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Phonebox Magazine, Olney (2025)

16/07/2025

The Midnight Bell review

Bell-isimo! Another Bourne special hits the stage.

Matthew Bourne is well known for taking famous or even iconic stories and putting his style of dance to them.
From Edward Scissorhands to Swan Lake, The Nutcracker to The Red Shoes, Cinderella to The Car Man, there’s a Bourne production for everyone, just waiting to be explored.
This latest work, in which Bourne once again brings not only his genius, but his award-winning dance troupe too, comes to Northampton’s Royal & Derngate. And unusually he chooses a lesser known Patrick Hamilton as his inspiration.
This time it’s The Midnight Bell inspired by the works of English novelist and playwright Patrick Hamilton.
This contemporary ballet is set in a 1930’s London pub. The Midnight Bell is just such a hostelry and forms the backdrop to Bourne’s show, bringing to life the dark, shady and sometimes seedy world of London’s Soho.
It’s to The Midnight Bell that customers come to drink, relax, talk and build relationships – in this production Bourne has added in a homosexual tryst which would have been much more difficult to deal with in 1930 than it is today. You can trust Bourne to handle a subject like this with great skill. There’s also a pr******te, a chauvinist male and a shy spinster among the list of characters. With so many characters and their intertwined stories, it was quite difficult to follow at times, especially the first act, nor was it easy to ve invested in any character so at times was quite confusing. To mitigate this, we would recommend familiarising yourselves with the characters beforehand, unless you enjoy working it all out in real time!
Stage lighting and set design (from L*z Brotherston and Paule Constable) work brilliantly here combining with Bourne’s innate ability to find style and character in seemingly everyday life and bring it to the fore with breath-taking skill and panache. Often, you see two scenes being played out at the same time.
The dancers themselves are exquisite – they wouldn’t have made it into the Bourne troupe if they weren’t, of course – and command the stage with beautiful, thoughtful movement. Music is first class and you’re also treated to an array of wonderful sound effects – a pigeon’s flight, a dog’s bark, some footsteps – to finish the job.
Bourne himself says The Midnight Bell is full of ‘entangled tales of lonely souls, looking for love’. And if you’re looking for a wonderful night of dance and drama, this is the show to go and see.
The Midnight Bell is at Northampton’s Royal & Derngate from Tuesday 15th to Saturday 19th July.
Royal & Derngate

09/07/2025

Phonebox Review: The Last Laugh, Milton Keynes Theatre

Remember when comedy was good, solid, inoffensive fun? When you could go to a variety show and enjoy a couple of hours of great jokes, cheerful songs and slapstick mucking about on stage?

Not everyone will, of course, especially if they’re not old enough to remember those great Town Hall days of comedy. And part of the charm of this latest tour of The Last Laugh is to educate those that didn’t have the pleasure and honour of being there.

Comedy has moved on nowadays and is arguably more grown up, better crafted and slicker. But that doesn’t take anything away from the glory and brilliance of comics like Tony Hancock, Sid James, Max Miller and the three characters in this play: Bob Monkhouse, Eric Morecambe and Tommy Cooper.

These are all men of course (comedy has moved on) and all geniuses who could hold a packed theatre in the palm of their hand and guide them through a journey full of fun, frolics and humour.

In this deeply poignant play, writer Paul Hendy sets the three maestros in a seedy, shabby dressing room. It’s the perfect setting for them to talk about their loves, loathes, successes, regrets and brilliant memories of a life in comedy.

There’s joke after joke, bits of music and lovely little routines as performed by the real comics in their heydays and all brilliantly recreated here by Simon Cartwright (Monkhouse), Bob Golding (Morecambe) and Damian Williams (Cooper).

These actors have all played their respective stars before, and it shows – they have honed to perfection the voices, movements and personalities of their charges.

