★★★

“a fun festive evening in the hands of an assured cast”

If you’ve ever wished that festive romcoms were stuffed with more innuendos, dance breaks, and maybe even a throuple, then Santa must have you on the nice list. Written by Neil Hurst and Jodie Pranger, Lovers Actually is a musical parody based on the 2003 film we all hate ourselves for knowing inside out. Your favourite bits are here (the gift wrap scene is taken to gasp-inducing new heights), and the boring bits are not (thankfully no sign of Colin whinging that British girls don’t like him).

An ominously large gift wrapped in a red bow flanks the stage on entry, but when the lights go up it turns out to be a giant advent calendar of sorts, with set pieces and props unfolding from the many doors. This does a solid job of taking us from Downing Street to Albert Square and everywhere in between in pursuit of happy endings for all our lovers, who you’re bound to be familiar with, even if you can’t remember any of the actual character names from the 2003 film.

Under Alex Jackson’s direction, the cast nimbly skip through the interweaving plotlines, each character in pursuit of a lover, with varying degrees of success and vulgarity. Louie Whitemore’s costumes are put through their paces, with a single blonde wig doing some heavy lifting to define three different characters, based on how jauntily the wig is placed. The actors bring the costume quick change mayhem to the audience for laughs too, along with solid musical performances and well-judged pantomime glances when props refuse to behave and the set disobeys them. It’s hard to pick favourites when we’re not just dealing with the original Love Actually character list, but additional meta versions of the characters based on the actors that played them. Joseph Beach is hilariously and unnervingly intense from the outset as Liam Neeson from Taken dropped into Liam Neeson from Love Actually’s story. And Holly Sumpton’s comic timing is stellar – her Emma Thompson made us cackle sooner than I would have thought possible after the final chords of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now.

Lauren Hopkinson has reworked classic carols and the entirety of ‘Now That’s What I Call Christmas’ into raunchy new numbers, which Martha Pothen brings particular vocal accomplishment to. But some of the arrangements are just a bit long, and it hampers the show’s impressive laugh-per-minute rating. ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ is the best of the bunch, with a crooning Bill Nighy (Joseph Beach) and his manager Joe (Ross Clifton) delivering pure joy (and jazz hands) ensuring every line brings a new laugh.

The script eventually becomes a victim of its own successes. There are some truly unexpected punchlines and digressions which are such fun rides that it’s actually disappointing to see the whole thing bookended by twee speeches from our Hugh Grant. The show is at its best when calling out the original script in ways we haven’t seen or heard before, and when the meta layering of characters reaches ridiculous heights.

Don’t go if you’re not ready to hear every single Christmas song ever released given a debaucherous twist. Do go if you’re looking for a fun festive evening in the hands of an assured cast, and you’re keen for something more grown up than a panto. This show is like a box of Celebrations – a few of the gags might not be to your taste, but gorging on the whole thing with a sing along is a merrymaking experience.

A VERY VERY BAD CINDERELLA at The Other Palace

★★★★

“Neil Hurst and Jodie Prenger’s writing is wild and lewd but is equally sharp, and intelligently plays with words”

If you’ve been in the news this year, or are a showbiz personality of any sort, or even merely a major player in a current West End musical, you should be advised to steer clear of “A Very Very Bad Cinderella”. Unless you’re some sort of masochist. None of the above escapes the scattershot onslaught of bawdy jokes and devil-may-care references that are loaded into this most unseasonal of seasonal pantomimes. Thrown out into the audience like sweets, not everyone will catch the in-jokes, and a great many go over our heads.

The musical theatre world is well and truly ransacked. The main casualty that lies in its wake is political correctness. Despite the obligatory use of a snow machine at this time of year, this is not a show for snowflakes. It doesn’t take itself seriously, and the audience are invited (no – make that ‘forced’) to follow suit. To say that this is an ‘alternative’ take on ‘Cinderella’ is a bit of an understatement. Okay, it’s hanging onto the basic plotline for dear life, and the stock characters are there – we have Cinderella, of course, and Buttons and Prince Charming. But gone are the Disney, cutesy names for the ‘Ugly Sisters’; instead, we have Fanny and Vajayjay. You can see where this is going now?

May Tether plays Cinderella, and like the show’s title itself, is channelling a certain other Cinderella who also acquired the prefix ‘bad’. The whole show is a parody, and Tether lampoons with affection and with tongue in cheek. Although the script advocates that tongues are destined for rather more unsavoury parts of the anatomy. Yes, it is that sort of show. That is not a dig, however. Neil Hurst and Jodie Prenger’s writing is wild and lewd but is equally sharp, and intelligently plays with words. We are occasionally reminded of the likes of the Two Ronnies, for example, particularly during a very clever soliloquy in which the titles of every well-known musical are strung together to form a witty and breathless anecdote.

Keanna Bloomfield switches between Buttons and Prince Charming, drawing attention to the writers’ neglect in allowing for costume changes. Budgetary constraints and the producers’ limitations and lack of foresight are also frequently shared with the audience. Maybe spread a little too thin, but the comedy is thickened if you are acquainted with the behind-the-scenes machinations of theatre in all its variety. Genres are crossed with gay abandon as the ‘Ugly Sisters’ lead us headlong into the world of Cabaret and Drag. A captivating duo they are the wicked Queens of the night. Veronica Green’s Fanny is deliciously spicy (I never, ever thought I’d be writing that in a review). Matched by Imelda Warren-Green’s pouting, sourpuss Vajayjay (come on now, concentrate!), the self-declared ‘fab-u-lous’ pair are a comic act that draw the biggest laughs. If the show were to be streamed for general release you wouldn’t catch much of what is said due to the number of censoring beeps required.

There is a narrative thread, just in case we can’t keep up, provided by an uncredited, on-screen presence whose deadpan delivery alludes to the show being ‘very very bad’ indeed. Yes – it is ‘bad’ and ‘wicked’ and ‘sick’. But these are all huge compliments if you’re referring to the urban dictionary. It is a very very fun night out. Prepare to be offended and delighted in equal measure. Oh, and be wary of where you sit, unless the idea of wearing a face mask pulled out from Fanny’s undergarments appeals to you. There – that should get you scrolling for the booking page if nothing else.

Tag Archives: Neil Hurst

LOVERS ACTUALLY

★★★

The Other Palace

LOVERS ACTUALLY

The Other Palace

★★★

“a fun festive evening in the hands of an assured cast”

LOVERS ACTUALLY

The Other Palace

Reviewed on 26th November 2025

by Jessica Hayes

Photography by Pamela Raith

Previously reviewed at this venue:

SIT OR KNEEL | ★★★★ | October 2025

LOVE QUIRKS | ★★★ | September 2025

50 FIRST DATES: THE MUSICAL | ★★★★★ | September 2025

SAVING MOZART | ★★★★ | August 2025

THE LIGHTNING THIEF | ★★★ | March 2025

HOMO ALONE | ★★★ | December 2024

LOVERS ACTUALLY

LOVERS ACTUALLY

LOVERS ACTUALLY

A Very Very Bad Cinderella

★★★★

The Other Palace

A VERY VERY BAD CINDERELLA at The Other Palace

★★★★

“Neil Hurst and Jodie Prenger’s writing is wild and lewd but is equally sharp, and intelligently plays with words”