Josh endure this big bump in their relationship?

    The actors are all very sexy and are all good in their respective roles, especially Aluwihare who brings a bit of naivety to his role. It’s a very good production, and at 75 minutes it’s not a big investment in your time – and it’s in a cosy and warm theatre where you might be tempted too to take your clothes off.

    Book now here

  • FILM REVIEW | By the Grace of God

    FILM REVIEW | By the Grace of God

    ★★★★ | By the Grace of God

    Francois Ozon is back at the top of his game in his new film By the Grace of God.

    Ozon, director of some very unique and unusual films such as 8 Women, Swimming Pool, and The New Girlfriend, takes a turn towards fact in a film about the Catholic Church abuse scandal, a true story where three men publicly come out to tell their story about being sexually abused by the same priest when they were very young.

    In this French film, Melvil Poupaud, who was amazing in Laurence Anyways, plays Alexandre Guérin, married wth children, yet he’s got something in his past that keeps haunting him – the time when he was young and was molested by Father Bernard Preynat (played by Bernard Verley). When he learns that Father Preynat is stil working with children, and not wanting to be on his seeking out justice – he finds two more victims – Francois (Denis Menochet) and Emmanuel (Swann Arlaud), and among them they band together. They form an organization and publicize it, and more victims come forward. But with this brings memories of the past, memories that some of the men can’t get over, but Father Preynat must pay for his sins, and the men won’t stop until Preynat is jailed.

    Ozon, who also wrote the film, has chosen the right actors to play the victims. They are all very good but especially Poupaud who carries this heavy burden with him while managing to be a good husband and father to his children without concealing his emotional scars. Like ‘Spotlight,’ the 2015 Best Picture winner which told a similar story from journalists perspective, By the Grace of God is more effective because it tells the story from the victims perspective and how a man they, and their parents, trusted, could do something as horrific, evil and criminal to them at such a young age – it’s a crime.

    Believe it or not, the real Father Preynat is still alive, has never served time for his crimes, and the only punishment he has so far received is to be defrocked by the Archdiocese of Lyon. Shocking.

    By the Grace of God In cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema on 25th October.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Ian McKellen On Stage, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Ian McKellen On Stage, London

    ★★★★★ | Ian McKellen On Stage, Harold Pinter Theatre, London

    “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

    This is a famous quote from Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, and it can also be applied to Sir Ian McKellen, and his performance in his one-man show ‘Ian McKellen On Stage,’ a show that is both very entertaining, engaging, brilliant and great!

    McKellen has been touring this solo show all over the UK – 80 theatres for his 80th birthday, and now 80 performances at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London.

    And I strongly encourage you to go – do whatever you can to get a ticket. It is a tour de force performance, so unlike anything I’ve ever seen in live theatre. And it’s rare to see someone of his calibre, celebrity, candor, wit and knowledge on a West End Stage.

    McKellen takes us through his life during this show, which includes his work in both film (especially Lord of The Rings where he famously played Gandalf) and theatre, working with legends any actor can only dream of working with (Laurence Olivier). There is also a huge suitcase on stage, a suitcase littered with stickers of theatres where he has performed this very same show (The Space in the Isle of Dogs, the Young Vic, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Leicester Curve Studio… the list goes on and on). But in this suitcase are books by William Shakespeare, and McKellen gets the audience involved by asking them to call out the names of any Shakespeare book, which McKellen plucks out of the suitcase and proceeds to tell a story about said book, until all the books have been talked about – pure genius.

    Ian McKellen on Stage is what I suspect is the real Ian Mckellen off stage; genuinely warm, friendly, self-assured and confident and making you feel this way too, and by the end of the night he makes the audience feel that they were let in on his life, with some secrets told, and some gossip about other famous people, and opening up his life to us in a way no other performer (that I know of) has ever done. And we feel that we want to share our lives with him at some point as well. Ian (yes I feel comfortable enough to call him Ian) collects money in the lobby after the show for theatre charities (proceeds from this show also goes to theatre charities).

    Taking this show to 80 theatres around the country was an 80th birthday present to himself – it is also a birthday gift to us and is a once in a lifetime experience for us as well.

