Last year I saw Momix’s previous production and was so impressed by it (and gently encouraged by an offer from LastMinute.com) that I decided to see their current production, Lunar Sea. This production was once again held at the Peacock Theatre, a nice little intimate stage that tends to be very popular for acrobatic or rich visual movement performances.

Compared to last year’s production that included many more props and elaborate costumes, Tuesday’s performance was much simpler but much more evocative drawing upon large scenery projections, deep tribal like music and some impressive choreographed visualisations in costumes that lit up under a black light. The theme between the ocean and the moon flowed in and out throughout the performance with some exceptionally eye-boggling eye tricks.

Half the time I found myself wondering how they even accomplished some of the impressive stunts such as simulating a flock of seagulls flying, to simply sitting back and losing myself in the surreal world presented on stage. It’s definitely not a show that will whet everyone’s appetite, but it is distinctive enough to be well worth the ticket price.

TheKua.com Rating: 7.5 out of 10

This Sunday was my first time to visit the Royal Albert Hall, a large and majestic theatre with a capacity to hold an overwhelming number of people. It was here that I saw the musical bonanza titled ‘Best of Broadway’. This composition of this show was extremely simple – one song from the most popular Broadway shows ever all performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a handful of West End musical stars. They performed a wide range of songs, from the more traditional shows such as Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and Evita to some more recent ones including Wicked, Mamma Mia, and The Lion King. I was expecting a little bit more of a well rounded audience, but perhaps it was the choice of performance and the Sunday afternoon show that meant well over 70% of the theatre was filled with bus loads of a much older crowd of sorts.

I can only recommend this show to big fans of people that enjoy the music from the most popular musicals as each song does not last too long, and the show seems a little bit disjoint moving from one theme to another so quickly. I was at least still impressed to be sitting inside an amazing venue and listening to the impressive Philharmonic Orchestra.

After this though, I am even more intrigued to see what the performance of Modest Mouse will be like in this venue next year (23 May to be exact).

TheKua.com Rating: 5 out of 10

Crowds of people congregating in front of a theatre dressed (or undressed) in various costumes including vinyl nurse outfits and outrageous fishnet stocking can only mean one thing… The Rocky Horror Show is about to begin. On Tuesday night I ended up seeing this classical musical and found it extremely bizarre especially since I had not seen the movie before and had no idea what the story would be about. If there is one thing I concluded from seeing this musical, people do not go see the movie for its story.

Of all the shows that I have seen so far, this one had much larger audience participation, boosted by a number of cast extras strategically scattered throughout the crowd. The extras throughout the night hassled the actors on stage by shouting out comments and obscenities at certain parts throughout the play, sometimes proving comical, but at many other times failing dismally as they missed their cue or as the band drowned them out.

I found the songs and the music piercingly loud, despite sitting in the middle of the stalls and not in front of any particular loud speaker. The crowd obviously had watched the musical, or at least, had listened to the soundtrack a lot as many of them sang along throughout the performance.

I think this long running musical has a lot of fun points and I think you will enjoy it as long as you don’t take anything too seriously. It is definitely not the highest quality musical showing at the West End, but its fame from the classic movie and quirkiness will easily win any fans over.

TheKua.com Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Last night I saw the musical Avenue Q, the show most well known as described as Sesame Street with adult themes. This musical had shown on Broadway for the last six months, has been on preview in the West End for the last three weeks and this week marked its first official showings. If you have never seen Jim Jimson puppetry live, the experience is completely worth it, and even though there are people manning puppets on stage, you slowly stop noticing the people as they take on the same character they are puppeteering.

The show is done in true Sesame Street style with the entire show about self discovery and purpose in life and even with “Idea!” screens popping up describing keywords in cartoonish manners. Unlike Sesame Street though it tackles some issues you would never see such as sexual orientation, internet porn and racism.

I was extremely impressed by the lead puppeteers with many of the actors playing multiple characters and having the difficult chore of singing in multiple voices as well as acting them out. Their body language shined and fit well with the subtle body language of each of the puppets. I really enjoyed the light heartedness of the entire play though parts of it were definitely not something you could bring kids to.

Thekua.com Rating: 8 out of 10