Kiss Me, Kate review: Adrian Dunbar is dapper in utterly dazzling show

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Starring Line of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar and Broadway legend Stephanie J Block, this new adaptation from director Bartlett Sher is lively, lavish and completely charming, bringing some much-missed glamour and spectacle back to the London stage.

First written in 1948 by Cole Porter (who also wrote Anything Goes), the show follows the behind-the-scenes action of a musical production of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. At the centre are divorced couple Fred and Lilli (Dunbar and Block) whose story of hatred and lost love mirrors that of Petruchio and Kate. As the cast tries desperately to get through opening night, the performance becomes side tracked by Fred and Lilli’s antics, not to mention gun-toting gangsters who are there to collect Fred’s debts…

If you’ve seen the original film, you’ll know that the genius of Kiss Me, Kate is in how it juggles the complex play-within-a-play story with dazzling musical numbers, comedic subplots, and fraught emotional ties – Shakespeare could never! – and Sher’s adaptation is no different.

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Adrian Dunbar (AKA Ted Hastings) is brilliant in his musical theatre debut. As Fred Graham, he gleefully minces about the stage, bringing a seediness and ego to the role that feels appropriate for a modern audience. There is something Sinatra-esque in the way he swans around the backstage, taking control and attempting to woo his resistant ex, and yet he still comes off as totally loveable.

Other stand-outs include Georgina Onuorah as Lois Lane, who gives an excellently liberated version of the song Always True To You In My Fashion, and Hammed Animashaun as one of the gangsters, whose comic timing is pitch perfect, and who does so much additional work he draws the eye even when standing at the edge of a scene.

However, no-one on that stage can match the might of Stephanie J Block, who switches from hysterical heartbreak to Shakespearean prose to profound love, all before casually throwing in Mozart’s Queen of the Night aria without a flinch. Her experience from the Broadway stage is palpable as she balances Lilli’s vulnerability with Kate’s truculence, while belting out every song to spine-tingling perfection.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the rest of the production needed to raise its game to fit her – but thankfully raise it, it did.

The cast of Kiss Me, Kate jumping. — Kiss Me, Kate. Johan Persson

The musical numbers in the show are larger than life, with a cast of 20+ performing the elegant but non-stop choreography of Anthony Van Laast – of Mamma Mia!, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Sister Act. The second act in particular kicks off in spectacular fashion with a sizzling rendition of Too Darn Hot, which includes tap sequences, syncopated jumping, and incredible strobing light effects.

The staging helps massively, too. The three areas of the stage, the alley and the dressing room and transitioned through on a multi-layered revolving set, which shows off the huge thrumming pulse of any theatre production. Its constant moving, alongside the constant movement of the cast on the edges of the stage, helps you to feel fully immersed in the vibrant world of backstage, and contributes to the scale of the production.

With all that, plus glitzy costumes, multi-coloured lighting and, many a kick-line, you’re left with a musical that is so gloriously joyful, I was beaming for hours afterwards.

Overall, Kiss Me, Kate does everything in excess – but it owns it, and leans into every grandiose impulse, bringing you a show that is simply… wunderbar.

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Buy Kiss Me, Kate tickets at London Theatre Direct

If you love Adrian Dunbar, here's our interview with him on singing in Kiss Me, Kate, plus don't forget to check out our full list of what to do in London this weekend.

When and where can I see Kiss Me, Kate?

People dancing in Kiss Me, Kate — Kiss Me, Kate. Johan Persson

Kiss Me, Kate is showing at The Barbican until 14th September.
To get there, you simply need to head to Moorgate or Barbican on the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Elizabeth Line, or take a slightly longer walk from London Liverpool Street.