David Hunter brings his ‘relatable leading man’ star-quality to this heartfelt, lucid and high-aesthetic story. ★★★★

I am not ashamed to say, that I was a little bit apprehensive about this one: usually my family are very tolerant in me dragging them out to London to see a new show I like the look of. It’s a day out… they say, expecting it to be as bad as that time I made them see – well – many of the awful productions that don’t even get a mention on Front Row Frankie. The stakes were even higher for this one: we were travelling on the Saturday where all high speed trains from Kent to London were cancelled due to flooding in the tunnels…

Thankfully, The Time Travellers Wife was more than worth it and perhaps the pleasantest surprise of the year show-wise.

Firstly, I ended up in the front row (as you would expect of me dear reader) without realising it! I had tickets for row C which was the closest I could get on the booking screen as the row in-front was consistently blanked out. Overhearing a man behind, it turns out he had booked the front row many months ago and then was contacted to say his ticket had moved due to them making the late decision to remove the first row.

So he was now sat behind me, and possible a little peeved that I was in ‘his’ seat whilst I basked in leg-room galore in the opulent surroundings of the Apollo.

Entertainment ★★★★☆

The story is heartfelt, aesthetically delivered through transitioning sets and costume, and David Hunter proves himself yet again to be a compelling leading man. I was not expecting to be completely taken in by this show, and yet the chemistry between the principals insist it. There are some enjoyable special effects and vanishing acts of Henry in front of our eyes with varying degrees of success: one is laughably a smaller statured swing in and ill-fitting wig with his back to the audience, standing in for Henry whilst Hunter gets himself in position.

Musicality ★★★☆☆

Time Traveller’s falls into a separate category of musical for me: plays with forgettable yet pleasant tunes which smoothly accompany the storytelling. There is no big band overture or leitmotif riffs that drive a cohesive musical extravaganza, yet Hunter’s performance of ‘Jouneyman’ sung whilst being lifted and swung by stage-hand ninjas behind a screen of bond-esque visuals, is a delight to behold.

Value ★★★★☆

A real strength is the ticketing price for this production – prices vary with demand which means that for some performances, you can get a front stalls ticket for around £60- low enough for unsure patrons to give it a go, yet not completely underselling itself. If I have convinced you and you want to splash out on the best seats, £150 will get you a head-on view from the circle or the director’s seats in the stalls. It may well be worth it – the high stage could affect your enjoyment of scenes where actors are laying down (in the meadow for instance) or where the lead spontaneously combusts to a different timeline.