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Wine time: The Frogs - Southwark Playhouse

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For a show called The Frogs, there isn’t much amphibian activity in the piece. But being a show with music by Stephen Sondheim, you could be mistaken for thinking it’s a critical theatrical piece. But like Sondheim’s final musical playing at the National Theatre, while it may not be a musical that fills you with provocative thoughts, it’s a fast-paced romp through hell and back to save the world for the sake of arts. With rousing choruses, thrilling choreography and plenty of cheap laughs, what more can you want from the theatre? It’s currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse (Borough) . There isn’t much to the plot, except that Dionysus (Dan Buckley), disillusioned by the state of a divided world, and his sidekick and slave, Xanthias (Kevin McHale), cross the river Styx to the underworld to find a great writer who they can return to the world to teach the world about life. He has his mind set on bringing back George Bernard Shaw until he hears the poetry of Shakespeare.  This v...

Fancy footwork: Floyd Collins @WiltonMusicHall


A cave man searching for fame and fortune - and finds it after he gets trapped in one - is the basis of the musical Floyd Collins, currently playing at Wilton's Music Hall.

Based on the true story of Kentucky cave explorer Collins. After getting his foot trapped he becomes a media sensation when a cub reporter (who is thin and small enough to enter the cave) interviews him. His subsequent story becomes syndicated across America.




Written by Adam Guettel with a book by Tina Landau, it was hailed at the time as a new landmark in musical theatre with its bluegrass-infused score. Perhaps some of the music is an acquired taste, but the piece still seems as powerful and as moving.

It's helped with a slick production and delivered a cast of fine singers and performers, headed up by Ashley Robinson as the caver Floyd.

Directed by Jonathan Butterell, it's a simple yet effective production. It makes the most of the cavernous space of Wilton's Music Hall and like a sand cave, it's a rare find. Floyd Collins runs until 15 October.


Photo credit: evocative production images by Hannah Barton

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