★★★★★

“an invitation into a rare, sensual, and thought-provoking world”

Everything about this show is remarkable and enchanting. Director Paul Foster and choreographer Joanna Goodwin have created a production that is both visually stunning and emotionally resonant—a true triumph in modern musical theatre.

Based on the novel by Compton Mackenzie, Extraordinary Women transports us to the windswept and mysterious isle of Sirene, where a group of fiercely independent women attempt to imagine and build a life without men. It’s a story filled with irony, longing, and layers of identity, elevated by a strong creative vision and a superb ensemble cast.

The performances are nothing short of extraordinary. Sophie-Louise Dann dazzles in multiple roles, including one of the sirens. She brings nuance, wit, and warmth to each of her characters, particularly to Cleo, a talented pianist and one of the complex lovers of Rosalba. Rosalba is portrayed by the brilliant Amy Ellen Richardson, whose charisma on stage is magnetic. Her character is one you might love or hate, but Richardson’s masterful command of song, dance, and emotional range ensures you’re captivated every moment she’s on stage, and eagerly waiting for her return whenever she exits.

Equally commendable are the performances of the other sirens: Jasmine Kerr as the fiery and elegant Ligeia, Amira Matthews as the poetic and mysterious Sappho, and Monique Young as the alluring and sharp-witted Parthenope. Each brings something unique to the stage, contributing to the layered tapestry of characters living on Sirene.

The story unfolds primarily in a grand seaside villa, recently acquired by Aurora, the passionate and devoted lover of Rosalia. Aurora is portrayed with poise and emotional clarity by Caroline Sheen, who lends a grounded warmth to the character. As the summer wanes and the relationships among the women become increasingly tangled, the stakes rise and the show leans into its themes of love, loss, and reinvention.

Though the women shine throughout, special mention must be given to Jack Butterworth, who delivers five distinct roles with impressive versatility, timing, and flair. He provides essential transitions between scenes and tonal shifts, and his adaptability is one of the show’s secret weapons.

Visually, the production is breathtaking. The lighting design by Alex Musgrave is integral to the storytelling, creating a world that feels at once connected and disjointed, fluid and fractured, much like the emotions of the characters. The lighting guides the audience through dreamlike sequences and grounded moments alike, giving each scene its own emotional signature.

Musically, the show is underscored by an ethereal and melancholic motif, a lullaby drifting from a distant piano bar, played live by Sam Sommerfield and James William-Pattison. Their live music feels like a memory you can almost touch.

And then there are the costumes, particularly the sirens’, designed by Carla Joy Evans. They are a visual feast, evoking mythology, femininity, and rebellion, all at once. The effect is heightened by the ingenious set designed by Alex Marker, which captures the charm of a remote Mediterranean island, somewhere off the Gulf of Naples. Though the stage is modest in size, its impact is anything but small.

In the end, Extraordinary Women is more than just a musical, it’s an invitation into a rare, sensual, and thought-provoking world. With its stunning ensemble, unforgettable visuals, and haunting music, it lingers long after the final curtain.

A must-see.

WHO IS CLAUDE CAHUN?

Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★

“Director David Furlong deftly and clearly steers the action back and forth in time”

There are two dramatic themes that are being played out in Rowland Hill’s play, “Who is Claude Cahun?”, that seem to be competing with each other. Essentially it is about two individuals’ fight against the rise of fascism in the 1930s and their experiences during the second world war. On the other hand, it is a love story between a photographic artist and her muse using today’s transgender and queer ideology to explain the dynamics of their relationship. Hill’s writing creates a conflict between the two rather than blending them together into a coherent narrative. The former wins. We get a fine perspective of Claude Cahun’s – along with their lover Marcel Moore – resistance work following the German occupation of Jersey, but the crucial question in the title of the play is left unanswered.

Claude Cahun was born Lucy Schwob into a well-off Jewish family. After attending the Sorbonne, they adopted the pseudonym and began making photographic self-portraits, eventually collaborating in the 1920s with lifelong partner Marcel Moore (born Suzanne Malherbe). Although Cahun received the recognition for their artwork, Moore’s integral contribution went largely unrecognised. Rivkah Bunker and Amelia Armande, who play Cahun and Moore respectively, give mannered performances that are generally too polite to express the groundbreaking relevance of their works and lives. In their struggle to identify themselves we also have little to latch onto either. It is a slow burn, and it is difficult to match the lack of fire with the passion needed to fuel their resistance and activism work during World War II.

Director David Furlong deftly and clearly steers the action back and forth in time, showing us snippets of the young Cahun before returning to the house in Jersey in which Claude and Marcel are forced to accommodate members of the Gestapo; all the while covertly carrying out their activism – or ‘guerilla art’ as they called it – distributing anti-German fliers and poetry under the title of ‘The Soldier with No Name’. Among other roles, Ben Bela Böhm and Gethin Alderman are two, somewhat witless, Nazi officers led on a cat and mouse chase by the couple. There is an overall lack of tension, although glimmers of the danger do shine through when Claude Cahun is finally cornered and questioned. Bunker’s cool portrayal of the resilience of Claude’s character is a quiet and strong episode in an otherwise confused narrative.

Awkward attempts at physical theatre, which are intended to mirror the couple’s affinity with the surrealist movement, are at odds with the naturalism of the cast’s performances. More successful is the use of Jeffrey Choy’s video design, incorporating images of the real-life characters, as well as placing us firmly in time and place with captions. A modern approach that still adds to the old-fashioned feel of the piece.

In the first act, particularly, there is little in the writing or performances to make sense of – or justify – the emphasis on twenty-first century trans self-representation. Nor do we get a sense of the androgyny and the blurring of gender that informed their lives and work. During the occupation, the couple were forced to give the outward impression that they were sisters, living together as ‘good housekeepers’. However, that portrayal was little different from what we see in their backstory as the so-called progressive artists. Tokens of mask work and linguistic gestures are not enough to underline the importance of their work and their pioneering representation of gender identity.

The often-untold story of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore is a fascinating and vital one that should resonate with everything that is happening today. Hill’s writing certainly brings it to light, without fully bringing it to life.

EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN

Jermyn Street Theatre

★★★★★

“an invitation into a rare, sensual, and thought-provoking world”

EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN

Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed on 25th July 2025

by Beatrice Morandi

Photography by Steve Gregson

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN

EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN

EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN

WHO IS CLAUDE CAHUN?

Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★

“Director David Furlong deftly and clearly steers the action back and forth in time”