Theatre Reviews

STALLED a new musical
King’s Head Theatre
13th Feb to 23rd March 2025

“In a bougie-ass Seattle ladies room, meet a frazzled mother, a neurodivergent daughter, a nonbinary poet and a queer computer scientist – together navigating the ups and downs of modern life. With soul-stirring melodies and a rare authenticity, witness their inspiring journeys in an unforgettable celebration of these complicated, beautiful souls.”

Review by Richard Lambert, 3 Stars

With a cast of 11 this isn’t your typical new fringe theatre musical UK premiere – all stops out for STALLED at the King’s Head Theatre. One year on in its new location, the King’s Head Theatre this year appear to be programming bigger productions more aligned with the scale of it’s audience capacity (around 180 depending on configuration) – FIREBIRD last month and now STALLED.

The producers, Thomas Hopkins Productions, have donated £35k to replace the seating – a very generous gesture! For the first time in decades there wasn’t a bucket speech beg for donations before or after the performance.

This UK premiere is not a totally new production having had previous workshops overseas. It comes in at 90 mins no interval. Set in what we could call Public Conveniences and the Americans call a “restroom” there was surprisingly what appeared to be a bunkette chaise-longue between 2 sets of toilet stalls. The central wash basin with illuminated taps look rather “bougie” as stated in the Press Release. The set design and costume design quite outstanding!

The lighting rig is extensive with lots of various moving lights. The lighting control technically competent but with a few design choices slightly unusual. I did laugh out loud when “Maggie” sings something along the lines of “sweep the rubbish into the corner” and all the moving lights swing over into the corner. With a thin haze that never lingers there is a sand-storm effect from the haze machine and its fan upstage left throughout most of the show. Many blackouts between scenes feel slightly disjointed and old-fashioned – and the cast moving before the blackout has completed disconnects the direction from the technical.

The sound worked well, however it’s an unnatural sound when you look in one direction to watch the cast and you hear them singing from somewhere else up in the sky. The mix between live band and vocals well balanced with the percussion hidden away and not allowed to overwhelm proceedings.

The band is exceptional. Loving the music and the songs!

The story is rather predictable and for the 1st half a little boring. But then, after all the setup and multiple entrances and exits through the audience the three main stories start to conclude and there is an emotional tug for the final songs.

Lauren Ward is an incredible performer! Her acting and singing second to none. Standout singing from all the “mothers” in the cast. It’s the cast that save this production and make it worth seeing.

Photo credit: Johan Persson