Magic Mike Live London Reviews | What the Critics Say

Magic Mike Live opened at The Theatre at the Hippodrome Casino on 28 November 2018, and the critics gave it threes and fours. They liked the dancers and the way the show uses every corner of the theatre. What divided them was everything in between the dancing: the host's jokes, the thin story and the talk of female empowerment.

Every review here is from that opening. The whole company has changed since, and the production says it has added new numbers, dances, songs and aerial acts. The format the critics describe hasn't changed: a club night, with drinks brought to your table and dancers all around you.

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The Critics' Verdict

WhatsOnStage, BritishTheatre.com and Musical Theatre Review gave it four stars. The Evening Standard, the Independent, Time Out, The Stage and Fairy Powered Productions gave it three.

The threes and the fours describe the same night. Several found it tamer than they expected. The four-star reviews simply minded the chat and the story less.

Audiences have been warmer than the critics, and the show has now played more than 3,000 performances in London.

What the Reviews Praised

The dancing. This is what the critics came out talking about. The Evening Standard's Henry Hitchings described it as "a cross between the Chippendales and a street dance act" from Britain's Got Talent, and Musical Theatre Review praised the cast's "dance, acrobatic and gyrating skills", used "not just on stage but also around the whole auditorium". Alice Jones in The Theatre Times, who didn't give a star rating, was less impressed and found the dancing "slick but fairly samey". Even she singled out the big number under falling water, "a moment of passionate spectacle", and several other critics picked out the same routine. If you're coming for the dancing, this is where the reviews agree.

The setting. The theatre was rebuilt for the show in 2018, and the critics noticed. Douglas Mayo at BritishTheatre.com said it had "enough lighting to stage a small pop concert", and the Independent's Hugh Montgomery found it "expertly remodelled to accompany various stage-shifting wizardry".

Going with friends. Critics kept arriving at the same advice: go in a group, and have a drink. Hitchings thought it "best experienced with a group of friends", and WhatsOnStage's Sita McIntosh said the best way to enjoy it is "accompanied by quite a bit of champagne". The drinks come to you, too: Hitchings mentions "giant cocktails from scuttling waiters". That's why it works so well for hen parties and birthdays.

Where Reviews Were Mixed

The host. A female MC runs the night and talks a lot between numbers, and critics couldn't agree on her. McIntosh found the host "out-and-out hilarious". Musical Theatre Review called the script "pretty trite", and Mayo said the stream of innuendo "wore thin after a while". Several noticed the same mismatch: a very British comic voice delivering American self-help lines. Claire Roderick at Fairy Powered Productions said the humour "jars a little with the swish US origins of the show", but added that the host "knows exactly how to get the crowd whooping". If you want wall-to-wall dancing, expect a fair bit of talking in between.

The interaction. Dancers come out into the audience, some people get lap dances at their seats and a few are brought on stage. It's all voluntary. Montgomery handed this part of his review to the friend he took, who said the dancers "achieved the show's aim of making the women in the audience feel special". Time Out's Laura Richards had the opposite experience: she found the "narrowly focussed audience interaction" left her feeling "a teensy bit unloved". Jones thought the women chosen "look far from in control". Where you sit decides how much of this happens to you. The Front Row and the tables get the most attention, and further back you mostly watch it happen to other people.

The story and the message. The critics agreed the story is thin, and most didn't mind. As McIntosh put it: "It's Magic Mike for heaven's sake, not Macbeth." The split was over the empowerment message that runs between the numbers. Hitchings said the show sometimes "resembles the more evangelical kind of self-help seminar", and Jones called it "a very words not deeds form of feminism". If you're going for a laugh with your friends, it won't get in the way. If being told how empowered you are between dances would make you roll your eyes, it might.

How raunchy it is. Less than you might expect. Jones found "there is no nudity and, surprisingly, quite minimal flesh-flashing", and Roderick described it as "raunchy fun but has an underlying sweetness about it". The dancers strip to their underwear and no further.

Is Magic Mike Live Right for You?

Book it for a hen party, a birthday or a night out with friends. That's the audience the critics described, and the one they said has the best time.

Book it if you want to see very good dancers close up, with a drink brought to your table.

Think twice if you want a story, or if a lot of chat and innuendo between numbers would wear on you.

Think twice if being picked out would spoil your night. Taking part is voluntary, but sit further back than the Front Row and the tables.

The reviews are from the 2018 opening, and the company and several of the numbers have changed since.

Not sure where to sit with your group? Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we'll help you choose.

Book Magic Mike Live Tickets

At The Theatre at the Hippodrome Casino on Cranbourn Street, booking to 2 January 2028. It runs 90 minutes with no interval, it's strictly 18+, and everyone needs physical photo ID at the door. Tickets start from around £45 and go up to around £220 for the best tables. All-in pricing, so the price you see is what you pay.

Dates, seats and what to expect on the night are on our Magic Mike Live tickets page.