In the past year, musical theatregoers can hardly fail to have noticed that the West End is currently trucking for a trend of \u2018new is better\u2019. Since the Operation Mincemeat phenomenon took over, the London theatre scene has been stormed by a range of small-scale, quirky musicals \u2013 Two Strangers, Babies, Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder, to name a few.<\/p>\n
But, if The Barbican\u2019s latest run of Kiss Me, Kate proves anything, it\u2019s that there\u2019s always room for a classic.<\/p>\n
Starring Line of Duty\u2019s Adrian Dunbar and Broadway legend Stephanie J Block, this new adaptation from director Bartlett Sher is lively, lavish and completely charming, bringing some much-missed glamour and spectacle back to the London stage.<\/p>\n
First written in 1948 by Cole Porter (who also wrote Anything Goes), the show follows the behind-the-scenes action of a musical production of Shakespeare\u2019s Taming of the Shrew. At the centre are divorced couple Fred and Lilli (Dunbar and Block) whose story of hatred and lost love mirrors that of Petruchio and Kate. As the cast tries desperately to get through opening night, the performance becomes side tracked by Fred and Lilli\u2019s antics, not to mention gun-toting gangsters who are there to collect Fred\u2019s debts\u2026<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve seen the original film, you\u2019ll know that the genius of Kiss Me, Kate is in how it juggles the complex play-within-a-play story with dazzling musical numbers, comedic subplots, and fraught emotional ties \u2013 Shakespeare could never! \u2013 and Sher\u2019s adaptation is no different.<\/p>\n
Adrian Dunbar (AKA Ted Hastings) is brilliant in his musical theatre debut. As Fred Graham, he gleefully minces about the stage, bringing a seediness and ego to the role that feels appropriate for a modern audience. There is something Sinatra-esque in the way he swans around the backstage, taking control and attempting to woo his resistant ex, and yet he still comes off as totally loveable.<\/p>\n
Other stand-outs include Georgina Onuorah as Lois Lane, who gives an excellently liberated version of the song Always True To You In My Fashion, and Hammed Animashaun as one of the gangsters, whose comic timing is pitch perfect, and who does so much additional work he draws the eye even when standing at the edge of a scene.<\/p>\n
However, no-one on that stage can match the might of Stephanie J Block, who switches from hysterical heartbreak to Shakespearean prose to profound love, all before casually throwing in Mozart\u2019s Queen of the Night aria without a flinch. Her experience from the Broadway stage is palpable as she balances Lilli\u2019s vulnerability with Kate\u2019s truculence, while belting out every song to spine-tingling perfection.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think it\u2019s an exaggeration to say that the rest of the production needed to raise its game to fit her \u2013 but thankfully raise it, it did.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/06\/The-company-of-Kiss-Me-Kate.-Photo-by-Johan-Persson-419c11a.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"The")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>The musical numbers in the show are larger than life, with a cast of 20+ performing the elegant but non-stop choreography of Anthony Van Laast \u2013 of Mamma Mia!, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Sister Act. The second act in particular kicks off in spectacular fashion with a sizzling rendition of Too Darn Hot, which includes tap sequences, syncopated jumping, and incredible strobing light effects.<\/p>\n
The staging helps massively, too. The three areas of the stage, the alley and the dressing room and transitioned through on a multi-layered revolving set, which shows off the huge thrumming pulse of any theatre production. Its constant moving, alongside the constant movement of the cast on the edges of the stage, helps you to feel fully immersed in the vibrant world of backstage, and contributes to the scale of the production.<\/p>\n
With all that, plus glitzy costumes, multi-coloured lighting and, many a kick-line, you\u2019re left with a musical that is so gloriously joyful, I was beaming for hours afterwards.<\/p>\n
Overall, Kiss Me, Kate does everything in excess \u2013 but it owns it, and leans into every grandiose impulse, bringing you a show that is simply\u2026 wunderbar.<\/p>\n
Buy Kiss Me, Kate tickets at TodayTix<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Buy Kiss Me, Kate tickets at London Theatre Direct<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n If you love Adrian Dunbar, here\u2019s our interview with him on singing in Kiss Me, Kate<\/a>, plus don\u2019t forget to check out our full list of what to do in London this weekend<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Kiss Me, Kate is showing at The Barbican until 14th September<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Kiss Me, Kate tickets are on sale at TodayTix and London Theatre Direct from \u00a325. There\u2019s plenty of availability left so head on over.<\/p>\n Buy Kiss Me, Kate tickets at TodayTix<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Buy Kiss Me, Kate tickets at London Theatre Direct<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Test your brain power with our Going Out-themed riddles in RadioTimes.com\u2019s free newsletter<\/span><\/em><\/p> For more theatre news and reviews, here\u2019s our Kathy and Stella review<\/a>, Babies review<\/a> and the best plays in London<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n Bartlett Sher\u2019s new adaptation proves they don\u2019t make \u2018em like this anymore. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":53568,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/kiss-me-kate-review-adrian-dunbar-is-dapper-in-this-utterly-dazzling-show.png",2223,1446,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/kiss-me-kate-review-adrian-dunbar-is-dapper-in-this-utterly-dazzling-show-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/kiss-me-kate-review-adrian-dunbar-is-dapper-in-this-utterly-dazzling-show-300x195.png",300,195,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/kiss-me-kate-review-adrian-dunbar-is-dapper-in-this-utterly-dazzling-show-768x500.png",768,500,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/kiss-me-kate-review-adrian-dunbar-is-dapper-in-this-utterly-dazzling-show-1024x666.png",800,520,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/kiss-me-kate-review-adrian-dunbar-is-dapper-in-this-utterly-dazzling-show-1536x999.png",1536,999,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/kiss-me-kate-review-adrian-dunbar-is-dapper-in-this-utterly-dazzling-show-2048x1332.png",2048,1332,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Bartlett Sher\u2019s new adaptation proves they don\u2019t make \u2018em like this anymore.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/53567"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}When and where can I see Kiss Me, Kate?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/06\/Charlie-Stemp-and-Georgina-Onuorah-in-Kiss-Me-Kate.-Photo-by-Johan-Persson-a1f520f.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Charlie")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>How to get Kiss Me, Kate tickets<\/strong><\/h2>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"