The revival of the musical runs in the Studio Theatre until the 25th April, before heading to Bristol Old Vic and Southampton Mayflower Studios.
WhatsOnStage: **** “What lingers most, however, is the production’s refusal to soften its ending. The final moments are unsettling rather than cathartic, leaving the audience with ambiguity instead of release. By denying easy answers, the revival insists that love, compassion and human connection remain acts of resistance, even in the face of fear and brutality.”
Leicester Mercury: ***** “The musical doesn’t shy away from the claustrophobic grittiness of prison life, with David Woodhead’s set perfectly depicting the decaying walls and the harshness of life behind bars. Andrzej Goulding’s old movie style cinema projections really set the scene for Molina’s fantasies.”
West End Best Friend: **** “Despite working with a smaller square footage, Joanna Goodwin’s choreography does not suffer, with elements of Fosse and finding nuances in the music with expert ease – the ‘Morphine Tango’ being a particular favourite. Goodwin is able to go to town with the big, glitzy musical numbers, which act as a sharp contrast to the muted, more sombre moments of the piece. This also allows lighting designer Howard Hudson to play in what is otherwise a fairly bland, yet fitting colour palette, combining more naturalistic, shadowy effects in the majority.”
Theatre & Tonic: **** “This striking revival of Kiss of the Spider Woman feels so perfectly at home in the studio space that my only gripe is its short run in Leicester—it deserves far longer to welcome audiences from across the UK, who would undoubtedly fall for all that this production has to offer.”
East Midlands Theatre: **** “Director Paul Foster handles that tension with assurance in this first major UK revival of the show for more than thirty years. Staged in Curve’s smaller studio theatre, the production wisely leans into intimacy rather than relying just on spectacle. “
The Guardian: *** “The dialogue can be blunt and the production has a fourth-wall distance, but Soto Pacheco sings with warmth and resonance, complemented by Blagden’s political rage. It adds up to a study of an unlikely friendship that impresses more than it moves.”
The Stage: ***** “Exceptional production of the tricky Kander and Ebb musical is as smooth as spider’s silk.”
Fairy Powered Productions: ***** “This is not a musical of jazz hands and easy resolutions – it’s a bold, adult piece with a deeply moving, and undeniably sad, conclusion. Powerful, provocative, and exquisitely staged, it’s theatre that lingers long after the final note.”
Musical Theatre Review: ***** “This is a bold, deeply moving revival, assuring its place in the pantheon as one of the most gut-wrenching and politically powerful pieces in modern musical theatre.”
The Telegraph: *** “Paul Foster’s revival of Kander and Ebb’s Kiss of the Spider Woman is a visual treat, but struggles with the whiplash changes of tone.”