    Ian McKellen On Stage, is at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 5th January 2020, Book now

  • FILM REVIEW | All Male, All Nude: Johnsons

    FILM REVIEW | All Male, All Nude: Johnsons

    ★★★★ | All Male, All Nude: Johnsons

    Step into the sexy world of male strippers in the new titillating documentary All Male, All Nude: Johnsons

    Johnsons is not the name of one of the strippers – it’s the name of a male strip club in Fort Lauderdale. Well not actually Fort Lauderdale but a community within called Wilton Manors – Americas second gayest city per capita.

    In a follow up to the popular 2017 feature documentary ‘All Male, All Nude,’ director Gerald McCullouch introduces us to the all too hot, sexy, and young male strippers of all nationalities at Johnson’s.

    Owned by Matt Colunga, an award-winning bodybuilder who has been in the male entertainment industry for 23 years, we see that Johnson’s is the perfect place to work if you want to be a male stripper. The strippers can make as much as $500 on a good night – and perhaps even more if they go to the ‘private’ rooms with a customer. But everything here is on the up-and-up, no risqué business takes place here, where Matt really cares for his strippers, even to a point to make them take a breath test before they leave the club after their shifts.

    We meet the adorable hot and sexy Alexander, 26, who spends his days dressed as Spider-Man creating fun for children at kids parties and then spends his nights stripping down to his G-String for gay men, and others including one young man who decided to become a cosmetologist when he decided he did not want to strip anymore.

    Also, there are single fathers and young men putting themselves through college with their stripping income, to entertainers in the adult film world – all sorts of men who are working hard for the money. While the focus in the documentary is not on the customers, it’s them who keep this place going, and packed most nights.

    ‘All Male, All Nude: Johnsons’ is exactly what it says on the tin – it’s sexy, nude and all-male!:)

    On DVD & VOD

  • THEATRE REVIEW | tick, tick…BOOM, Penge

    THEATRE REVIEW | tick, tick…BOOM, Penge

    ★★★★ | tick, tick…BOOM, Penge

    Jonathan Larson, the genius behind Rent – perhaps one of the greatest musicals of all time – created a show about his struggle with getting a show produced before Rent – the show is ‘tick tick…BOOM’ – and it is now playing at the Bridge House Theatre in SE20 – Penge.

    Larson, who died sadly and unexpectedly of an aortic aneurysm in January, 1996 – a few weeks before Rent‘s world premiere – at the age of 35 – was very talented, and as the Writer, Composer and Lyricist of tick tick…BOOM his extreme talent was just starting to bloom when he died.

    But tick, tick…BOOM is actually what turns out to be a celebration of his life – telling the story of Jon (a very good Alex Lodge) getting ready to turn 30 and still waiting tables for a living but soon to workshop a show he has written called Superbia.

    He’s besotted with his girlfriend Susan (a good Georgie Ashford) and is not very jealous of his rich gay best friend Michael (James Hume), who seems to have it all but in all actuality does not. So tick, tick…BOOM takes us through the trials and tribulations of Jon’s struggle with the upcoming workshop, and his relationships with his girlfriend and best friend.

    Songs in this show, including ‘Therapy’ and the opening number ’30/90′ pre-tell the songwriting style of Larson and what was to come in the masterpiece that was Rent. If you, like me, are a fan of Rent and have never seen tick, tick….BOOM, it’s worth the journey to Penge to see this show (the theatre is conveniently located next to Penge East overground train station).

    If you’ve never seen Rent, then this show is also worth a watch as the story is relevant to pretty much all of us as we struggled to become successful in our first jobs. And the cast is all wonderful, and Lodge is just about perfect as Jon, with a glimmer of a sparkle in his eye that tells us the real Jon knew he had a gift.

    The show was first performed Off-Off-Broadway in September 1990 by Jonathan Larson in a workshop at the Second Stage Theatre under the title ‘Boho Days.’ It originally premiered in London with Neil Patrick Harris as Jon at the Menier Chocolate Factory and ran for three months.

    This production ends on October 27th, so book now.

  • FILM REVIEW | Judy

    FILM REVIEW | Judy

    ★★★★ | Judy

    Renee Zelwegger is electric as the late, great Judy Garland in the new film Judy.

