Fanny
The story is a “what if” scenario around the gifted musical composer Fanny Mendelssohn (set in the 1800s) who is living under the shadow of her brother Felix, due to the gender roles around the 19th century times.
Fanny intercepts a letter from Queen Victoria inviting F Mendelssohn to England to premiere a new orchestral work for the queen. Fanny having found out that the Queens favourite piece of work was actually written by Fanny herself rather than Felix, she takes it upon herself to go to the palace and perform her music under her name, rather than living in the shadows.
Charlie Russell has done it once again with her incredible performance of Fanny, is there nothing Charlie can’t do?? She is so mesmerising in this role, with her quick wit and being the queen of improvisation. She will have you laughing one minute and then instantly make you feel empathy towards the character she is playing.
Russell constantly has you engaged throughout, and you just want to know how its all going to play out in the end, she has your full attention and gets you fully invested in the story. You will be rooting for Fanny all the way through! Charlie just has one of those smiles when performing that can light up a room and its so compelling to watch.
One of my favourite parts of this show was the audience participation. Charlie is extremely good at this and keeping us, the audience, focused and engaged.
The rest of cast where clearly perfectly cast, they all really worked well together and I could feel the chemistry and dynamics from each of the characters.
Kim Ismay, who plays Fanny's mother Lea, had me in stitches. Her humour and performance had me bouncing in my seat from laughing, she often has a more comedic side to her performance but I did enjoy the parts where she showed moments of maternal warmth towards Fanny and showing a side of vulnerability.
Jeremy Lloyd who plays Fanny’s younger brother, along with a few minor other roles within the show, had such comedic flexibility and was more flamboyant with a much louder presence, which he delivered exceptionally well.
Another stand out performance for me was Danielle Phillips who plays younger sister to Fanny. This character is just seething with frustration and when it is finally all let out, its just an epic watch, she is literally a ticking time bomb and explodes to perfection.
The staging is very minimal but effective and used really well to what it is needed for.
This is one exceptional piece of theatre you will not want to miss, beautifully and cleverly written and executed perfectly.
This show was reviewed on the 16th October 2025 at the King's Head Theatre, London where it runs until the 15th November 2025. Tickets available here: Fanny — By Calum Finlay | King's Head Theatre
Review written by Sarah Vazquez-Phillips
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Photo credit: David Monteith-Hodge Photography
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