NEWSREVUE at Canal Café Theatre, reviewed 1 October 2022

‘a fun night out, guaranteed’ ★★★★

NewsRevue runs four nights a week at Canal Café Theatre in Little Venice and it’s always a pleasure to be in the audience of this dynamic parody sketch show. 

The show was first created in 1979 by Professor Hodd, who passed away this year, and it remains a testament to the right to freedom of speech. Professor Hodd was educated at Cambridge, LSE and Princeton and worked as an economist in Universities in Australia, the UK and India.

It is a truly topical show, updated every week with the latest news.  A new cast and a change of directors every six weeks helps to keep it fresh. Very often the directors are familiar faces, who turn up in other theatres or who are regulars at this show. On this occasion it’s Matt Strachen and Dylan Allcock giving their immaculate best as usual.

The cast are often returning performers, but some are less well known, sometimes giving relative newcomers an opportunity to show off their stuff. On this occasion the four were amply talented in the four disciplines: acting, singing, dancing and comedy. 

Bea Lane made light work of Lorraine Kelly and Camilla (Queen consort), as well as a plethora of other characters in the press. Ben Whitehead was simply brilliant as Boris Johnson (he got his inflections down to perfection) and Keir Starmer. Hayley-Marie Axe and Max Kinder complete the roundup of performers for the night with their own distinct personalities shining through (a remarkable feat given the parodies they are also bringing to bear).

NewsRevue is always fun, and expertly made. Whether you agree with the politics shared (it is certainly sometimes controversial) it never oversteps the mark of good taste. Yes, we did have Liz Truss, as the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz (“I haven’t got a brain”) but she’s fair game (considering the current disappointment with her policies). Other matters are not shared directly. The only reference to Queen Elizabeth II came in the form of King Charles singing “now the Kingdom is mine” to the tune of Money, Money, Money.

It’s hard to say whether NewsRevue is only as good as the written sketches, but if anyone thinks they can do better, they’d better whet their pens and prove it! For a fun night out, guaranteed, check out NewsRevue, upstairs at the gorgeous Bridge House pub in charming Little Venice, (on the Regent’s Canal near Paddington and Warwick Avenue stations).

NEWSREVUE

Canal Café Theatre, Delamere Terrace, Little Venice, W2 6ND

9.30pm Thursday to Saturday

9.00pm Sunday

Tickets: 0207 289 6054

Online https://canalcafetheatre.com/our-shows/newsrevue/

Reviewed by Heather Jeffery, Editor of London Pub Theatres Magazine