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Brief awakenings: White Rose The Musical @MaryleboneTHLDN

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A fascinating and daring act of defiance in Nazi Germany by a group of university students in Munich is given a slightly perplexing rock musical treatment in White Rose, the musical. Something seems amiss in this earnest and occasionally tuneful show. It lags more than it inspires, which is surprising given the tragic and compelling history of the real-life characters the show depicts. Given that young people are increasingly likely to vote for far-right parties across Europe, it’s an opportunity to look at a time when they had a different perspective on the future. Perhaps something has been lost in the translation or the larger space of the Marylebone Theatre where it plays.  The White Rose were a group of university students in Munich who sought to undermine the Third Reich through publication of a series of pamphlets urging passive resistance to the Nazi regime. Over a brief period between June 1942 and February 1943, they distributed their pamphlets across campus using ...

Singing out: Alexandra Da Silva @pizzapheasantry


Alexandra Da Silva returned last week with her show La Petite Divatante at the Pheasantry in Chelsea.

For a little lady she has a big voice and the show is an opportunity to show off her musicality. And make a little fun of her height. She sings Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid with new lyrics by Christina Bianco about being too short to enjoy the sun.

But it is her reflective ballads linger with you. Her vocal, which at times has a country feel, gives these pieces extra emotional pull.


Particularly poignant was her performance of the song about 9/11, I'll be here (from Ordinary Days). Her interpretation of the lyrics and tender delivery underscored the emotion of the piece.

There is added excitement when joining her she is joined onstage by Caroline Gregory and they sing the duet from Sideshow I Will Never Leave You.

These moments work well and contrast with the bigger, brassier and showstopping numbers that fill the rest of the list.

It is refreshing to have a song list in cabaret that draws from so many recent Broadway shows. She deftly handles the comic possibilities arising from singing Killer Instinct (from the musical Bring It On) and Screw Loose (Cry Baby).

Reprising her comic turn from the Kander and Ebb revue The World Goes Round she also performs Ring Them Bells and Cabaret. They are so enjoyable it is hard to resist them becoming a singalong...

Her bubbly personality and infectious enthusiasm makes the evening a delight. If there is anything missing it would be a dialogue with the audience explaining why these songs mean so much to her. But with music director Joe Louis Robinson and Phil Donnelly on guitar, things are kept at a brisk pace. So there isn't much time to dwell on this.

Alexandra Da Silva does not yet have a long list of credits to her name, but her comic and dramatic potential makes her someone to watch. Hopefully we will get the opportunity to see her on the stage again soon.

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