The script buzzes and fizzes as it keeps the conversation flowing with stories and anecdotes aplenty. There are darker moments, such as when Morecambe says he regrets putting his job before his children or Monkhouse explains how he was selfish with a previous writing partner. And Tommy Cooper tells a heart-breaking story about how he was laughed at by a group of people after he broke down in tears.

All three legends are long gone, of course, and there are references throughout the play about health, illness… and death. Cooper’s infamous 1984 demise, while performing on stage, is well referenced.

Go and see The Last Laugh and you’ll die too – laughing.

The Last Laugh is at Milton Keynes Theatre, Tuesday 8th to Saturday 12th July.

30/06/2025

See our crossword in this month’s edition in anticipation for World Chocolate Day

17/06/2025

Bat out of Hell - the Musical review

If you're wanting to see a high energy rock musical then the award winning Bat out of Hell musical is a must.
We all know the music from Jim Steinman of the Bat out Hell albums but you've never seen it performed like this.
The cast is young, energetic and talented. The story is the usual boy meets girl, circumstances separate them but true love wins out. The show is set in the tunnels of the city and there is a Romeo and Juliet crossed with Rocky Horror Show and Peter Pan feel to the show. The costumes and set have both a gothic and a futuristic style as the scenes are mostly underground in the tunnels of the city. There is clever use of a video screen showing scenes live streamed of Raven in her bedroom and her conflict with her father in particular.
The choreography was fast and furious and it felt like we were in a rock musical of the highest order. The cast were brilliant; Glen Adamson as Strat, Katie Tonkinson as Raven, Sharon Sexton as Sloane and Rob Fowler as Falco all were exceptional.
This is a show not to be missed.

Bat out of Hell is on at MK Theatre until Saturday 28th June.

11/06/2025

The Girl on the Train - Theatre Review

What a ride!
If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers, then you’re in for a treat as Milton Keynes Theatre welcomes The Girl on the Train this week.

Adapted from Paula Hawkins’ bestselling novel of the same name, The Girl on the Train is a dramatic and emotionally intense play to go see this week. We loved it!

The story follows Rachel Watson, a woman whose life is spiralling after her marriage breakdown, she finds some peace on her daily train journey, watching through the window she catches a daily glimpse of a seemingly happy couple going about their day and yearns to be them.

When Rachel learns she has been watching missing-woman Megan (Freya Parks) she is quickly entwined into Di Gaskill (Paul McEwan)’s missing-person’s case, even becoming a suspect. Rachel who has been falling into alcoholism, can only remember so much and is exacerbated by her own lack of clarity.
Rachel’s ex-husband Tom (played by Ed Harrison) has moved on and we meet him with a new wife Anna (Zena Carswell who gives Emily from Friends vibes) but is all as it seems?

There are sparks of relief in comedy from Rachel, DI Gaskill and missing Megan’s husband Scott (played by Samuel Collings), to relieve the tension during the darker moments.

The Girl on the Train continues until Saturday 14th June at Milton Keynes Theatre. Book tickets here: ATGTICKETS.COM/MiltonKeynes.

04/06/2025

East end tale is simply Del-ightful!

There are very few people who will argue that Only Fools & Horses was nothing less than a smash hit on Britain’s TVs in the 1980s and 90s. Millions of happy viewers tuned in every week to see the latest adventures of lovable Del Boy and Rodney Trotter and their joyful family and friends.

Now the whole group are making a welcome return, this time to the stage rather than the small screen with this excellent adaption of John Sullivan’s brilliant idea. Dates for Only Fools & Horses – The Musical were announced a long time ago and Northampton’s Derngate Theatre was included as part of this huge new UK tour. The show has already been to Milton Keynes.

You sort of know what to expect before you even take your seat in the theatre auditorium, such is the fame of this wonderful East London story. And you’re not disappointed – with musical contributions from the duo Chas & Dave, and script input from Paul Whitehouse, this stage version is a blend of drama, laughs and music.

It’s a feelgood production, light, funny and deeply poignant as we recall what life was like in the 80s, while considering how tough it could be surviving in a working class family, trying to earn an honest living (‘this time next year Rodney, we will be millionaires…’).

