Mrs Henderson Presents

If you follow me on Twitter,  you'll know that a couple of weeks ago I (finally) got around to seeing Mrs Henderson Presents at the West End's Noël Coward Theatre.  Lately I've been finding myself returning time and time again to murder mystery plays, and so when a friend invited me to indulge in this 'hilarious musical', I figured it was the perfect opportunity to try something a little different.  Set in London, 1937, the story revolves around a recently widowed woman looking for a way to spend both her time and money.  Her search leads her to the Windmill Theatre, but with war looming more is needed to boost morale and box office and well... ''for the show to go on, the clothes must come off!''

It didn't occur to me until I stepped foot in the Noël Coward Theatre that I had been there just a few months ago to see their Christmas production of Scrooge.  Having arrived early, we took ourselves upstairs to the beautiful, wood-panelled bar for drinks (diet coke for me and coffee for her - come on, it was a matinee performance!).  For some reason, I've always found there to be something quite charming about empty theatre bars, the moments before anyone arrives and the 'calm before the storm'.  After catching up as the warm, mirrored room filled with people, we excitably made our way to our seats...

[The following 4 images have been taken from the Mrs Henderson Presents website.]





After just a few moments of viewing time, I knew it was going to be an enjoyable musical; the songs pull you in and the characters (including Olivier-winner Tracie Bennett's leading role) are entirely likeable.  There's nothing better than a show that requires your total concentration and Mrs Henderson Presents is certainly one of them; you forget where you are!  I'll admit there was far more nudity than I was anticipating, however more than anything I was wildly impressed at the actresses' confidence and it certainly did contribute to the show's authenticity.  Besides, the set design was often striking (and sparkly) enough anyway to fixate on when needed!    

Gingham Peplum Shirt - Ralph Lauren

Jeans - Topshop TALL Moto Black Jeans

I'm so pleased my friend suggested popping along to this performance, as it was hugely entertaining from beginning to end with various emotional twists along the way that further draw you in to the storyline.  Mrs Henderson Presents will continue being shown at the Noël Coward Theatre until 18th June this year.  So, if you're keen on musicals, don't mind nudity and fancy a bit of British patriotism, this is definitely one to slide into your diary!

Noël Coward Theatre
St. Martin's Lane
London
WC2N 4AU

With love,

Gabrielle x