Starlight Express Reviews

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4.8
471 reviews

Awesome

409

Good

49

Average

13

Poor

0

Terrible

0

Here’s what we think: Review by Headout

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express follows Rusty, a steam engine trying to win the girl of his dreams: a first-class observation car named Pearl. Adapted for the stage, this production has its cast on wheels whizzing past audiences and delivering some banger tunes. It’s as zany as it sounds and is the epitome of camp.
Despite their best efforts to figure out why audiences adore this musical and have catapulted it to the ninth-longest-running show on West End, critics are stumped. The answer, however, is simple: Starlight Express is entertainment in its purest form. It’s the underdog story, it is high-octane pizazz, it is foot-stomping bops tempered by character-defining ballads. It is everything a musical ought to be and everything Webber hoped this whacky train ride would become.

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Critic reviews
User reviews

Arifa Akbar,

The Guardian
Jun 2024
4/5

“Lloyd Webber’s bizarre juggernaut is bigger, camper and more OTT than ever.”

Tim Bano,

Independent
Jul 2024
4/5

"It’s more spectacle than sense – but your inner child (and actual children) will be delighted."

Andrzej Lukowski,

Timeout
Jul 2024
3/5

“‘Starlight Express’ is a lot of fun and has no aspirations to be anything other than exactly what it is…There is truly nothing else like it.”

Reviews

My Neighbour Totoro

Experience
Antonio De Chiara
Absolutely amazing. The actor were truly stunning both in appearance and acting. There was not a single things that I didn't like. Costumes, performances, staff, musician, singer, the scenic effect department. It's the first time that I went out of a theater by giving a 10/10 experience.
Sep 2026

My Neighbour Totoro

Experience
Philipp Thiemo Metz
A very beautiful play with excellent music, a lively production, great actors, and a wonderful atmosphere. You are not allowed to take photos during the performance. The seats were very good, with the best view, and it is a beautiful theater. Everything went great with Headout too, no problems at all. Thank you very much. Would gladly do it again!
Sep 2026

Phantom of the Opera

Experience
Dianne Watts
When we arrived by cab, a very friendly young man met us at the curb and looked at our tickets. He shepherded us to the proper entrance line and offered to take our picture. We showed our digital tickets at the door and were in , no problem. We had time to get a drink, look at cool Phantom merchandise, and get settled in our seats before the show started. The theater was more cozy than it appeared on the online seating chart but very charming. The show was fantastic! All the leading parts were handled beautifully. The sets were amazing. The actress who provided the comic relief was outstanding. We had a marvelous time. Highly recommended!
Sep 2026
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Phantom of the Opera

Experience
laurence pigouchet
The performances, the orchestra, the staging! And magnificent voices. Great special effects as well. A huge wowww!
Sep 2026
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The Mousetrap

Experience
Guillaume Vansteenbrugge
The play *The Mousetrap* has been running for over fifty years, which is my age. Thousands of performances and a constantly renewed joy of discovering the plot and its characters. Classic Agatha Christie. Let's keep the secret!
Sep 2026
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Disney’s The Lion King

Experience
Dirk Georg
Great costumes and fantastic actors, who also won us over with their voices! And the theater itself is well worth a visit! Not to mention that the overall service was great too.
Sep 2026
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Mamma Mia!

Experience
Hanan Sabri
The performance was spot on, the ambience, even the scent in the seating area considering the number of spectators. The volume, the lighting everything was jusg wow and I'll be going again for sure with my mum next time!
Sep 2026
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Les Misérables

Experience
Tan Kay Kheng
Mesmerising to watch this again in London after my first time at the 1000th performance in 1988! The staging, and the ever familiar songs like Who am I?, I Dream a Dream and Empty Chairs at Enpty Tables enthralled me and were moving as ever! Every Les Miserables performance never disappoints!
Sep 2026
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Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Experience
Nils Bock
I saw Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the theater and was very impressed overall. The production, the atmosphere, and the effects were truly extraordinary and brought the world of Stranger Things to life in a whole new way. The performance in English also worked well for me and captured the mood of the play very well. Unfortunately, my view of the stage was severely restricted as I could only see the bottom half. Most of the time, this wasn't a major issue because the plot and the most important scenes were still easy to understand. However, there were a few parts that took place exclusively in the upper part of the stage. Because of this, I unfortunately couldn't follow them at all or only partially, which detracted slightly from the experience. Despite this, I really enjoyed the play. The story, the actors, and the technical execution were truly worth seeing. I would definitely recommend it, but when choosing seats, I would make sure to have the best possible view of the entire stage.
Sep 2026
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