REVIEW: MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL @ THE PICCADILLY THEATRE

🎭 Moulin Rouge! The Musical

📍  The Piccadilly Theatre, 16 Denman Street, London, W1D 7DY

🗓 Tuesday 9th September 2025

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VISUALLY SPECTACULAR

Based on the iconic Acadamy Award-winning 2001 Baz Lurmann movie starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL is an exuberant and animated treat for the senses.

As soon as you enter the theatre you are immersed into early 1900s Paris and the heart of the distinguishable Moulin Rouge nightclub, with a staggeringly opulent setting that definitely has the 'wow factor'. The symphony of red velvet, sparkling lights, and all things bohemian is dazzling. As we take our seats members of the cast begin to mingle, creating the feeling that we are in a nightclub rather than a theatre.

The set design throughout the show are extravagent and spectacular, with each as dazzling as the last. Even the toned down sets are cleverly constructed and are really a thing of beauty.

The story follows Christian, who moves to Paris to follow his dreams of becoming a writer, who falls hopelessly in love with Satine - the star attraction of the Moulin Rouge. Satine is promised to the wealthy Duke who is the only man that can save the club, meaning that the love between Christian and Satine is forbidden. Will they get their happy ever after or are they stuck in a dramatic whirlwind of doomed love?

Dom Simpson absolutely steals the show with his sublimely breathtaking vocals as Christian. He is an absolute powerhouse of a vocalist who performs with seemingly effortless ease. His vocals during El Tango De Roxanne were punchy and vigorous whilst during Come What May they were soulful and sensual. A compelling storyteller, Simpson completely lived his performance packing emotion and meaning into every word.

The entire cast are excellent and as Harold Zidler, Dean Read was fantastically eccentric and engaging giving everything you could want from the character and more, while Ben Richards was devilishly dislikable as The Duke.

I did struggle with the character of Satine here if I'm honest. This is no reflection on Natalie Kassanga's performance, but it was as if when writing the book, Satine was an afterthought. Her illness is briefly referenced at the beginning of the show (although if you didn't know the story then you'd have just thought that she'd had a stumble) and then not mentioned again until Act 2. None of her lines seem to have much meaning to them and the character seems to have been directed very strangely, almost becoming a caracature at times. This gives a real disconnect and makes you not really care about what happens to her.

The score is magnificent and features over 70 hit songs from artistes such as Elton John, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL redefines the genre of jukebox musicals and there are some genius mash-ups which were absolutely joyous. There were a few times though where I felt we jumped between songs too often, with just a line or two from one before moving onto another. For me this felt slightly like a gimmick and took away any power in the lyrics.

There is an element of style over substance here, but in all honesty I didn't really care! This is escapism at its best. MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL is loud and proud, high energy and bursting with colour. With everything going on in the world right now this unapologetic spectacle will take you away from all the negativity in a real celebration of theatre and performance.

Overall I highly recommend this show, it's a definite must-see. Become enchanted with MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL by heading to London Box Office now to secure your seats to the ultimate feel-good party. The show is currently booking until 21st February 2026.

Neill Kovacic-Clarke

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one person.

My ticket for this performance of Moulin Rouge! was gifted by London Box Office who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.

CAST AT THIS PERFORMANCE:

Natalie Kassanga as Satine; Dom Simpson as Christian; Dean Read as Harold Zidler; Dex Lee as Toulouse-Lautrec; Ben Richards as The Duke; Ivan De Freitas as Santiago; Charlotte Gooch as Nini; Hannah Jay-Allan as Arabia; Matteo Johnson as Baby Doll; Bernadette Bangura as La Chocolat

Ensemble: Oliver Adam-Reynolds; Takaiyah Bailey; Ross Chisari; James Davies-Williams; Serenar Douch; Myles Hart; Maiya Hikasa; Melvin. LeBlanc; Kira McPherson; Paul Mukembo; Lindsey Tierney; Matt Trevorrow; Kevin Tristan; Ben Whitnall; Sasha Woodward

RUNNING TIME (approx):

2 hours 45 minutes, including interval

CONTENT WARNINGS:

Mature themes; Sexual content; Sexual language: Depictions of illness and death

AGE GUIDANCE:

12+