    Judy is a semi-biographical account of her time in London in winter 1968 where she performed a five-week sold-out show at the venue that was called ‘Talk of the Town.’ The film also traces her life when she became very famous for the film Wizard of Oz, and how it affected not only her career, but also her well-being, her relationships with men, and her overall sanity.

    It’s 1968, and it appears Garland doesn’t have two pennies to rub together (hard to believe a woman of her calibre and celebrity would be in such a position), with two children in tow (the father of the children is Sydney Luft, while Liza Minnelli was a bit older and already on her own), and not a place to call home.

    So Garland is asked to go to London to perform, and it’s an opportunity to make some real money so she can get a home for her and her children, which would put some stability in theirs, and her, lives. But Judy is, to put it mildly, a mess.

    She’s drinks a lot, take pills a lot, and is practically frightened to get on that stage. But when she puts her mind to it, and leaves all the demons behind, she is a tour de force. But she is not consistent and it’s a mystery as to which Judy will appear each day.

    Judy shows us a Judy who was struggling and still looking for a little bit of hope, love and sanity in her final year of life (she died in 1969 of an accidental drug overdose in London).

    Zelwegger perfectly captures Garland’s look, body and voice (yes, it’s actually Zelwegger singing). Zelwegger lost weight for the role, and it’s her best performance to date which could net her an Oscar. The rest of the cast don’t fare as well. While Finn Wittrock is good as her 5th (and last) husband Mickey Deans, Rufus Sewell is a bit dry and boring as Sydney Luft, while Jessie Buckley has a thankless role, and task, as her London minder.

    And while the performances of Zellweger singing are captivating, the scenes of her as a young girl on film sets just don’t seem to ring true (bullying by the studio head – Louis B. Mayer and her minders – are a bit exaggerated). Director Rupert Goold doesn’t quite capture the entire essence of Judy’s life, and time, in London and in her younger years. With this being his second directorial effort, I feel that he just wasn’t quite qualified to take on a film of a woman with so much stardom, of such legendary status, and unfortunately heartbreak.

  • These are the gay/LGBT films you need to catch at this year’s BFI Film Festival

    These are the gay/LGBT films you need to catch at this year’s BFI Film Festival

    The BFI London Film Festival has started and us here at THEGAYUK.com want to highlight the LGBT films that will be shown during the festival. It’s best to book earlier rather than later as some of these films will surely be sold out.

    Portrait of a Lady on Fire

    At the end of the eighteenth century Marianne, a young painter, is commissioned to paint a portrait of a young woman to be used to elicit marriage proposals. Knowing that the woman, Héloïse, has previously refused to sit for portraits as she does not want to be married, Marianne disguises herself as a lady’s maid in order to gain her subject’s trust only to find herself inadvertently falling in love with her. Starring Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel.

    And Then we Danced

    Merab has been training from a young age at the National Georgian Ensemble with his dance partner Mary. His world turns upside down when the carefree Irakli arrives and becomes both his strongest rival and desire in this film that is a Swedish-Georgian production. 

    Death Will Come

    Two women are face-to-face with mortality when one of them is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Refusing treatment, they move to a small house in the woods where they rediscover a love lost to routine; all the while death waits outside the cabin’s walls. This Chilean stars Julieta Figueroa and Amparo Noguera. 

    End of the Century

    Two men meet in Barcelona and after spending a day together they realize that they have already met twenty years ago. From Argentina, and with male frontal nudity we are told. 

    Matthias & Maxime (pictured above)

    A kiss between two childhood friends has dramatic repercussions in the eighth film from Xavier Dolan. He also stars – with his character having an ugly scar on his face.

    Walking with Shadows 

    A man has to come to terms with his dark secret and choose between keeping his family or accepting a life of possible loneliness and rejection. Made in Nigeria.

    This is not Berlin

    In the 1980s, an outsider gets invited to a mythical nightclub where he’s unleashed to punk, sexual liberty and drugs. This Mexican film has yet to have a UK release date. 

    Yves Saint Laurent: The Last Collections

    A documentary on Yves Saint-Laurent and the legendary fashion designer’s final show.