In this stage tale, it’s all kicking off in Peckham. The Yuppie invasion is in full swing, but the story is centered around the main characters’ love lives. Del (brilliant Sam Lupton) is trying to find a sweetheart with the help of a dating agency and gets paired up with a B-list actress called Raquel.

Tom Major’s fabulous Rodney is already happy with girlfriend Cassandra and planning a wedding. He needs funds to pay for it though, and Del steps in with a few ideas of his own, which gets him in trouble. Grandad talks about the war a bit, and even Trigger is going on a date.

It’s everything you’d expect. That’s why you’ve paid to see the show – to remember the old characters, played so well on the telly by David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst. So, while it’s gentle and funny and entertaining, there are no great surprises and it all moves along comfortably, helped by various musical interludes.

Writers Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan (John’s son) have taken 64 unforgettable television adventures of Del and Rodney and blended them into this one clever stage show. It’s an entertaining night out and while OF&H – The Musical can’t be described as a theatre masterpiece, it’s certainly Lovely Jubbly…

Only Fools and Horses – The Musical is at Northampton Derngate Theatre, until 7th June.

21/05/2025

Theatre Review

An Inspector Calls - Milton Keynes Theatre

This class act will leave you gasping.

If you like ‘whodunnits’ you’re going to love this one. Inspector Goole arrives unexpectedly at the prosperous Birling family home in industrial Brumley and interrupts their peaceful dinner party. He’s looking into the death of a young woman who has killed herself with poison. But who’s responsible for the girl’s demise?

What follows is more than a simple detective case with potential culprits coming in and out of the story. This one delves deeper and, with JB Priestley’s usual story-telling skill, unravels secret after secret. Everyone seems to have known the girl, and all have a chilling tale to tell.

But the underlying theme is one of social class. The haves and the have-nots, the privileged and the poor, the aristocrats and the destitute. Someone with too much port and too many ci**rs and another with no home and little food. It’s a Priestley thought provoker that has you feeling just as guilty as the characters up on stage.

As sets go, this one is right up there – literally. The Birling house is cleverly designed and perched high up on a stilt-like structure. It allows the rest of the MK Theatre stage to be used, with shadow and clever lighting, to give proceedings a dark and stormy feel. One of real tension and mystery.

The dwelling opens and closes like a dolls house which allows us, the audience, to observe goings-on within it.

Inspector Goole (or should that be ‘ghoul’?) speaks mainly from across the stage so you can distinguish between his mysterious presence and the Birling family’s turmoil and guilt. Tim Treloar’s Inspector masterfully brings out the best of the other characters with his quiet quizzing, thoughtful considerations and withering looks.

There’s light and shade everywhere, and not just in the story-telling – designer Ian MacNeil’s stage is variously lit with sparks, drenched with (real) rain and clouded by swirling fog and mist. It’s an all-consuming experience, helped by Oscar-winning Stephen Warbeck’s musical score, that adds to the delight of the evening. Director Stephen Daldry must have been delighted with the outcome.

And, of course, the tale is a gripping and powerful one, flirting with different time periods as the plot unravels (it’s said that Priestley had a theory on parallel lives in parallel time zones).

So, who did do it? And who is the strange Goole? You’ll have to go to the theatre yourself and let the Inspector reveal all…

An Inspector Calls is at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 24th May.

