★★★

“brims with vulnerability and heart”

Tony Award–winner Levi Kreis steps into new territory with his writing debut, ‘Already Perfect’, a defiant yet tender coming out story urging us to embrace every part of ourselves. Though an imperfect gem, it gleams with life.

Troubled Broadway actor Levi reaches breaking point after a disastrous matinee, hours before the evening show is due to be immortalised on film. Luckily friend and sponsor Ben steps in and channels his turmoil into music. As the piano breathes its first notes, buried truths resurface, sparking a painful but necessary reckoning. Can Levi make peace with the past and finally love all of himself?

The book, by Kreis with additional material from Dave Solomon, charts a deeply personal journey from growing up as a gay Christian in the American Bible Belt, to the heartbreak of being cast out and beyond. The writing is raw and emotionally charged, tackling homophobia, drug use and suicide among other things, yet sparkles with humour and ends with a message of self acceptance. The structure, however, needs further shaping. The narrative feels more like a blow by blow than a cohesively crafted arc, and the central succession of dark chapters paired with back-to-back ballads feels a little lost – though to be fair, so is Levi. The redemption arc could do with more buildup, leaving the finale feeling underpowered. Though because the material is so personal, it’s packed with heart and soul.

Solomon’s direction draws the audience in with an intimate setting, fourth wall breaks and auditorium excursions. We witness the pain and trauma up close, underscoring the idea that “someone here has lived it too”. The staging is never static, with sharp blocking and Jennifer Rooney’s fluid movement direction bringing each scene to life.

Kreis’ music and lyrics, enriched by Matthew Antonio Perri’s musical supervision, arrangements and orchestrations, pulse with Southern spirit – a blend of Gospel, blues, country and Americana that feels contemporary and inviting. The sharp arrangements showcase gorgeous harmonies and blistering riffs, anchored by the band’s assured delivery (Perri, Tom Sansbury, Mat Hector). My only gripe is the back-to-back ballads: though strong individually, stacking them dulls the emotional impact. Still, the 11 o’clock number cuts through as a genuine standout and delivers a welcome shift in tone.

Jason Ardizzone West’s set, with associate designer Ellie Wintour, is deceptively simple: an almost plain dressing room hides a revolving panel, snapping us into new spaces with dreamlike ease. Secreting the band behind a two-way screen in the heart of the action leans into the slightly surreal edge.

Jessica Paz’s sound design, with associate Andrew Johnson, is cleanly balanced and smartly detailed. The sharp sound effects land at just the right moments, and the tannoy voiceover neatly bookends the piece.

Jason Antone’s costume design neatly defines each character, using swift on stage changes to rally a plethora of personalities.

Ian Scott’s lighting design nimbly navigates the show’s many locations, shifting tone and focus with an impressive range of settings. The dramatic overhead spots preceding each Bible drop are particularly striking.

Kreis’ Levi, perhaps unsurprisingly, steals the show with a raw, affecting intensity and sheer musical brilliance, unleashing spectacular vocals, astonishing riffs and fiery piano work. Yiftach ‘Iffy’ Mizrahi’s shape shifting Ben provides a deft counterbalance, with disarming charm and cutting wit that ground weightier moments. Killian Thomas Lefevre’s Matthew is the show’s emotional core, bridging past and present with a moving journey from naive optimism to bitter reality. Hearing all three singing is a real treat.

‘Already Perfect’ may still be finding its way, but it brims with vulnerability and heart. With standout performances across the board and a message for everyone, it’s worth exploring.

FAWLTY TOWERS THE PLAY

Apollo Theatre

★★★★

“the stage becomes a compressed farce machine – a pressure cooker of mounting chaos”

Reviving a show as beloved as Fawlty Towers for the stage is a feat fraught with danger. With just 12 original episodes broadcast in the 1970s, the sitcom has long enjoyed legendary status. So, how do you take something that is perfect in its own right, wrap it in theatrical garb, and not break it in the process?

The answer, it seems, is by doubling down on what people already adore. Director Caroline Jay Ranger’s slick, affectionate production at the Apollo Theatre does little to reimagine the world of Torquay’s most dysfunctional hotel, but it does an impeccable job of reanimating it.

This is not so much a reinvention as a meticulous act of resurrection. The script, overseen by John Cleese himself, splices together three of the series’ most memorable episodes – The Germans, The Hotel Inspectors, and Communication Problems – into a 90-minute parade of familiar gags, lovingly preserved and expertly timed.

This is a jukebox comedy, playing the greatest hits for the faithful:

Don’t mention the war. Check.

I know nothing. Check.

May I ask what you expected to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Check.

There’s enormous pleasure in watching Danny Bayne goose-step and rage his way into Basil Fawlty’s frustrated shoes. His performance is an astonishing feat of mimicry, down to the clipped vowels and furious flailing limbs, provoking cheers not just for the comedy but for the uncanny likeness to Cleese himself.

The supporting cast are similarly faithful to their television forebears. Mia Austen is spookily accurate as Sybil, her grating laugh and imperious glare brilliantly intact. Joanne Clifton channels Connie Booth’s Polly with quiet efficiency, while Hemi Yeroham turns in a wink-to-the-crowd Manuel. Paul Nicholas, meanwhile, gently steals his scenes as the absent-minded Major with a twinkle in the eye.

Designer Liz Ascroft deserves special praise for conjuring the hotel’s multiple settings within a single, beautifully retro set, even allowing for an exterior view of that classic black and white hotel façade (and sign). With cleverly arranged spaces for reception, dining room and guest quarters, the stage becomes a compressed farce machine – a pressure cooker of mounting chaos.

And indeed, the play’s structure, while episodic, leans into the genre’s strengths. The escalating misunderstandings, linguistic blunders and slapstick near-disasters all translate well to live performance. Few comedies have ever lent themselves so easily to farce.

While the adaptation’s loyalty is its triumph, it is also its limit. By mining the original show for greatest hits, the production struggles to establish its own momentum. Lines have been trimmed or lightly updated, but the framework remains largely untouched. The jokes are still funny – often hilariously so – but they’re jokes we already know. The audience laughs with a sense of shared affection.

People – giddy with glee – were applauding in recognition of an iconic line, character, or episode long before they duly arrived.

There’s no denying the sheer craft and zest on display. Ranger and her cast have pulled off a tricky balancing act, creating a stage experience that honours its source without sinking into lazy pastiche. It doesn’t reimagine Fawlty Towers for a new generation, because it doesn’t have to (and maybe the xenophobic tendencies make the material too problematic to try).

It simply invites us back, to laugh, remember, and marvel at the little slice of perfection John Cleese and Connie Booth carved into the very English comic canon.

Tag Archives: IAN SCOTT

ALREADY PERFECT

★★★

King’s Head Theatre

ALREADY PERFECT

King’s Head Theatre

★★★

“brims with vulnerability and heart”

ALREADY PERFECT

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed on 15th January 2026

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Pamela Raith

ALREADY PERFECT

ALREADY PERFECT

ALREADY PERFECT

FAWLTY TOWERS THE PLAY

★★★★

Apollo Theatre

FAWLTY TOWERS THE PLAY

Apollo Theatre

★★★★

“the stage becomes a compressed farce machine – a pressure cooker of mounting chaos”