★★★★

“Pulman’s voice is the evening’s prettiest pleasure”

Entertainment delivered at conversational level is deeply unfashionable, to the point of feeling subversive. Nonetheless, Hooray for Hollywood has quietly, cheerfully pitched up at the West End, finding its place among a landscape of brazen, multi-media spectaculars.

In essence, this is a high-quality lounge act, and entirely unapologetic about it. If you are looking to spend a quiet evening with two excellent musicians, one singer and one singing pianist, a grand piano, and a century of Hollywood’s greatest tunes, here is the best game in town. Indeed, that’s the whole proposition here. There’s no hint of showmanship having moved on in the past 40 years, no ensemble, no spectacle. Just talent, and the confidence to know that is enough.

Liza Pulman and Joe Stilgoe have previous form together, and it shows. Their rapport is easy and unforced. Stilgoe, simultaneously accompanying and singing, makes the whole enterprise look effortless, which of course means it is nothing of the sort. The repertoire sweeps from The Wizard of Oz to La La Land, taking in West Side Story, Wicked and a great deal else besides. The show distils nearly a hundred years of musical cinema into two hours on a no-fuss stage.

Pulman’s voice is the evening’s prettiest pleasure. It is a beautiful instrument: clear, warm, and produced from the chest in the manner of an earlier generation of musical theatre. We are in Julie Andrews territory, rather than the nasal, pushed tone that has become standard in the post-Elaine Paige era. So much musical performance is now about demonstrating its own mechanics, but Pulman (clearly, highly-trained) makes singing seem like the most natural thing in the world.

The other pleasure is Stilgoe’s piano playing, which is glorious. It’s inventive, assured, and always in service of the song.

Lighting by Daniel Carter-Brennan and sound by Joe Barker are both assured and seamless. The Duchess is the smallest of the traditional London West End theatres. Sound and lighting are handled with the delicate touch the venue required for this no-frills show.

The script between the songs could do with more work. Their humour is deliberately old-fashioned and understated. But sometimes the audience is left wondering if there is any punchline at all.

Throughout the show, the audience rises together on a wave of familiar music. This mood is punctured by having to grapple with the jokes. For example, there’s a flippant line touching on the Caribbean and Mary Poppins being ‘all-inclusive’. Was the target the all-inclusive package holiday? I certainly hope so. Either way, that’s one to cut.

That aside, the evening is all elegance, escapism and generosity. Hooray for Hollywood will not win any prizes for contemporaneity and does not seek to. It is a show for people who still believe that a beautiful voice, a gifted pianist and a great song are more than sufficient. On the evidence of Monday evening at the Duchess, they are right.

WAITING FOR HAMLET

Theatre at the Tabard

★★★★

“theatre that makes you laugh whilst quietly dismantling your assumptions about power and worth”

At a moment of such profound turbulence for the House of Windsor, it’s difficult to imagine a more timely play than Waiting for Hamlet. David Visick’s award-winning comedy asks precisely those uncomfortable questions about social rank, worth and self-deception that must be keeping our current king awake at night.

The old King Hamlet (Tim Marriott) has arrived in Purgatory convinced he’s earned a place in Heaven through what he calls the “King Thing” (invading countries, winning duels, and whatnot). His companion in limbo is Yorick the court jester (Nicholas Collett), who has different ideas about the late monarch’s qualifications for eternal glory. What follows is a circuitous dialogue about the human condition. These two old fools attempt to break the monotony of Purgatory by getting into the “Big H” (Heaven or Hell, either would do). There is no such escape.

For those of us who’ve yet to shuffle off the mortal coil, the application of this to living inside our own closely drawn imaginary cages couldn’t be clearer.

Tim Marriott, who directs as well as stars, brings nuanced comic timing to the deluded king. His performance captures the pomposity and vulnerability of a man who believes rank makes right. Veteran RSC actor Nicholas Collett matches him brilliantly as Yorick, whose wisdom cuts through royal pretension. These are accomplished performers who make the dialogue crackle with energy.

Visick’s script won the Kenneth Branagh New Writing Award. It echoes Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in its exploration of existential stalemate. Those plays examine helplessness. Waiting for Hamlet studies self-deception. Yorick sees that the King’s achievements are simply violence dressed in ermine. The King does not.

The double-hander script is perfect for the small venue and low budget. The two props, the crown and the jester’s hat, are stripped of their significance as the play’s sharp commentary on the randomness of power and status shows how we have all been fooled.

Marriott’s direction keeps a laser-sharp focus on the performances, trusting the writing and his actors to carry the weight of the play’s philosophical enquiry. Trevor Datson’s sound design and original theme enhance the atmosphere without overwhelming the dialogue. Charlie Stace’s lighting design reinforces the characters’ metaphysical limbo.

The play is also very funny, particularly for Hamlet fans. This is theatre that makes you laugh whilst quietly dismantling your assumptions about power and worth. The play asks what happens when someone who believes status validates existence discovers that death is the ultimate leveller. For a nation watching its own royal family navigate crisis after crisis, these questions feel urgently relevant.

Very well acted and genuinely funny, Visick has created a prequel to Shakespeare’s tragedy that stands on its own. It is a study in how we fool ourselves, how rank corrupts judgment, and the pointlessness of earthly achievements measured against eternity. Highly recommended for anyone seeking theatre that poses the important questions as much as it entertains.

Tag Archives: ELIZABETH BOTSFORD

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD

★★★★

UK Tour

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD

Duchess Theatre

★★★★

“Pulman’s voice is the evening’s prettiest pleasure”

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD

Duchess Theatre then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 13th April 2026

by Elizabeth Botsford

Photography by Matt Crockett

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD

WAITING FOR HAMLET

★★★★

Theatre at the Tabard

WAITING FOR HAMLET

Theatre at the Tabard

★★★★

“theatre that makes you laugh whilst quietly dismantling your assumptions about power and worth”