07/05/2025

Picture You Dead Review
Imagine accidentally buying a long-lost masterpiece at a car boot sale for £20? This is the premise of the stage adaptation of Peter James’s Picture You Dead where a young, cash-strapped couple are catapulted into the world of fine art and forgery, crime and retribution.
Harry (played by Ben Cutler) and Freya Kipling (Fiona Wade) immediately seek help from Dave Hegarty, the excellent Peter Ash, who advises them on how to recover the original artwork long since painted over.
They go on the Antiques (road) show and discover they could soon be very rich. They need to keep the painting safe but how? And where?
Meanwhile, two detectives reopen an old murder case and find compelling links to the current situation of the newly discovered valuable painting.
The story builds slowly with the momentum noticeably growing before the interval with twists and turns ensuing until the very end.
If you’re a fan of the soaps, you’ll recognise most of the cast! Spot Ethan from Casualty, Paul from Corrie, Warren from Eastenders, Priya from Emmerdale and Robin from Maid Marian and Her Merry Men to name a few.
The entire cast were word perfect, and the play was picture perfect!
Picture You Dead continues at Milton Keynes theatre until 10th May.

16/04/2025

Swan Lake Theatre Review

Wow, wow and wow! Matthew Bourne’s unique retelling of the Tschaiovsky’s world-famous classic ballet, Swan Lake is here again in Milton Keynes Theatre.

The show is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Matthew Borne originally shocked audiences by replacing all the graceful, pure, beautiful female swans with muscular, animalistic male ones.
The story follows a lonely prince (James Lovell) struggling with his place in the world. His mother, the Queen (Nicole Kabera) is emotionally distant towards him and the prince’s mental health is at an all-time low before going to the lake planning to take his own life. Struggling with loneliness and sexual identity he is captivated by the swans on the lake and finds his true love before being befuddled by The Stranger (Jackson Fisch) who appears later to flirt profusely with his girlfriend and mother, sending him crazy and ultimately tragedy occurs.

Matthew Borne has done away with the fantasy world of castles, enchanted forests and we see a modern prince in clubs and palaces beset with issues of media pressure and celebrity culture. To conform to societal norms, he has a girlfriend (Bryony Wood) who brings some light relief and fantastic comedy moments to the otherwise intense storyline.

The choreography was as you would expect from a Matthew Bourne production – top class! The set and the dancers were incredible moving between the bedroom to the palace, nightclub, lake and even an asylum. The energy, strength and power of every single person on the stage was phenomenal. A powerful ending and well-deserved standing ovation. If you’re due to see this, you’re in for a real masterpiece.

The show continues at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 19th April.

Performances: Tue 15 - Sat 19 Apr 2025 (evenings @ 7:30pm, matinees @ 2:30pm)
Access bookings: 0333 009 5399
Group bookings: 0207 206 1174
Online Booking: ATGTICKETS.COM/MiltonKeynes

01/04/2025

&Juliet Review

Life after Romeo?

Everyone knows Shakespeare’s classic fated-love story of Romeo & Juliet.

After finding Romeo dead, Juliet takes her own life, as she cannot bear the thought of life without him. The End.

But what if she doesn’t? What if there is life after Romeo? What if it’s only the beginning?

The play starts with William Shakespeare (played by the talented Jay McGuiness – winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2015) announcing his new play, Romeo & Juliet but his frustrated wife Anne Hathaway (Lara Denning) is there on a rare ‘night off away from the kids’. Anne suggests to Shakespeare an alternative ending pointing out that Juliet is only 13 - how can her life possibly be over. She begs, demands to help rewrite the plot and so ensues a comical evening of watching this famous married couple weave themselves into the new plot and argue over the reshaping of Juliet’s destiny – in real time!

The play is high energy with modern pop hits. When Juliet (Geraldine Sacdalan) sings Baby One More Time it was the best rendition that we had ever heard; enthralling, mesmerising, captivating. The show is full of hits including a heartfelt and thought-provoking rendition by Juliet’s best friend May (Jordan Broatch) of “I’m not a girl, not yet a woman”. Other songs include “I Kissed a Girl”, “Roar” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling” - all woven seamlessly into the plot. Overall strong vocals from all especially Lara Denning.

High praise must go to all the cast members – they all looked like they were enjoying being on stage as much as we were watching the performance. High-energy, powerful thought-provoking and all inclusivity whilst showing strong determined women. Juliet’s nurse Angelique (Sandra Marvin) was a standout hit with the audience, hitting the high notes in music and making us laugh too!

