Reviewed by Hannah at Cadogan Hall.
As the great Walt Disney once said ‘Growing up isn’t simply getting old, Growing up is when you don’t believe anymore’. This performance certainly reminded everyone that age doesn’t matter when it comes to animation and this concert was in fact a magical journey through all kinds of wonderful films!
Rob Madge made a spectacular entrance with ‘The Bells of Notre Dame’ from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and set the stage nicely for the following tremendous performers. The setlist covered popular songs from Disney and Dreamwork films such as Shrek 2, Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast and Anastasia, to name a few. The performers were Alistair Brammer, Sharlene Hector, Rob Houchen, David Hunter, Rachel John, Rob Madge, Leesa Tulley and John Harris.
Simon Lipkin currently starring in Oliver at the Gielgud Theatre, made the perfect host and entertained the audience with his magic tricks! One of the tricks was to create a film with a film star in the leading role. Simon asked the audience for a number between 1-100 and 1-10, which generated Rowan Atkinson (aka Mr Bean) as Snow White, as you can imagine there was plenty of humour to be had.
The West End Musical Choir gave a beautiful rendition of ‘When You Believe’ from The Prince of Egypt. The Guildford School of Acting Choir sang ‘Go the Distance’ (Hercules) and ‘The Mob Song’ (Beauty and the beast) and made the perfect accompaniment to many of the songs. The Guildford School of Acting Dancers accompanied songs such as ‘Once Upon A December’ (Anastasia).
Two personal highlights were Sharlene Hector who covered a number of songs including her solo of ‘Strangers Like Me’ (Tarzan) and Rob Madge who is the perfect sassy Villain!
The West End Does Orchestra were sublime and filled the Cadogan Hall full of wonderful music! I could have easily listened to them play for another few hours!
Overall, I enjoyed this immensely and would be encouraged to attend their next concert which will be ‘Christmas in concert’ on 14th December 2025 at 6:30pm, Cadogan Hall. As advertised there will be West End & Broadway Stars and a Live Orchestra! Make sure to check it out here:
https://cadoganhall.com/whats-on/west-end-does-christmas-2025/
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