    Mystify: Michael Hutchence

    A documentary about the troubled heart and soul of Michael Hutchence, lead singer and songwriter of INXS, and overall wild man who died at the young age of 37. 

    For information on these, and other films at the film festival, and to buy tickets, please go to:

    https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Mamma Mia! The Party, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Mamma Mia! The Party, London

    ★★★★ | Mamma Mia! The Party, The 02

    ★★★★ | Mamma Mia! The Party, The 02

    Enter the world of ABBA, and Greece, by attending MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY at The O2 London – it’s the best in immersive theatre. And what a great idea!

    Yes, it’s the 02, but once you enter you are transported to a Greek-style courtyard (on the Greek island of Skopelos no less) where it will make you forget the horrific Jubilee Line ride that took you there.

    It’s a romantic courtyard that seats over 200 people with tables scattered on top of balconies, lower levels, stage level and the ground floor – surrounded by Greek-style leaves hanging down from the walls. And at the centrepiece of all this is the water fountain in the middle of the room. You have to see it to believe it – it literally stops you dead in your tracks when you enter the room where you automatically want to start snapping photos and selfies with you and your friends.

    But as it’s a party, there is food and drink involved, as well as great singing and dancing, performed by a cast that belongs in the West End! But it’s the East End – far from the West End, but never mind – for three hours you will forget this and suddenly Greek language will spew forth from your mouth.

    And the show that is performed right before your very eyes is the story of Nikos and his wife Kate who run this exotic and wonderful restaurant together with their family and friends. Told through dialogue and ABBA songs, it’s a warm, romantic and funny story which evolves and unfolds during the evening, taking place around the guests as they sit at their tables enjoying a delicious Greek meal. The evening ends with the main floor bring transformed into a 1970’s disco where audience members are welcome to stay and dance.

    On arrival, you’ll be greeted with a smile and a complimentary welcome cocktail, after which you are welcome to purchase drinks from the several taverna bars.

    The London cast includes Fed Zanni as Nikos, Steph Parry as Kate, Joanna Monro as Debbie, AJ Bentley as Adam, Julia Imbach as Konstantina, Elin König Andersson as Bella, Kimberly Powell as Nina, Pauline Stringer as Grandma, Gregor Stewart as Fernando, with Linda John-Pierre playing Debbie at certain performances and Allie Ho Chee playing Bella at certain performances.

    In between all this are yummy starters such a mezze selection followed by succulent meat dishes paired with tempting sides, and it all ends on a deliciously sweet note with authentic Greek desserts.

    Ticket prices start from £135 per person including VAT.

    This includes a welcome drink, a set four-course meal, a show and an ABBA disco at the end of the evening.

    There are different types of tickets to choose from: Premium, Band A, Band B, Band C (on some performances) and Band D. Premium and Band A ticket holders are seated at tables on the ground floor in the Courtyard and on the Terrace levels, and Band B and C ticket holders are seated at tables in the Terrace levels and Balcony. Band D seats, which offer a partially restricted view, are located in the Terrace levels.

    MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY has music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (some songs with Stig Anderson), and a story by Calle Norlén, Roine Söderlundh and Björn Ulvaeus, adapted for the UK by writer, comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig.

    However, there are three things that could be improved.
    1.) The queue. Arrive early as you will be waiting at least 30 minutes to get inside. Doors open at 18:30 (12:00 for daytime shows) but you definitely want to be seated sooner rather than later and before the food starts to arrive. Any later and you might miss the first course. Get there at 6 so you can be one of the first in, and then you can soak up the room before it fills up.
    2.) The heat inside the venue. We were very warm the whole night and didn’t feel any air. It could be cooler in the venue – perhaps they can create a nice beach breeze to make the too a bit more bearable and comfortable temperature-wise.
    3.) The food. We were a table of 4 and received the same portions of food as the single guy sitting at the next table (and he had the best seat in the house). If they can proportion the food according to the table size that would make much more sense.

    These quibbles are valid quibbles, but they won’t ruin your night. And while the show is not cheap (prices from £130 to £218) you will get your money’s worth, whether or not you like/love ABBA. ‘You are my Dancing Queen…..’.