✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Theatre

Adrian Mole The Musical, Ambassadors Theatre ★★★★★

15 Jul 19 – 28 Sep 19, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

Everyone's favourite 13-and-three-quarters-year-old sings out his innermost thoughts in this charming musical adaptation of Sue Townsend's novel

By CW Contributor on 4/7/2019

1 CW reader is interested
Adrian Mole is back on stage at the Ambassadors' Theatre. Photo: Pamela Raith
Adrian Mole is back on stage at the Ambassadors' Theatre. Photo: Pamela Raith
Adrian Mole The Musical, Ambassadors Theatre 4 Adrian Mole The Musical, Ambassadors Theatre Sophie Joaman
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 - The Musical returns to London with a run at the Ambassadors Theatre this summer. Click here to book tickets.


"Perhaps when I am famous and my diary is discovered people will understand the torment of being a 13¾ year old intellectual."


So sayeth Adrian Mole, the diarist who is easily as well known as Samuel Pepys, Charles Pooter or Bridget Jones.


In The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾, the fictional teenager, created by novelist Sue Townsend, shares the trials and tribulations of growing up during the 1980s in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire.


He must contend with newfound intellectualism, a crush on posh Pandora, Barry the school bully, divorcing parents and a pimply chin - so many spots! The joy of the novel is the unmediated aspiration, despair and banality of Adrian's voice. It has inspired sequels, a TV and radio series, and a 1984 West End play, complete with songs, as well as this musical adaptation from Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, which first debuted in 2015, and is directed by Luke Sheppard.


Our co-reviewer, aged 8 3/4, was impressed at how faithfully the diary was recreated on stage, down to her favourite bits: the spots, the Pandora poems and the parental sagas, which were beautifully depicted in heart-wrenching songs performed by Pauline (Amy Ellen Richardson) and George (Andrew Langtree).


The show perfectly captures the humour and angst of adolescence, as well as a particular moment in time - 80s Thatcherite Britain - with plenty to appeal to both tweens and their parents. What really resonates is how Adrian's struggles are the issues young teens everywhere contend with, and the show feels so contemporary that you forget the characters don't have phones or social media obsessions.





Photo: Pamela Raith

The stage reflects the diary format, with a ruler border and ink blot motifs. Humour comes in many guises: Adrian not quite understanding what's going on with his parents, his 'intellectualism' - and desire for a girlfriend, the adult cast seamlessly switching between parents, teachers, grandparents, fellow students and amorous next door neighbours. Performances have an exaggerated quality in keeping with the teenage perspective.


For our co-reviewing youngster, two things stole the show: the Nativity scene, which she loved for its "rebellious" qualities and costumes (a leather jacket teamed with fairy wings!), and the incredible young actors performing the roles of Adrian, Pandora, Nigel and Barry. There are four kids alternating each role - we saw Rufus Kampa as Adrian, Jeremiah Davan Waysome as Nigel, Jack Gale as Barry, Rebecca Nardin as Pandora and they were a captivating, energetic delight (we particularly enjoyed Pandora's feminist instincts and Adrian's endearing awkwardness and pomposity).


In fact, this musical is so appealing that it could just be the answer to inspiring the next generation to do something that's rarely done these days when not enforced by school teachers: write.


The good news is that there's still an option to score tix to this show as part of Kids' Week, where your child can go free. The musical is suitable for kids 8+ with some sexual references, so you may want to take over-10s.




What Adrian Mole The Musical, Ambassadors Theatre
Where Ambassadors Theatre, West Street, London, WC2H 9ND | MAP
Nearest tube Leicester Square (underground)
When 15 Jul 19 – 28 Sep 19, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Price £35 - £50+
Website Click here for more information and tickets



Up to £80
Adrian Mole is back on stage at the Ambassadors' Theatre. Photo: Pamela Raith
Booking closed
15 Jun 19 - 12 Oct 19

Adrian Mole

See all tickets

Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 24–26 March. Photo: The Parakeet, Kentish Town
Things to do in London this weekend: 24–26 March
Irene Maiorino and Alba Rohrwacher in My Brilliant Friend season 4, HBO/Sky Atlantic (Photo: HBO)
My Brilliant Friend, season 4, Sky Atlantic: first-look photo, release date, plot, cast
Best art exhibitions in London. Photo: Thin Air at the Beams
Top exhibitions on now in London

Editor's Picks

London Theatre Guide: best plays on now in London (Photograph: Peter Lewicki)
London Theatre Guide: best plays on now in London, 2023
Things to do in London this weekend: 24–26 March. Photo: The Parakeet, Kentish Town
Things to do in London this weekend: 24–26 March
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

We recommend nearby

  • Homeslice, Fitzrovia

    Laid back in its concept and style, the restaurant's premise is simple: delicious 20-inch pizzas, which can also be ordered by individual slice. Homeslice draws a relaxed crowd, and is remarkably good value. Eating at this no cutlery/paper plates pizzeria can be a joyously messy affair.

    Read more...
    Book Map
  • Old Compton Brasserie

    Soho’s newest neighbourhood restaurant offering modern British cuisine and a cutting-edge cocktail menu

    Read more...
    Map
  • The Alchemist, Covent Garden

    Renowned for its molecular mixology, placing theatre and immersive experiences at its core, The Alchemist opens its second London branch in Covent Garden

    Read more...
    Map
1

Kids

Things to Do

Theatre

You might like

  • Sam Tutty (Evan Hansen), Lucy Anderson (Zoe Murphy) photo by Matthew Murphy

    Dear Evan Hansen, Noel Coward Theatre review ★★★★★

  • White Christmas, Dominion Theatre

    White Christmas, Dominion Theatre review ★★★★★

  • Jay McGuiness as Josh Baskin & Kimberley Walsh as Susan Lawrence in Big The Musical. Photo by Alastair Muir.

    Big, Dominion Theatre review ★★★★★

  • The company of Fiddler on the Roof, Menier Chocolate Factory

    Fiddler on the Roof, Playhouse Theatre review ★★★★★

  • Andrew Scott, Present Laughter at the Old Vic. Photo by Manual Harlan

    Present Laughter, Old Vic Theatre review ★★★★★

  • Jude, Hampstead Theatre

    Jude, Hampstead Theatre



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×