★★★

“a polished, enjoyable production with plenty of charm”

After a multiple Tony award-winning Broadway run, ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ arrives in the UK. Though brimming with heart and hope, it never quite finds the edge it needs to resonate deeply.

Kimberly is running out of time. Born with a rare condition and ageing four times faster, Kimberly hatches an unlikely plan to make her dreams come true.

With a Tony-winning book and lyrics from David Lindsay-Abaire, ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ blends an offbeat coming-of-age story with a poignant bucket-list tale. Kimberly’s impending mortality – tragically on the cusp of adulthood – gives the story emotional weight, while her spectacularly dysfunctional family justifies her quest for autonomy. Yet despite a cast of flawed, often unlikeable characters, it rarely mines enough grit to offset its rather relentless optimism. The cheque-fraud strand feels oddly consequence-free, sidestepping the real stakes of Debra’s scheme, while Kimberly’s condition – inspired by a very real condition called progeria – is treated more as a narrative device than a lived experience. Overall, teen angst and premature mortality make for a compelling setup, but the emotional payoff falls short.

Jeanine Tesori’s score is consistently inventive. The conversational, quirky ‘Hello Darling’ offers an insightful glimpse into Pattie’s psyche, while ‘How to Wash a Check’ turns criminal activity into comic chaos through the teenage gang’s ineptitude. The finale, ‘Great Adventure’, lands with real poignancy, shifting between major and minor chords as it captures hope and heartbreak. Not every song may stick in the memory, but together they form a distinctive and effective whole.

Director Michael Longhurst makes impressive use of a relatively small cast, with inventive staging and a versatile revolving set conjuring multiple locations with ease. The transitions are slick, the pacing brisk, and the characters feel well rounded. Again, the sweetness could use more bite to sharpen its emotional impact, and some relationships feel a little lightly drawn. The central romance may also raise eyebrows given the actors’ age gap. Still, it’s a polished, enjoyable production with plenty of charm.

Soutra Gilmour’s design is a triumph, centred on an ingenious multi-level set that effortlessly shifts locations while incorporating lighting and projection surfaces. Jack Knowles’s lighting adds flair and focus to key moments, while Paul Groothuis’s sound design is atmospheric if occasionally overpowering the vocals. Luke Halls’ video design delivers a poignant glimpse of the life Kimberly fights to experience.

Multi-Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman captures Kimberly’s youthful optimism and insecurity with real sincerity. While there is room for greater emotional contrast in places, she remains in fine voice, delivering every song with warmth and honesty. Alice Fearn’s deadpan Debra cuts through the sweetness at just the right moments, providing the perfect counterpoint to Friedman. Peter Hannah and Niamh Perry as Buddy and Pattie Levaco expertly portray flawed parents whose love is buried beneath years of baggage. Gilli Jones brings both sweetness and resolve to Seth, making his connection with Kimberly wholly convincing. Meanwhile, Sara Hajizadeh, Ronav Jain, Robin Simões da Silva and Aviva Tulley form a superb teen quartet, their impeccable harmonies and comic chemistry providing some great highlights.

‘Kimberly Akimbo’ may be more charming than profound, but its warmth, wit and strong performances make the adventure worthwhile.

JEEVES TAKES CHARGE

Charing Cross Theatre

★★★

“Wooldridge’s staging is quite masterful”

From the age of six, P. G. Wodehouse knew that he wanted to be a writer. He certainly lived up to his ambition, writing in the course of his lifetime more than seventy novels, over three-hundred short stories, the lyrics for over two-hundred songs, more than twenty plays and several film scripts. And this doesn’t include his journalism, essays and verse. Most people, however, immediately conjure up his quintessentially English characters of Jeeves and Wooster when Wodehouse is mentioned. First appearing in print in 1915, the highly competent valet who serves his wealthy and idle master have claimed their place in English literature. They were created in a world very different to the one we live in now. A lost, privileged world, completely out of step with a modern society, and yet it is always interesting to witness its continuing popularity. Perhaps it is the gentle satire that appeals, or the warmth and affection in the writing.

Sam Harrison, in the one-man show “Jeeves Takes Charge”, latches onto this lightness of touch ignoring any necessity – or impulse – to engage with a twenty-first century sensibility. That he succeeds is no mean feat. He has the vocal and physical agility to take on over twenty characters and keep us more or less entertained for a couple of hours straight; largely down to the exquisite language of Wodehouse that translates smoothly from the page to the stage.

The main premise of the story is that the servant is far smarter than the master. Bertie Wooster is posh but dim – a foppish loafer with plenty of charm but low on intellect. Harrison emphasises the latter with a heightened campness and an elastic physicality that pays homage – at times – to Norman Wisdom. In contrast, his voice drops an octave to portray the lugubrious Jeeves, always one step ahead of his master. The plot essentially revolves around Jeeves continually trying to save Wooster from himself, and in particular from an ill-matched and potentially disastrous marriage. Of course, there is the added motive that if Wooster marries, Jeeves is out of a job (a wife would bring a new domestic regime, leading Jeeves to believe his dismissal would be inevitable).

There are farcical elements to the story which include a lost manuscript for a scandalous memoir, a domineering and ultimatum-hungry fiancé, a decrepit uncle, many a fear-inducing auntie – all staples of the Wodehouse repertoire. Under Hugh Wooldridge’s sleek and streamlined direction, Harrison employs his comedic talents to the full, with a vocal versatility that can switch character almost mid-sentence. The evening is stretched out thinly, however, and our patience is challenged as we approach the two-hour mark. The success of the television series starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie relied heavily on the short episodic nature of its transmissions. “Jeeves Takes Charge” weaves in two other stories into the narrative which dampens our attention, saved only by Harrison’s uninterrupted energy and dynamism (he plays a terrifically tipsy Gussie Fink-Nottle).

The characterisation is consistently clear; and so too are the many locations, thanks to Caite Hevner’s ingenious video and set design. Projections onto picture frames and the French windows are constantly changing as the action is relocated, and with the aid of Tim Mitchell’s lighting, the wallpaper is transformed miraculously to create entirely different interiors. Wooldridge’s staging is quite masterful, right up to curtain call during which Harrison takes his bow surrounded by the portraits of all the characters he has played.

The sense of nostalgia is pervasive. Which is the show’s charm as well as its distraction. It is light entertainment in the extreme, and distinctly old fashioned. The social satire is dated, but the linguistic inventiveness is timeless. It may be difficult to relate to, but Harrison draws us in with his vibrant performance and grasp of traditional comedy. We don’t always need to be on the cutting edge – a bit of gentle escapism never did us any harm.

Tag Archives: PAUL GROOTHUIS

KIMBERLY AKIMBO

★★★

Hampstead Theatre

KIMBERLY AKIMBO

Hampstead Theatre

★★★

“a polished, enjoyable production with plenty of charm”

KIMBERLY AKIMBO

Hampstead Theatre

Reviewed on 24th September 2026

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Marc Brenner

KIMBERLY AKIMBO

KIMBERLY AKIMBO

KIMBERLY AKIMBO

JEEVES TAKES CHARGE

★★★

Charing Cross Theatre

JEEVES TAKES CHARGE

Charing Cross Theatre

★★★

“Wooldridge’s staging is quite masterful”