A Small Mind At The Theatre

There is no denying that the world of musical theatre is tremendously imaginative, and of all the films that could be adapted, perhaps the eighties teen drama The Karate Kid was not at the top of most people's lists for a musical adaptation. However, as our stage versions of Mr Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso arrive at Milton Keynes Theatre on a UK tour, I am happy to say that this is one of the most sensible film-to-musical decisions. Recently relocated from New Jersey to LA, Daniel becomes the target of a gang of Cobra Kai dojo students. However, unbeknownst to him, a quiet and unassuming maintenance man at his new home, Mr Miyagi, is on hand to offer a little more than some bonsai training. The first thing that ticks the box for a film-to-musical adaptation is having an original soundtrack, not an endless collection of awkwardly shoehorned music classics into the story. Here, alongside book writer Robert Mark Kamen, are some brilliantly crafted tunes by composer and lyricist Drew Gasp...

The musical The Choir of Man has had a remarkable journey since its first appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017. Via Adelaide, Covid, North America, the show finally became a fixture at The Arts Theatre in London, running between 2021 and 2025, on either side of a theatre renovation. The show finally closed to embark on an extensive UK & Ireland tour, which now reaches Milton Keynes Theatre. The Choir of Man offers an inventive theatre experience. Long before the show begins, audience members are welcomed upon stage, or more accurately, to The Jungle, the pub setting for the “story” of The Choir of Man . While within The Jungle, pre-show and interval, you are welcome to grab a pint at the functioning bar and have a chat with the cast, our characters for the evening. However, you may have noticed the quotes around the word story, and that is where, in many ways, this is a very different experience. The Choir of Man does not really feature a storyline; it is just a gathering o...

Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird has been a staple on countless best-of lists since its publication and remains a book of immense power and relevance, despite being set nearly 100 years ago, in the early 1930s. Whether you have read the book or seen the groundbreaking film with Gregory Peck, most are familiar with the story. Here, in an extensive UK and Ireland tour, and arriving now at Milton Keynes Theatre, Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation takes to the stage with all the power and relevance of the original. Sorkin, famous for his ground-breaking TV series The West Wing , and also perhaps more relevant here, the legal film A Few Good Men , takes Lee’s classic and adapts the story to primarily be based around the court case of a certain Tom Robinson, charged with the assault and rape of local girl Mayella Ewell. Leading his defence is Atticus Finch, the kindly man who sees good in everyone. Lee’s book has Finch's daughter as the narrator; Sorkin cleverly develops this by add...

The 1990s movie Single White Female was a classic pulp fiction offering of the time, off the back of films such as Fatal Attraction and released in the same year as the legendary Basic Instinct , these were the ultimate times for erotic thrillers/bunny boiler films. So, the question is: is such a genre still relevant today, and, even more so, can a theatre play succeed in transferring the theme to a new medium altogether? Allie is a recently divorced mother trying to juggle single parenting with starting her own tech company. To help with expenses, she looks for a lodger and finds Hedy, who seems like the perfect solution. However, as they get to know each other, the lines between their lives start to blur, and what seemed like an ideal setup begins to fall apart. For those familiar with the original film, there will be immediate observations of changes that adaptor Rebecca Reid has made. While lifting the entire plot from the US to the UK is obvious, developing Allie into Bella's...

There is no question that Rifco Theatre Company, the producers of Frankie Goes To Bollywood , now running at Royal & Derngate as part of a UK Tour, have come up with a cracking title for their show. However, as Bollywood descends upon Northampton, the question is, is this a gimmick title attached to a shallow show, or are we heading for Bollywood dreams? The show, unsurprisingly, follows a character named Frankie and tells the story of her dream to become a Bollywood star, a dream she shares with her best friend, Goldy. Following an opportune encounter with a famous Bollywood director, Frankie is invited to audition for his next movie, and her adventures begin. However, will the dream be the one she truly imagined? What is evident with Frankie Goes To Bollywood on stage is the love for creating a big, bold production. The staging is colourful and tries very hard to be epic, just like the Bollywood movies that it tells its story through. Unfortunately for all the boldness on offer,...

The iconic 2004 teen movie Mean Girls has, despite 22 years passing, maintained relevance in modern youth culture; its “cautionary tale” still resonates. Therefore, back in 2017, original screenwriter Tina Fey created her musical adaptation of the story, maintaining the original's female empowerment and recognition of individuality while adding a little sprinkling of modernity, such as the arrival of mobile phones. It was such a success in London following a US debut that this UK Tour, now reaching Milton Keynes, was inevitable. Cady Heron, a teenager who has been home-schooled in Kenya, relocates to Chicago and confronts the fiercely competitive world at her new high school. Guided by the outcasts Janis and Damian, she strives for belonging but is soon drawn into the superficial "Plastics," ruled over by Regina George. Cady’s attempts to navigate both social circles spiral into rivalry, manipulation, and payback. While Mean Girls  may miss its target audience for this m...