London Theatre News & Reviews

The Reviews are in for End of the Rainbow

~ Buy Tickets for End of the Rainbow ~

Two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race winner, Jinkx Monsoon stars as the legend and gay icon Judy Garland in Peter Quilter’s End of the Rainbow at the stunning Soho Theatre Walthamstow.

Set in London, 1968, at the legendary Talk of the Town, Garland readies herself for a series of concerts that will both captivate and haunt. The world adores her, yet behind the glittering spotlight lies a fierce struggle for control, survival, and the relentless drive to perform at whatever the cost.

The reviews are in:

"A wonderfully vivid picture of Garland." ★★★ (The Stage).

"Drag Race fans already know that the series’ 'queen of all queens' Jinkx Monsoon does a mean Judy Garland impression from her lurid account of a threesome with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. This revival of Peter Quilter’s 2005 play puts Monsoon’s Garland in a love triangle instead, caught between steadfast, gay pianist Anthony (Adam Filipe) and opportunistic, soon-to-be fifth husband, Mickey (Jacob Dudman). It’s tremendous casting which also honours Garland’s status as a queer icon, which is underlined in the script by Anthony’s earnest appreciation and Mickey’s homophobic contempt" ★★★ (The Guardian).

"It’s this unglamorous final chapter of her life Quilter’s play – which scooped up Olivier Award nominations when it premiered on the West End in 2010, and was adapted into the Renée Zellweger-starring film Judy – focuses on. It’s set, for the most part, backstage. Quilter paints an intimate picture of a star who has lived off a diet of uppers and downers for so long she’s become divorced from herself and is essentially 'playing Judy Garland' – or trying to." ★★★★ (Time Out).

"The strength of Monsoon's completely captivating performance cannot be overstated, and as her theatrical star power only grows, this seems like a production that people will look back on and brag that they were among the first to see Jinkx Monsoon on the British stage. End of the Rainbow is truly unmissable." ★★★★ (Radio Times).

"Monsoon has an astonishing voice, a huge presence and has got Judy Garland’s vocal and physical mannerisms down pat, in this revival of Peter Quilter’s play about the star’s infamous last London appearance, months before her death in June 1969. The bad news: her performance is over the top and indulgent, bordering on caricature. This Judy is a honking, bleary pastiche, from which triumphant renditions of Get Happy and Over the Rainbow emerge." ★★ (Evening Standard).

Overall: ★★★

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