For ATG+ Theatre members there was also the chance to go to the Q&A session at the end of the performance. This was a special treat as resident Director Samuel Wilson-Freeman, Geradine (Juliet), Jay (Shakespeare) and Jordan (May), answered questions on their favourite songs in the show, how they got this far in their careers and gave advice to others seeking similar paths. To sign up for an ATG+ membership follow this link: https://www.atgtickets.com/membership/

If you haven’t got tickets, then rewrite your destiny by booking now! In the words of Romeo… What are you waiting for?

&Juliet continues at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 12th April 2025.

Milton Keynes Theatre

19/03/2025

Only Fools and Horses-review

I wasn't sure that the iconic TV series could possibly go on the stage and especially be a musical but hey this great team of actors really pulled it off. The play stroke musical was a complete story masterfully written by Jim Sullivan and Paul Whitehouse which referenced many of the milestone events in the TV series showcasing our favourite characters from Peckham. The musical interludes seamlessly blended into the story with the great iconic theme tune regularly being sung and danced to the delight of the audience.
Tonight's performance saw the understudy Andrew Bryant take the lead role of Del Boy. He was word and timing perfect. But there were so many notable performances such as Craig Berry as Boycie, Georgina Hagan as Raquel, Nicola Munns as Cassandra, Lee VG as Trigger and the wonderful Tom Major as Rodney. A brilliant cast all round.
Not all TV series make it to the stage in any meaningful way but this one surely does. The show played to a packed house so if you can, try to get a seat before it finishes in Milton Keynes.
Only Fools and Horses is playing at MK Theatre till Saturday 29th March.

19/03/2025

Theatre Review: Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical
A tantalising blend of nostalgia, scandal, and sensational music, Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical delivers a raucous and stylishly wicked theatrical experience. Based on the 1999 cult film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Reese Witherspoon, this stage adaptation brings back all the drama, deception, and devastatingly cool attitude, set to a soundtrack that encapsulates the angst and allure of the era.
From the moment the lights dim and the opening chords of a '90s classic fill the theatre, we were transported into the hedonistic world of wealthy Manhattan teens with too much power and too few scruples. The story follows step-siblings Kathryn Merteuil and Sebastian Valmont as they embark on a twisted bet involving the innocent Annette Hargrove, all while manipulating those around them for their own cruel amusement. The adaptation maintains the film’s sharp wit and biting dialogue while seamlessly weaving in hits from artists like Boyz II Men, Ace of Base, Natalie Imbruglia, The Verve and many more!
The cast’s performances are electrifying, particularly Nic Myers as Kathryn, whose razor-sharp delivery and sultry presence command the stage. Will Callan as Sebastian exudes effortless charm, making his moral descent—and eventual redemption—all the more compelling. Abbie Budden as Annette brings a heartfelt sincerity to the role, providing a striking contrast to the world of manipulation she unwittingly enters.
Beyond the performances, the production design is a stylish spectacle, with sleek, moodily lit sets that evoke both the opulence and ominous undertones of the story. Costume choices are a love letter to '90s fashion, with blazers, slinky slip dresses, and knee-high socks making a triumphant return.
The musical numbers are cleverly integrated, heightening the emotions of key moments. Standouts include a powerfully performed “Bittersweet Symphony” that closes the show on a breathtaking note and a hilarious rendition of “No Scrubs”.
If you’re ready to revel in the excess, Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical is a deliciously guilty pleasure.
Whether you’re a die-hard fan of the film like we were or simply longing for a throwback to an era of iconic pop anthems and high-stakes teen drama, this production delivers in spades. Expect to laugh, gasp, and sing along—because resistance is futile.
Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical continues at Royal & Derngate Theatre, Northampton until Saturday 22nd March.

Phonebox Magazine

16/07/2025

09/07/2025

30/06/2025

17/06/2025

11/06/2025

04/06/2025

21/05/2025

07/05/2025

16/04/2025

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