Sister Act musical review – Eventim Apollo London 2022 ★★★

“Beverley Knight doesn’t quite hit the heavenly heights”

“Knight works tremendously hard as the audience cheers her on, but her acting tends to hit the same note in every scene.”

“Jennifer Saunders’s presence as the exasperated, heart-of-gold Mother Superior isn’t enough to fill the gap. …there simply isn’t enough for her to do.”

“Clive Rowe comes to the rescue as Eddie Souther.. Rowe is one of our most assured musical theatre performers”

“Knight’s voice soars again before the end of the evening. Her fan club won’t be complaining, but there’s not quite enough for everyone else.”

“Beverley Knight and Jennifer Saunders bring the laughs as rebel nuns”

“Jennifer Saunders is the main draw, bridling and bristling as Mother Superior. There is nothing funnier here than the moment when Saunders, slumped in her chair as she anticipates the latest bout of choral caterwauling, is startled by the sisters’ new-found tunefulness. ”

“Despite Beverley Knight’s stupendous vocals, this big-budget musical revival misses intended star Whoopi Goldberg”

” Beverly Knight makes a very respectable replacement for Goldberg: retaining her Arkansas accent from her recent run in ‘The Drifters Girl’, the Queen of UK Soul™ is a musical-theatre veteran these days. If she’s clearly not as funny as Goldberg would have been, she blows pretty virtually everyone else away vocally: she is an extraordinary singer. ”

“Nonetheless, it’s a solid production from Bill Buckhurst with some fun set-pieces: in particular, Rowe’s double-quick change in the song ‘I Could Be That Guy’ is truly astounding, while the lurid curtain-call costumes are a migraine-inducing delight (it’s great work all round from costume designer Morgan Large).”

“Genuinely uplifting”

“[Knight] brings vocal heft and requisite presence to the role – though she’s far more engaging when inspiring her cloistered sisters to find their voices while also raising funds to save the church from crumbling than she is in more broadly comic mode.”

“Saunders is a natural comic, and though her singing voice is thin, she’s not called upon to use it all that often – together, the two make an appealing double act.”

“There is some heavenly ensemble work from the cast. Keala Settle, the best thing in the objectionable The Greatest Showman, deploys her powerful voice and considerable energy to Sister Mary Patrick, while Lesley Joseph revels in her role as the crabby Sister Mary Lazarus. Lizzie Bea, recently seen as Tracy Turnblad at the Coliseum, is requisitely endearing and heartfelt as novice nun Sister Mary Robert.”