Cable Street

Marylebone Theatre

Something brilliant is brewing! The NEW musical Cable Street is powerful, with a strong real-life story and characters played by fresh and upcoming talent that will blow your socks off.

You would be a fool to sit on this show! Cable Street is a new musical that opens in the present day and goes back in time to explore a true event. From Southwark Playhouse back in 2024 to now, the Marylebone Theatre, this show is pushing its way out. This musical, written by Tim Gilvin and Alex Kanefsky, packs a punch!

It reminds the audience that the streets you walk through every day have seen some incredible, world-altering history, and these events they've seen have made the world we live in today. The show transports the audience back to 1936, recreating a musical version of the events on Cable Street in East London. It explores growing fascism at the time and prejudice towards the Jewish community. It's a relevant story, especially in the world we live in right now.

Watching the show reminds you of how far we've come, but also how we must carry on moving away from a society that enforces any kind of hatred towards a community. It also shows how strong a community can be and what impact you can make by working together. It's a moving piece of theatre that will leave you motivated to carry on being a kind, welcoming and loving human being! It explores Oswald Mosley and his planned march through the East End, intending to heighten the level of fear in the Jewish community. They show the unity of the community and the strength of people from all walks of life working together to keep back this dark, heavy cloud of rage. It brings to the fore the danger and corruption poisoning society.

This show works as well as it does because of the incredibly passionate cast, who put a lot of energy and commitment into their characters. What a stand-out performance from Lizzy-Rose Esin-Kelly as Mairead Kenny. She embodied this powerful, motivated, and strong female character beautifully! Her ability to lead and take the spotlight was seamless. What a voice. Barney Wilkinson is another standout performer; he plays a character with the most clear and prominent character arc/development. The audience watches as his vulnerable character is led down a path that isn't right, and how he is taken advantage of. Wilkinson shows the change in his character when he joins Mosley's side and how he realises that it wasn't the right choice. His character shows an abundance of emotion. The whole cast displays a range of different abilities, and their transitions from character to character are clear and snappy! They can shift from character to character like a chameleon changing colour. A selection of fabulous performers that create the community of Cable Street.

Yoav Segal, the set designer, has brought Cable Street to the stage. It feels like you are on an East End Street, and whilst it seems simple, some elements have taken some real work. Such as the apartment block in the background, the way it is designed makes it seem 3D and realistic. It clearly presents a working-class area in the 1930s! The idea of it being empty and the present-day scenes being portrayed as a tour of the streets is a great idea, because it makes you reflect on these empty streets and what the red bricks have seen. It would be helpful to establish a clear transition or set element for the audience to follow, where each scene takes place, whether it is in the past or in the present. There are some thought-provoking uses of set, such as creating a barrier with furniture and throwing pamphlets into the audience. Strong moments that stick in your mind!

This musical has returned at the right time. It reminds the audience of community and unity, and of how far society has come; it's important to carry on improving and standing up for unity and equality. It's not quite perfect yet; there is room for a lot of improvements and perhaps a little shortening, as it is a little long. In terms of the content and the plot, it is very gripping and strong. Whilst the actors are divine, the characters need more space to connect more with the audience and establish a stronger relationship. Then, when there are more emotive moments, the audience will feel more moved and react. There is so much beauty in this musical; the songs are powerful and show the confrontational manner of the fascist movement. There is so much history packed into this show, and it is so much to digest. The changes from the past to the present need to be a little clearer from the start, just so the audience doesn't get lost in trying to work out where the story is in time. Making smaller details clearer allows the audience more time to digest the story and history. This musical has the foundations of a powerful musical that audiences will love! I will indeed be following the development of this show, and so should you!